The recent airdrop of the new memecoin called DOT is $DED (DED) has faced criticism from the community due to a reduction in the initial allocation. Originally, the plan was to distribute 100% of the token supply, but the developers decided to reduce it to only 5% in order to secure more funding for the project. Giotto De Filippi, one of the developers behind the memecoin, explained that distributing the entire supply would deplete their resources, so it made more sense to distribute less and use the remaining tokens for financing.
The creation of DED gained attention on X after members of the Polkadot community launched it to take advantage of the memecoin craze and bring more visibility to the Polkadot ecosystem. Investors who held Polkadot (DOT) were eligible to receive 36 DED tokens for every 1 DOT they held. Retail sentiment turned negative when the team decided to reduce the initial airdrop, disappointing many investors.
One crypto investor named Orlando expressed his disappointment on X, stating that he hoped the team would find ways to compensate holders for these mistakes in the long run. Despite the criticism, over 85% of the DED airdrop supply has already been claimed by more than 1.3 million eligible addresses, according to data from Dune. Unlike other memecoins, the airdropped supply of DED is locked until it is listed on exchanges to prevent excessive selling pressure.
The launch of DED comes at a time when retail interest in memecoins is on the rise. Last week, a memecoin called Book of Meme (BOME) experienced a significant price surge of over 1,100% on the weekly chart, briefly becoming one of the top 130 tokens by market capitalization. BOME is part of a new wave of memecoins that raised funds through controversial presale models. These presales for Solana-based memecoins raised over $100 million worth of SOL in just three days leading up to March 18. Other blockchain networks, like Avalanche, are also looking to capitalize on the memecoin frenzy by introducing programs and incentives for memecoins and community-owned tokens. Recently, Avalanche Foundation announced a $1 million liquidity mining incentive program for Avalanche-native memecoins.
The airdrop of the Polkadot-based memecoin DED has faced backlash due to a reduction in the initial allocation. The team decided to distribute only 5% of the token supply instead of the originally planned 100% to ensure they have enough resources to fund the project. This decision disappointed retail investors, but a majority of the airdrop supply has already been claimed. The launch of DED coincides with increased interest in memecoins, as seen with the success of BOME and the presale models used to raise funds for new memecoins. Other blockchain networks, like Avalanche, are also joining the trend by introducing programs to support memecoins.
Love that the airdropped supply of DED is locked until listed on exchanges. It shows the team’s commitment to preventing excessive selling pressure.
I hope the DED team knows that their reputation has taken a massive hit because of this decision.
I was excited about the airdrop, but now I feel cheated. Thanks a lot, DED. Not impressed at all.
The launch of DED couldn’t have come at a better time. There’s definitely an increasing interest in memecoins, and DED is riding that wave.