LayerZero Fought the Sybils and Airdropped Its Token. Did the Team Win? - Ep. 664
Jun 21, 2024
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In this engaging conversation, Bryan Pellegrino, cofounder and CEO of LayerZero Labs, dives into the challenges of their ambitious anti-Sybil campaign during their recent airdrop. He discusses the creative strategies employed to combat fraudulent accounts, revealing over a million fake entries. Bryan shares insights on the self-reporting option for Sybil attackers and reflects on lessons learned, including the imposition of a mandatory donation to the Protocol Guild. He also tackles the future of airdrops and explores alternatives to improve user participation.
LayerZero used an anti-Sybil campaign in their airdrop to ensure authentic user participation.
Offering a self-report option for Sybil attackers revealed complex strategies within the crypto community.
The campaign uncovered over a million fraudulent accounts, posing a significant challenge for LayerZero.
Alternative methods like KYC and proof-of-humanity protocols could have been considered for the anti-Sybil campaign.
Imposing a mandatory donation to Protocol Guild for claiming the ZRO token was a strategic decision by LayerZero.
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LayerZero’s token claims went live on Thursday, and as with every recent airdrop, there was plenty of controversy.
In this episode, Bryan Pellegrino, cofounder and CEO of LayerZero Labs, joined to discuss their ambitious anti-Sybil campaign and the subsequent token distribution. He delved into the challenges of ensuring genuine user participation, the decision to offer a self-report option for Sybil attackers, and the complexities imposed by industrial-grade farmers. Bryan shared what he would have done differently and why a mandatory donation to Protocol Guild was imposed.
Also, are airdrops dead? How can the industry improve this not-so-effective distribution method?
Show highlights:
00:00 Intro
01:23 Why LayerZero launched an anti-Sybil campaign with its airdrop, and what challenges they faced in ensuring genuine user participation
04:51 Why LayerZero offered a self-report option for Sybil attackers, and how this strategy revealed both the complexities and the creativity within the crypto community
10:16 How the anti-Sybil campaign uncovered over a million fraudulent accounts
14:34 What Bryan would have done differently in their campaign
17:18 What alternative methods, such as KYC and proof-of-humanity protocols, LayerZero could have used for their anti-Sybil campaign
18:35How LayerZero navigated the cat-and-mouse game with industrial airdrop farmers
23:08 Why they decided to impose a donation to Protocol Guild to claim the ZRO token
32:07 What caused the dramatic drop in LayerZero's activity post-announcement of their anti-Sybil campaign, and why the team is optimistic despite the decline
35:23 LayerZero's plans for future airdrops
38:40 What Bryan thinks the future holds for airdrops in crypto, and how the current broken system can be improved to achieve better distribution and user engagement
42:43 Crypto News Recap
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