The long-awaited token airdrop of the interoperability protocol LayerZero is now open for withdrawal today. However, just 10 minutes before the token distribution, the LayerZero team suddenly announced a new claiming mechanism called “Proof-of-Donation” and planned to donate approximately $18.5 million to the Ethereum developer funding protocol ProtocolGuild through this mechanism.
Specifically, when users claim ZRO tokens, they must also donate $0.1 of USDC, USDT, or ETH for each ZRO token, with these donations going directly to ProtocolGuild.
This mechanism by LayerZero has sparked strong discontent within the community, with many viewing this forced donation as a form of taxation.
In response, Bryan Pellegrino, Co-founder and CEO of LayerZero Labs, stated on X that users are not obligated to donate. If they do not wish to donate, they can choose not to claim the ZRO tokens, as “it was a gift, not something that belongs to you.”
Due to the overwhelming negative feedback, Bryan Pellegrino later posted a detailed tweet on X explaining the Proof of Donation mechanism and its rationale.
Bryan Pellegrino mentioned that the trend of airdrops has completely failed, as when she personally received an airdrop from Uniswap, it was unexpected, and she only used the protocol because it was useful. She did not go back to use Uniswap a thousand times afterward just to receive more airdrops.
Furthermore, Bryan Pellegrino pointed out that LayerZero initially had no plans for an airdrop, but due to the market’s strong expectations, with many users crazily interacting to receive the airdrop, the team was forced to conduct the airdrop in the first half of 2024. However, the trend of token airdrops has completely changed, as those who participate solely to gain more are unlikely to be long-term stable users, and the tokens allocated to active users will ultimately flow to those with financial interests.
