MANTA Airdrop Leaves DeFi Community Disappointed

Reported by The Defiant, Manta Network, Ethereum’s third largest Layer 2 with $885M in total value locked, launched its native MANTA toke. Manta allocated 30M tokens – 3% of the total supply – toward an airdrop for early users of the network. Most DeFi users are disappointed by the airdrop, however.

“Manta New Paradigm is the most disappointing airdrop of the year,” JayXBT, a crypto content creator, posted on X. “I deposited 1 ETH, and my team deposited 2.5 ETH total [and] all I get is 26 $MANTA currently valued at $65.”

The 30M tokens airdropped today were based on a points system built around tasks users completed on Manta’s Layer 2, known as Manta Pacific. Points systems, popularized by NFT marketplace Blur, have changed the airdrop game in that criteria for eligibility have become more predictable.

for a particular airdrop. Now certain behaviors, like bridging, using DeFi protocols, or owning certain NFTs, are awarded points, which typically lead to a corresponding amount of tokens later.

How the points will translate into tokens usually remains unknown until an airdrop goes live, sometimes resulting in the sort of disappointment voiced by members of the crypto community today.