Thread by @OlimpioCrypto

My opinion on testnets

Lately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to filter out and follow airdrop alpha

From what I gather, I classify airdrops into three categories

1. retroactive, non-expected airdrops (usually DeFi, Ethereum protocols). Example: $DYDX, $RBN, $1INCH. The best, IMO

2. announced airdrops. these could be a bit scammy, and I usually do not cover them. especially if they require RTs/sharing/inviting friends, a waste of time.

Testnets (blockchains, like $CANTO, or protocols, like $SHELL) have been falling into this "2. announced airdrops" category. they declare it beforehand.

Most of my time working on what information to share is filtering out the garbage, this is very time-consuming

I filter most testnets out. $CANTO, for example:

it was very easy to get in, you just had to tweet (2-day window) and follow a few testnet steps

They ended up airdropping 2% of supply to 9K+ addresses that followed the tasks

canto.mirror.xyz/6UtxzGXsyCt6on…

https://twitter.com/gabrielhaines/status/1548094733221670915

This "testnet" airdrop category is especially common with new blockchains and products, like zkSync and Starknet. I haven't been sharing info on these lately either, since the airdrop success rate is low imo

But $CANTO was basically free tokens

3. liquidity mining disguised as airdrops

If we are being 100% strict, airdrops to LPs are no more than a liquidity mining campaign. The difference is that you don't know the APR beforehand and you speculate that it'll be higher than what's available in the market (and good r/r)

For example, for $HOP, you got an airdrop allocation if you were a LP, and another airdrop allocation if you bridged funds

I think this is perfectly fine if the token wasn't launched (like hop's case)

But there are other protocols that already have a token and the token is tradable, but they advertise an "airdrop" for people that LP

In reality, they are just distributing funds as a liquidity mining campaign

This is the 3rd category, and I don't consider these to be airdrops

Now, we can't say that testnets haven't been successful, so ignoring them altogether is no longer the best choice

I'd rather just use DeFi protocols normally- this usually has been the best strategy in my case. I got $PSP in a few wallets that were doing just normal trading ops

Another thing to consider is that testnet airdrops are different, since they do not require funds in most cases - so no funds for LP, no funds for gas, and no funds for trades required...

That's about it. All things considered,

Would you like to see more testnet info?

⚡️

Update on the $SHELL example

https://twitter.com/ShellProtocol/status/1564062006612619264

Come to Lens 🌿: lenster.xyz/posts/0x632d-0…