Discord-2-Earn: The New Airdrop Meta? 🪂

In the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrency, a new trend is emerging that could reshape how airdrops are earned: Discord-2-Earn. This new meta focuses on rewarding users for their engagement and contributions on Discord, rather than just their on-chain activity. With recent examples and ongoing strategies, it's clear that the airdrop game is changing, and those who adapt quickly will reap the rewards.

The Emergence of Discord Roles and Earnestness

Two new metas are currently gaining traction: Discord roles and NFTs. Here, we'll focus on the former, which has introduced a fresh criterion for earning airdrops—earnestness.

A recent example is the Sanctum project, which implemented this new approach by measuring users' "earnestness." While the term might sound complex, it essentially boils down to:

Activity on Discord
Quote Retweets and threads on Twitter
Content creation related to the project

What’s interesting is that these criteria were applied without any initial speculation, catching many off guard. The real buzz, however, was around how the airdrop was distributed.

With 10% of the total token supply allocated for the airdrop, the breakdown was as follows:

5% distributed linearly based on points
5% distributed non-linearly based on earnestness

The latter 5% was awarded to 2,268 users in an exponential manner, with the largest allocations reaching up to 1 million tokens. Half of these tokens were available immediately, while the other half was vested over 180 days.

With the token launching at around $0.30, those who received the maximum allocation saw significant returns.

Why Was This Airdrop So Successful?

Several factors contributed to the success of Sanctum's airdrop:

Low Optimization: Few participants optimized for these specific criteria, resulting in a smaller pool of eligible recipients.
Genuine Interaction: Very few users engage with projects in such a "pure" way—participating in meaningful Discord discussions, creating detailed threads, and genuinely contributing to the project.
High Allocation Percentage: The percentage allocated to this type of engagement was substantial, making it a highly rewarding strategy.

However, it’s important to note that this doesn’t guarantee future airdrops will follow the same model. Each project is different, and the criteria for earning airdrops may continue to evolve.

Upcoming Projects Likely to Use This Mechanic

One project that seems poised to adopt this Discord-2-Earn strategy is Monad. Despite not even launching a testnet yet, Monad has already built a stronger community on Discord than many established blockchains. They’ve focused heavily on building a vibrant community, with numerous roles available for active Discord participants.

Monad is a Layer 1 blockchain promising high throughput with 10,000 TPS and parallelized transactions—features that are becoming more common with competitors like Sei, Sonic, and Eclipse. However, what sets Monad apart is its exceptionally active community, which could be a key factor in its future success.

Projects like Redstone and Eclipse are also likely to incorporate similar Discord-based engagement strategies. Redstone, an oracle project, has introduced a system where points are awarded for Discord messages, while Eclipse has already distributed 200 OG roles based on Discord activity.

Pros and Cons of Discord-2-Earn

#1 The Drawbacks: Obscurity and Subjectivity

The biggest downside of this new meta is its opacity. Unlike on-chain metrics, Discord activity is off-chain, making it difficult to verify and rely on the integrity of the project team to manage it fairly. This opens the door to potential "unjust" situations where it’s unclear why certain individuals receive rewards while others don’t. Additionally, projects may miss valuable contributions that occur outside of Discord, such as on Medium, Substack, or other platforms.

#2 The Benefits: Quality over Quantity

For projects, this meta ensures that those who are eligible for airdrops are genuinely interested and invested in the community, rather than just having made a few transactions. This leads to a more engaged and active community, as seen with Monad. For users, the increased friction means larger airdrops due to fewer eligible participants. Sanctum’s hybrid model, which included a vesting period, also helps limit multi-account abuse—a growing concern in the space.

#3 The Reality Check: Farming Risks

Despite the potential benefits, this meta is not without its risks. The more projects rely on Discord-2-Earn strategies, the more likely we are to see farming behavior, where users engage in activities purely to earn rewards rather than out of genuine interest. This could ultimately distort the "pure" interactions that projects aim to encourage. The recent activity on Monad’s Discord post-Wormhole airdrop is a prime example of this phenomenon.

Discord-2-Earn represents a promising new direction for airdrops, prioritizing genuine community engagement over mere transactional activity. However, the success of this approach depends on how well projects can manage the inherent subjectivity and prevent the gaming of the system. As the landscape continues to evolve, it will be fascinating to see how these strategies develop and whether they can maintain their initial appeal.

For now, one thing is clear: the airdrop game is changing, and those who stay ahead of the curve will be the ones to benefit the most.