Comparison: Discount Tickets vs Airdrops?
The main difference between Discount Tickets and Airdrops is that the Discount Ticket model incentivizes long-term supporters by preventing overfarming and reducing sell pressure while the airdrop model distributes the token free to everyone without considering whether the user’s benefits align with the protocol’s benefits or whether the “user” is sybil/mercenary capital.
Discount Tickets are similar to airdrops. If you provide liquidity to the protocol in any way, you will be receiving Discount Tickets like you earn points. These Discount Tickets will turn into Discount and Allocation based on your ranking in the leaderboard and your total contribution compared to the whole contribution of the participants.
The Discount Ticket model allows protocols to amass Protocol Owned Liquidity which can be used to boost the protocol and the token.
The Discount Ticket model can’t be overfarmed as it discourages the sybils and mercenary capital. This allows outstanding rewards for loyal contributors.
The Discount Ticket model has clear goals, reward allocation, and timeline compared to airdrops with no clarity.
Yes, it is not a regular airdrop. The ecosystem is full of protocols giving out airdrops to the community to reward early contributors to the protocol. Some of the examples are LayerZero, EigenLayer, Renzo, and Parcl. These examples have shown that the airdrop system is broken. A value (token) can’t be given for free, and if a protocol does so, it invites sybils and industrial farmers who are ready to dump all the tokens to the long-term holders and retail.
After an airdrop campaign ends, mercenary capital and sybils leave, liquidity drains and the protocol is left with nothing. This means that the token will lose its value eventually, and it is a lose-lose situation for everyone involved, especially for those who are loyal supporters of the protocol, unless you are a whale who luckily dumped all your bags into the retail.
TL;DR: Airdrops encourage sybils, mercenary capital, and users who don’t have long-term alignment, while the Discount Ticket system rewards loyal and long-term supporters by allowing them to invest in projects like VCs.
