The crypto community financing ecosystem is undergoing a major transformation

Recently, I reviewed my earnings records and realized a significant change: the once vibrant airdrop ecosystem, full of opportunities, has now entered a clear decline phase. This is not an isolated phenomenon but a turning point faced by the entire industry.

The Golden Age Is Fading Away

I still remember not long ago, new airdrop projects launched daily. At the peak, the number of daily airdrops could reach 2-3, including projects valued at over one hundred dollars. Back then, competition spots often numbered in the tens of thousands, with many participants but ample opportunities. The feeling of “gold everywhere” has long become a thing of the past for many community members.

Now, the situation is completely reversed. Airdrop frequency has dropped to one per day, or even new projects appear only every other day. More disappointing is that project teams seem to have reached a consensus—keeping airdrop values around $30, with occasional new coin airdrops only in the $50-$100 range. Compared to the previous starting point of over a hundred dollars, this is a steep decline.

The shrinking scale of competitions is even more shocking. A few days ago, a new contest had only 2,000 spots. Those familiar with this space know that competitions with fewer than ten thousand participants are already considered over-saturated. And a scale of 2,000 participants essentially makes participation and non-participation indistinguishable in essence.

Why Is There a “Bald Era”

On the surface, this appears to be a supply-side change—fewer airdrop projects and declining values. But the deeper reason lies in the saturation of the model itself.

Many project teams realize that through platforms like these, airdrops and contests can indeed achieve efficient cold starts, even landing on major international exchanges. But when everyone copies this model, participant numbers surge, competition intensifies, and the original benefits are inevitably diluted.

Lowering the barrier is another factor. Previously, arbitrage opportunities required certain skills or capital; now, basic buying, selling, and order-bumping abilities suffice. When the entry cost approaches zero, the influx of people tends toward infinity. Meanwhile, the total airdrop amount is fixed, and as the denominator grows infinitely, each individual’s share naturally diminishes to near zero.

Where Is the New Growth Momentum

Although traditional airdrop tracks are becoming saturated, they are not entirely unprofitable. As long as you don’t lose money, daily participation still makes sense—after all, no one knows when the next big opportunity will appear. But a smarter approach is to explore new directions.

Content creation tasks are becoming a new focus. Some platforms have upgraded their creator task systems, making participation rules more flexible. Compared to passive waiting for traditional airdrops, creation tasks offer proactive engagement. Posting a few pieces of content daily and ranking in the top hundred can yield substantial rewards. With no participation costs, there’s no risk of failure.

Case Study: The Choice of Privacy Advocates

Take Dusk Network as an example, a project worth paying attention to. Supported by the Dusk Foundation, Dusk Network has been focusing on privacy protection since 2018, building a Layer 1 blockchain platform. The core logic of the project is: achieving fully private transactions through zero-knowledge proof technology, while meeting institutional-level compliance requirements.

What’s more interesting are its application scenarios. In the wave of real-world asset tokenization (RWA), Dusk Network offers a unique solution—confidential smart contracts, real-time settlement, and automated compliance. This means institutions can find a balance between privacy protection and regulatory compliance, a long-standing challenge in traditional finance.

Its native token $DUSK is used for network governance and transaction fees. Recently, the project has partnered with major oracle providers to advance institutional asset onboarding and has already been listed on major international exchanges, demonstrating a strong growth trajectory.

Back to Reality: Adjust Expectations and Seek Certainty

The arrival of the “bald era” is essentially a market self-adjustment process. When benefits fade, what remains is genuine value discovery. Those still participating in traditional tracks should lower their profit expectations while increasing participation diversity.

New opportunities often hide in overlooked corners. Creation, construction, discovery—these approaches, which require more subjective effort than passive airdrops, may become the next trend. The key is to stay sensitive, keep exploring, until you find a growth curve with indefinite integrals—that is, sources of returns that seem irregular but trend upward over the long term.