A new memecoin, DED, built on the Polkadot network, has recently made headlines due to significant changes to its airdrop strategy, resulting in community dissatisfaction. Giotto De Filippi, the developer, announced on March 24 that the initial airdrop allocation would be cut from 100% to 5%, aiming to extend the project’s financial resources. This announcement was made during the X Spaces event and has prompted a negative reaction from community members and investors.
Reduction of Airdrop Rewards Creates Tension
DED sought to ride the wave of memecoin enthusiasm within the Polkadot ecosystem, gaining traction on X on March 23. Initially, Polkadot holders were promised 36 DED tokens for each DOT in their possession. However, after the airdrop terms were revised, sentiment among participants turned bitter. On March 23, a cryptocurrency investor named Orlando voiced his disappointment on X, criticizing the project’s missteps and expressing hope for future remedy.
Despite the airdrop’s reduction, data from blockchain analytics platform Dune shows that over 1.3 million addresses have claimed more than 85% of the DED airdrop supply. In a departure from other memecoin launches, DED’s airdrop allocation is locked until the token is listed on exchanges to prevent immediate sell-offs.
Memecoins Attract Unwavering Interest
The DED token’s introduction comes at a time when memecoins are increasingly capturing the attention of individual investors. For instance, in the past week, the Book of Meme (BOME) token surged by over 1,100%, ranking it the 130th largest in terms of market value. BOME is among the latest memecoin ventures to raise funds through presales, a practice under scrutiny, amassing over $100 million in Solana within three days prior to March 18.
The phenomenon isn’t limited to Polkadot as other blockchain networks are also looking to exploit the memecoin mania. For example, the Avalanche Foundation recently announced a $1 million liquidity mining incentive for memecoins and community-owned tokens on the Avalanche platform, signaling widespread adoption of memecoin strategies across various blockchain ecosystems.