也许是有史以来最受炒作的加密货币空投将于周五开始,但不一定具有其建设者所希望的那种热情。
EigenLayer 是以太坊上的一个重质押平台,在向用户开放的第一年里就积累了价值 160 亿美元的加密存款,甚至在上个月正式推出之前也是如此。当大部分资金进来时,该项目只不过是以太坊区块链上的一个美化的区块链钱包——一个无功能的密码箱,悬挂着未来奖励的前景,但尚未具备任何实际功能。 (尽管该项目确实在四月份“启动”了其集合安全服务,但许多关键任务功能仍然缺失)。
但正是有关代币分配的细节引起了 X 和其他社交媒体平台的大量批评。这种语气变得如此消极,以至于一些行业官员怀疑这是否会导致广受欢迎的加密货币激励系统“积分”奖励的消亡。
阅读更多:随着加密“积分”农业的增长,模糊承诺的风险也在增长
EIGEN 空投
作为其主要激励模型,EigenLayer 的存款人将获得积分奖励——由 EigenLayer 和其他第三方跟踪的积分,这些积分根据一个人在该项目中存入的金额和时间而累积。这些积分本身并不是加密代币,但大多数储户希望它们最终能够兑换成加密代币——这一预期源于其他新兴加密项目几个月来的相似计划。
除了通过存入 EigenLayer 来赚取积分外,一些人还开始在 Pendle 等平台上直接进行交易,该平台为积分交易提供了高达“40 倍的杠杆”。
EigenLayer 的积分计划帮助其吸引了用户并吸引了数十亿美元,但当上周终于宣布 EIGEN 代币空投时,该项目的社区爆发了愤怒。
首先,有消息称,在未来某个尚未确定的日期之前,代币将不可转让——这意味着用户需要等待更长的时间才能兑现其投资。
“虽然故意没有任何沟通表明代币可以在第一天转让,但 EigenLayer 积分计划已经持续了近一年的事实无疑导致了储户能够在第一天,”区块链市场情报公司 IntoTheBlock 研究负责人 Luxas Outumuro 说道。 “他们希望进一步去中心化代币,这是可以理解的,但这是对期望的管理不善,没有得到妥善解决。”
Read more: Why Eigenlayer’s Airdrop Is Controversial
More blowback revolved around EigenLayer's decision to restrict its airdrop to users from select regions – even though the project had placed no geographic restrictions on users making deposits and earning points. Users from more than a dozen countries, including the U.S., Canada and China, will be barred from the airdrop.
"There was so much 'wink, wink' going on around points and how they were making an infinite sum game and everyone's gonna win and all of this shit. And then they basically cut off two-thirds of potential users and airdrop recipients," said one EigenLayer venture investor who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity. "I think it's completely fine to cut off the U.S. from an airdrop, but then don't let them use it in the first place."
Other criticisms came down to the token's "Season 1" distribution plan, which will place EIGEN tokens into the hands of some point earners but will force others to wait for a "Season 2" airdrop that hasn't been detailed. This means users who deposited into EigenLayer via some liquid restaking services and other third-party platforms don't yet know how many EIGEN tokens they'll receive – despite the fact that these services are responsible for a lion's share of overall EigenLayer deposits.
"EigenLayer chose to allow others to, sort of, rehypothecate and play all these crazy games. They could have just said, 'No, don't do that. We're not making any commitment that we're going to honor those points,'" said Mike Silgadze, founder of liquid restaking platform Ether.Fi.
EigenLayer revised its token plans in response to the community backlash, but it's unlikely that the changes will be enough to place EigenLayer back into the crypto community's good graces.
The problem with points
EigenLayer isn't the only recent project that's struggled to meet the expectations set by a points program.
Renzo, a liquid restaking protocol on EigenLayer, faced similar backlash last month when its point system failed to meet investors' expectations. Blur, one of the originators of crypto points, received criticism for repeatedly extending its points window and changing the rules around when and how tokens would be airdropped.
Some point programs have converted into airdrops with little controversy, but more and more of them – particularly larger projects, like EigenLayer – have led to disappointment.
Many investors are beginning to think that the practice – which has become ubiquitous among crypto startups – may finally be nearing its end.
Silgadze 解释说,积分是“在代币发布之前鼓励协议活动”的一种方式。这对旧系统进行了改进,在旧系统中,用户可以通过与区块链协议交互来“耕种”空投,但并不确切知道什么样的活动最终会导致空投。 Silgadze 说,基于点的系统“让人们更清楚地了解协议希望你做什么”。
虽然积分系统是吸引潜在用户的好方法,但它们也是监管保护的结果。加密货币公司对于直接以首次代币发行(ICO)方式出售代币犹豫不决,因为这样做可能会让它们成为监管机构的目标。
但在保护投资者和提供透明度方面,Compound 和 Robot Ventures 的创始人、EigenLayer 开发商 Eigen Labs 的投资者 Robert Leshner 认为积分是最糟糕的。 “投资者保护的根本在于确保投资者和赞助商之间不存在信息不对称。积分造成了加密货币领域最大的信息不对称,”他说。 “一切都由团队决定,用户和投资者只是祈祷他们能得到团队的正确对待。”
莱什纳认为,过去一年中一连串的积分失败最终将导致这种做法的消亡。
“当你看到加密货币领域中最大、最雄心勃勃、最真实的项目之一 EigenLayer 时,他妈的积分计划——如果 EigenLayer 不能正确做到这一点,谁能做到?没有人能做到。”