WalletConnect Airdrop Sparks Mixed Reactions Over Eligibility Rules

WalletConnect officially launched its first-ever token airdrop. The season one airdrop allocates 50 million WalletConnect Tokens (WCT) to over 160,000 eligible users.

Recipients can stake their tokens for governance and earn rewards. It marks a significant milestone for the open-source protocol widely used for connecting crypto wallets to decentralized applications (dApps).

Eligibility and Distribution Details

With the eligibility checker for the airdrop going live, users can confirm their participation. Of the 50 million tokens allocated for this round, 30 million are set aside for users who registered and met specific engagement criteria during the designated period. The remaining 20 million tokens are reserved for notable contributors to the WalletConnect ecosystem, including node operators and early GitHub participants.

“Eligibility is now live! Check if you qualify, claim your WCT, and start staking your tokens,” WalletConnect said.

Eligibility required users to create a profile, connect a wallet through WalletConnect, and actively engage with the network before last month’s cutoff date. WalletConnect also employed a scoring system based on users’ past network usage, on-chain activities, and contributions to ensure fair distribution.

To further incentivize participation, WalletConnect subsidized gas fees, reducing users’ financial burden amidst variable network costs.

“To assist with gas costs during the claiming process, WalletConnect provided ETH on Optimism to eligible profiles via the contract address,” the announcement read.

Meanwhile, while the distributed tokens are initially non-transferable, recipients can stake them for governance purposes. Staking periods range from one week to two years, with rewards set to begin on December 19. This mechanism encourages long-term engagement within the ecosystem and empowers users to influence WalletConnect’s development through governance proposals.

As a protocol, WalletConnect aims to simplify interactions between crypto wallets and dApps. It also allows seamless connections via QR codes or deep links.

Mixed Reactions from the Community

Airdrop farmers remain euphoric about the free tokens. The announcement drew excitement from some community members, particularly about WalletConnect’s efforts to ease the claiming process without additional costs.

“Very impressive! Some folks made us pay for airdrop claims,” one user noted.

However, some have criticized the project over eligibility concerns. Specifically, some long-time users question the fairness of the selection criteria, with one expressing frustration.

“Will WalletConnect accept appeals? I’ve been using WalletConnect since 2020, but why don’t all wallets meet the requirements? I still remember logging in via Trust Wallet. Why are all the new wallets eligible?” they said.

Another user shared a similar sentiment, noting that their airdrop wallet’s seed phrase was created using Trust Wallet back in 2020. They also used Trust Wallet for almost two years but are still ineligible.

“My airdrop wallet’s seed phrase was created using Trust Wallet back in 2020. I used Trust Wallet for almost 2 years since I didn’t have a PC back then. The only option to connect Dapps to that wallet was through WalletConnect,” the user lammeneted.

Adding to the controversy, some participants reported that they initially received gas fee subsidies during the eligibility period. However, they have now been deemed ineligible. These inconsistencies have left users puzzled about the evaluation process and how to verify their allocations.

WalletConnect has not yet addressed the appeals or clarified whether the eligibility criteria will be reassessed for future airdrop seasons. The project’s approach reflects broader challenges within the cryptocurrency space. Determining eligibility for rewards programs often stirs debate about fairness and transparency.

Still, WalletConnect may have opportunities to refine its distribution process. This is considering the total of 185 million tokens earmarked for future airdrops from a maximum supply of 1 billion WCT tokens.  Responding to community feedback may also strengthen its relationship with its user base and reinforce its commitment to inclusivity.