Judging by the reaction to today’s FRIEND airdrop, SocialFi platform friend.tech has made more enemies than friends. The FRIEND claims process turned into a chaotic scramble, as technical difficulties forced users to resort to workarounds to offload their tokens. The 100% community airdrop, devoid of market makers, led to a frantic rush to sell, exacerbating the volatility. With only 10% of each user’s allocation available for immediate claim, the process was further complicated by the need to join a ‘Money Club’ and follow other users on friend.tech’s new version. Despite its promising start last summer, the platform’s new user interfaces faltered under pressure, casting doubt on its readiness.
Technical Difficulties and User Frustrations
Researcher 0xCygaar noted that the surge in traffic had overloaded friend.tech’s backend, with apparently no scaling measures in place. The proofs used to check user eligibility were also reportedly malfunctioning, leading some users to share instructions for manually claiming from the contract via the Base block explorer, BaseScan.
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Wanna claim your entire @friendtech drop? Follow these steps.
1) Go to the `claim-friend` subpage for FT.
2) Go to developer tools.
3) Go to Network tab.
4) Start recording.
5) Refresh Page.
6) Filter for "authorization".
— IOE (@CT_IOE) May 3, 2024
Once the claims process was improved, the rate of dumping picked up. Larger holders were seen dumping their allocations, including Crypto Twitter influencers such as Hsaka and CL.
Mixed Messaging and Community Backlash
The X (formerly Twitter) account of friend.tech had taken an unconventional approach when teasing the airdrop, with trolling and memes preferred over detailed instructions. Airdrop announcements are often subject to scam replies, impersonating the original account and phishing for gullible victims.
The Block’s Tim Copeland apologized for the re-publication of one such instance related to friend.tech’s trolling. He suggests using a plugin from DeFiLlama which makes it easier to identify which tweets in a thread are genuine replies.
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I want to apologize for the article that went out last night that was based on a false tweet that linked to a phishing attack.
I accept the fault for not having provided sufficient training to the team that would have avoided this. I also should have encouraged the use of the…
— Tim Copeland (@Timccopeland) May 3, 2024
Airdrop Farmers and Spoofed Metrics
As with all hotly-anticipated airdrops, industrial-scale ‘farming’ had taken place in the run-up. One screenshot shared by an X user provided a window into the scale of the farming via bought followers and falsified engagement.
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there's airdrop farming and then there's airdrop farming
no wonder every f'ing protocol hates us lol pic.twitter.com/OFiimIAXOD
— Zeneca (@Zeneca) May 2, 2024
Airdrop farming is seen as controversial, with some characterizing those who complain as ‘e-beggars’ who are unhappy with the way they’re given free money. However, it’s also argued that these users leave their capital at risk in a new protocol and should be rewarded in kind. Spoofed metrics are not representative of true adoption, but with many projects more concerned about boasting high user numbers, trading volume, and transaction activity while looking for VC investment, perhaps they’re willing to turn a blind eye.
Market Reaction and Token Performance
At the time of writing, FRIEND is trading at around $1.12, according to data from CoinMarketCap. DEX Screener data shows the token briefly spiking to a high of $169 shortly after launch. FRIEND isn’t the only airdrop whose recipients ended up unhappy this week. Tuesday’s EigenLayer drop faced criticism (and a spike in withdrawals) based on delayed transferability, initial unlock periods, and geo-fencing. In response, the Eigen Foundation has adjusted the allocation to its ‘passionate users,’ by rewarding an additional 100 EIGEN to close to 300,000 users.
Conclusion
The FRIEND token launch on friend.tech has highlighted several critical issues within the SocialFi platform, from technical difficulties and poor communication to the controversial practice of airdrop farming. As the platform continues to evolve, it will need to address these challenges to regain user trust and stabilize its ecosystem. The volatile nature of the FRIEND token’s market performance underscores the importance of robust infrastructure and clear communication in the rapidly growing world of decentralized finance and social platforms.
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Source: The Bit Times
