Airdrop Blast was a success, but its participants are disappointed
Wednesday morning saw the long-awaited launch of the Blast’s Ethereum layer-2 network airdrop, lavishing users with tokens valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
However, shortly after the airdrop commenced, a wave of recipients quickly started to offload their BLAST tokens, causing its price to dip. This led to widespread disenchantment among participants, who had anticipated a much more lucrative giveaway.
The launch price of BLAST hovered around $0.025, valuing the 17 billion tokens distributed in today's Phase One airdrop at approximately $430 million. $354 million worth of these tokens, amounting to 14 billion, were earmarked for rewards specifically for Blast platform users.
Rapidly after the release, a selling frenzy ensued, reducing the token's price to near $0.02. Currently, the valuation of tokens allocated for today's airdrop to Blast users has decreased to $289 million.
The rapid sell-off may be attributed to the underwhelming initial price of BLAST, which fell short of the speculative buzz within the DeFi community. The Blast network is popular among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, and expectations were set high, likely due to the staggering amounts raised during the airdrop for Blast’s predecessor, Blur—an innovative, reward-based NFT marketplace.
While reactions on social media range from genuine disillusionment to provocatively humorous takes, the prevailing mood seems to be one of dissatisfaction, with the airdrop not meeting the lofty financial expectations of many traders.
Before the airdrop, speculations placed BLAST’s potential price between $0.03 to $0.10, a benchmark it has yet to achieve. The pre-market trading price a month ago was $4.40—an impressive figure that would have pegged the airdrop's value at $74.8 billion.
Yet, as some Blast network users pointed out on social media, receiving free tokens is still a gain, regardless of the amount. They highlighted the folly of harboring unrealistic expectations and celebrated any benefit received.
