What is Linkdrop?
While working on Volcà’s onboarding solution, we have realized that the word ‘Airdrop’ doesn’t fully describe our solution. Since Volcà service uses links for token distribution, we have considered to create a new term — ‘Linkdrop’. This article describes what Linkdrop is, why is it different from Airdrop and what benefits it can bring to both community and non-crypto users.
Definiton
Linkdrop is an Airdrop, where instead of sending tokens directly to Ethereum addresses, a deployer generates a list of claim links. The links are distributed among the users by the deployer in any convenient way (e.g. via chat messenger, emails or own app).
Why Do We Prefer Not to Use Term ‘Airdrop’
Since our service is focused on the onboarding of non-crypto users, we assume that ordinary people may not be familiar with the ‘crypto’ meaning of the term. In general it is associated with Apple’s AirDrop feature.
Another reason is that originally the term is referred to troops or supply delivery by a plane. In this case it may cause a misunderstanding or even a negative association.
Pros and Cons
Pros: For deployers it eliminates the need to spam random Ethereum addresses, which is also good for Ethereum network itself. Since a receiver doesn’t need to have a wallet in advance to open a link, it allows projects canto send their tokens to people non-familiar towith crypto, which makes the target auditory wider. Moreover, the fee is taken only in case the tokens were claimed and the whole campaign can be cancelled at any time.
For users linkdrops can ease the onboarding process, making the first acquaintance with crypto smooth and painless. Receivers decide for themselves whether to claim tokens or not, so they can have only the particular coins on their wallets. In addition, the referral program grants instant payouts to the users thanks to Volca’s Smart Contract.
Cons: The solution imposes assumption that links are distributed via secure channel.
The fee is taken for every created link what can increase the budget required for the deployment. However, it is charged only in case a link was claimed.
Non-batchable: tokens are not distributed within one transaction, an additional action is required for that.
Use Cases
Considering all the pros and cons, it is clear that Linkdrops are not going to completely replace the existing Airdrop solutions but can be beneficial in particular cases, such as:
- Onboarding non-crypto users to Web3 apps
- Games and NFT projects
- Community bootstraping
- Referral programs
- Conferences and events
- Charity and non-profit organizations
Technical Details
If you are interested how Linkdrop works under the hood, you can read the technical overview in this article:
Share your thought — all and any feedback is welcome at hi@volca.tech
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