Exploring the Effectiveness of Layer2 Airdrops: A Case Study of Optimism and Arbitrum

A Study of Layer2 Airdrops: Optimism and Arbitrum

Airdrops have become a popular tool for projects to distribute tokens to potential users. However, the value and impact of airdrops have always been a topic of debate in the cryptocurrency community. Cryptocurrency research institution GCR analyzes the impact of airdrops on user engagement, token prices, developer activity, and overall project success using Optimism and Arbitrum as examples, exploring the true value of airdrops for project teams and users.

Network activity: The unique address charts of both networks have experienced a parabolic rise since the project’s launch, mainly due to high gas fees on the Ethereum mainnet. Optimism saw a significant increase in May 2022, with unique addresses jumping from 350,000 to 800,000, consistent with users applying for the OP airdrop. The Arbitrum Nitro upgrade pushed the unique address count to the 1 million milestone. As a result, the number of unique addresses quadrupled, reaching 4.5 million at the launch of the ARB token.

Token transfers: Approximately 57.4% of Arbitrum recipients transferred their tokens, and another 27% partially sold their airdrop tokens. After the first Optimism airdrop, the number of holders peaked at 90,000, but this figure declined by 10% to 81,000 within 17 days. A similar trend was observed after the second airdrop in February 2023, with the number of holders dropping by about 2%.

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Price impact: The ATH of the OP token did not occur immediately after the airdrop but happened almost a year later. This suggests that the airdrop had a more sustained, long-term impact on the token price. Unlike OP, the ARB token is relatively new to the market and is still in the process of establishing its price dynamics.

Verified contract count: There is a significant difference in the daily verified contract count between Optimism and Arbitrum. Even after the airdrop on Optimism and the implementation of public product financing, the number of deployed contracts appears to have stabilized. In contrast, Arbitrum’s activity increased almost fivefold, with around 300 contracts deployed daily, compared to Optimism’s 60.

The airdrops on Optimism and Arbitrum have shown varying degrees of effectiveness in promoting user participation, driving token prices, and encouraging overall project success. Data suggests that while airdrops can indeed promote short-term growth and increase interest in the platform, their long-term impact may depend on various factors, such as the network’s governance approach and the implementation or improvement of additional incentive measures to maintain user engagement.

Reference: https://globalcoinresearch.com/2023/06/16/the-effectiveness-of-l2-airdrop/

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