Layer-1 (L1) blockchain Monad has recently opened a portal for users to claim the airdrop for its native MON token, with the claiming period set to end on November 3. However, the announcement has sparked significant criticism within the crypto community.
Many users, particularly those on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), have voiced concerns that the criteria for eligibility have not aligned with the developments, leaving several traders, including those from Hyperliquid (HYPE), ineligible for the airdrop.
At the time of the announcement, it was stated that users of Hyperliquid, Phantom perps, and holders of HypurrNFT would be eligible to receive the MON airdrop.
Despite this, reports indicate that very few HypurrNFT holders qualify, with some users claiming that their substantial trading volumes — over 200 million on perps — did not meet the eligibility requirements.
These frustrations have led to comments such as, “this airdrop is a joke,” highlighting the disconnect between the expectations set by Monad and the reality faced by its community.
According to the outlined criteria, Monad plans to distribute tokens to over 235,500 users, including active community members who have consistently supported the project on social media and engaged in various initiatives.
The criteria also encompass traders with high trading volumes on decentralized exchanges like Hyperliquid, long-term holders of popular NFTs (such as CryptoPunks and Pudgy Penguins), participants in DAO voting on Ethereum-based platforms, contributors to ecosystem development through various roles, and developers actively creating products on Monad and participating in project hackathons.
Critics, including DeFi researcher Coin Metrika, have sharply criticized Monad’s airdrop strategy. Metrika pointed out that the published eligibility criteria shocked many within the crypto community, revealing that only 5,500 wallets are considered eligible — representing just 0.74% of Monad’s Discord users.
Meanwhile, the project is distributing airdrops to 225,000 addresses outside of its community, many of whom may not even be aware of Monad or the impending claim deadline. In a sarcastic commentary, Coin Metrika summarized the situation, stating:
If you haven’t figured it out yet, here’s a summary of #MonadAirdrop criteria: You have roles in Discord that are difficult to obtain — thank you, we’re not interested in you because you’re poor! You participated in our testnet — thank you for helping us test the product for free, which we sold to investors for a lot of money. Dressed up in clown costumes and shot viral videos to promote the @monad brand — thank you, we laughed out loud at you. You have money that you’ve shown on the blockchain — let’s be friends, here’s your airdrop!
This highlights the increasing dissatisfaction within the Hyperliquid, HypurrNFT and wider crypto communities regarding how Monad has handled its airdrop initiative, raising questions about its commitment to its users.
At the time of writing, HYPE trades at $39, recording losses of 13% over the past seven days.
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
