Forward the Original Title‘ Initia Airdrop Review: A Retail Comeback! With Precise Expectation Management, What Did Initia Do Right?’

Last year, I wrote an article “How to Manage Airdrop Expectations: The Right Way for Projects to Embrace the ‘Bigger Picture’” (link: (https://x.com/Ice_Frog666666/status/1843955200958271659…）

However, the reality ironically showed me another side of the industry - user expectations collapsed, trust in project parties went bankrupt, capital fell into a vicious cycle, and I was eventually forced onto the path of defending user rights.

Airdrops, once seen as a growth engine, deteriorated into mere “harvesting games”—until the arrival of Initia’s airdrop. Not only did it validate my original viewpoint, but it also proved that an airdrop without losers is indeed possible.

This airdrop of Initia shows the entire industry what a true ‘big picture’ is: building trust through transparency, managing expectations with reasonable rules, and transforming airdrops from simple marketing tools into fundamental infrastructure for project governance.

1. Initia Airdrop Strategy: No Manipulation, No Gimmicks — A Return to Fundamentals in User Engagement

In September last year, two co-founders of Initia gave an interview in which they shared their core philosophy: aligning closely with the community and creating sustainable, long-term value. They openly rejected short-termism. From the earlier analysis and the founders’ statements, it’s clear that Initia is truly practicing long-term thinking—across product design, tokenomics, and its airdrop strategy.

A closer look at Initia’s airdrop reveals no flashy or “genius” tactics. There was no manipulative “carrot-dangling” to PUA users, and most notably, the airdrop was executed with minimal reliance on KOLs. I call this a “down-to-earth market philosophy”—simple but remarkably effective. Just three things: fairness, integrity, and transparency. Nothing more.

1. Transparency: Clear Rules, Transparent Progress

From the very first testnet task, Initia made its incentive structure clear. Once that phase ended, the team didn’t stall or play coy—they explicitly communicated that there would be no further rewards for that stage.

In addition, anti-sybil mechanisms were activated during the testnet phase itself, not retroactively. This proactive stance removed doubts about insider advantages. Unlike some other projects that quietly allow bots to inflate numbers early on, only to later change the rules when it’s too late—Initia set expectations early and stuck to them.

It’s like walking into a farmer’s market where all the prices are clearly marked—you know what you’re getting, and the choice is yours. No bait-and-switch, no hidden agendas.

2. Fairness: Inclusive airdrop with Dynamic Adjustment

Another standout feature of Initia’s airdrop is its departure from traditional models centered around KOLs and whales. Instead, Initia designed an inclusive token distribution framework that reflects a truly high-level vision.

Zero Barriers to Entry: Most users could receive over 400 tokens simply by completing two Twitter posts, effectively extending participation to real, everyday users.

Long-Tail Incentive Design: The airdrop covered 4,000 users through the YAP points system—far beyond the typical “top 100” model—ensuring that small and mid-level participants were rewarded proportionally to their contributions.

Dynamic Adjustment Mechanism: By excluding around 1 million low-engagement accounts, more tokens were allocated to deeply involved users, creating a strong positive feedback loop: the more engaged you were, the greater your rewards.

Throughout the process, whether you were a KOL or a regular user, the focus was on fairness and transparent rules—not influencer-driven hype.

3. Integrity: Keeping Promises, No Manipulation

Initia consistently demonstrated integrity in both communication and execution. There were no vague or misleading promises. For instance, when the founders tweeted that the TGE would launch by the end of the month, it indeed launched on schedule.

Moreover, the testnet and mainnet development proceeded in close alignment, with a clear roadmap: after reaching 70% completion, the remaining progress was transparently scheduled over three months. The same clarity was reflected in the airdrop phase as well—deadlines, announcements on Twitter and Discord, and execution all matched perfectly. Commitments were made—and kept.

2. Initia Let Users Experience What True Long-Termism Feels Like

Based on the three principles outlined earlier, it’s no surprise that community members began voluntarily supporting the project. Initia allowed users to genuinely feel long-term commitment—rather than being caught in short-term speculative games. This gradual buildup of trust transformed users from passive “airdrop hunters” into active participants in the ecosystem. Many even began to promote and defend the project on their own. When the rules are clear, interests are aligned, and value is co-created, community loyalty and stickiness arise naturally.

Initia has proven that in a decentralized world, the core strength doesn’t come from KOLs—it comes from the silent majority. Traditional airdrops tend to focus on influencers and whales, leaving average users as mere bystanders. Initia, on the other hand, built a strategy centered on inclusiveness, quantifiable contribution, and transparent fulfillment—ensuring every real user receives rewards that match their efforts.

From a business perspective, Initia’s success isn’t built on flashy gimmicks or complex tricks. It’s rooted in fundamental business ethics: long-termism doesn’t require extravagant design—it simply requires delivering on basic promises, fully and consistently. That’s all.

This approach is reflected in century-old family businesses and humble vendors in physical marketplaces: simple, consistent actions that gradually earn lasting trust.

3. Looking Ahead: What Kind of Airdrop Does the Industry Really Need?

Is there still a place for airdrops in this industry? I believe Initia has already provided the answer. If the team continues to operate with this level of sincerity and sustains its pace of technological development, the vitality and potential of the project may exceed all expectations.

Airdrops in this space have been increasingly misused—many projects indulge in grand narratives while falling short in actual airdrop execution. Initia has shown that if you can simply and honestly “make a good bowl of noodles,” that sincerity is far more valuable than a fictional lavish feast. It’s a humble philosophy of user engagement, but perhaps it is also the key to a breakthrough.

Airdrops are not meant to be a zero-sum game, nor should they be used as extraction tools. They ought to serve as foundational infrastructure for trust within the industry. In today’s environment, a good airdrop should be: transparent (rules can be verified), contribution can be quantified (fairness), income can be accumulated (long-termism), value can be diffused (ecosystem alignment), and promises can be fulfilled (integrity).

A deeper question arises: do project teams and capital view users as mere traffic, or as valuable assets? If users are treated only as traffic, and not as long-term assets to be nurtured, then this cycle of opposition, distortion, and even user activism will persist.

The crypto space is still in its cold-start phase, and airdrops remain a necessary market tool. But if users are only seen as short-term arbitrageurs, the industry will fall into a vicious cycle: short-term gains for users → project-side extraction → collapse of market trust. What the industry truly needs isn’t just a revolution in the mechanics of airdrops—it needs project teams and capital to share the same understanding of rules, transparency, and community alignment.

Perhaps it’s time to say it outright: the airdrop system is due for a supply-side reform.

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