Dotcoin vs. Hamster Kombat: Lessons in transparency and engagement for the next era of Airdrops

How Dotcoin is setting a new standard for Airdrops

In 2024, Hamster Kombat grabbed headlines with what was touted as the "largest airdrop in history." Despite its scale, many players felt let down by the results: sudden changes to terms, anti-cheat glitches, technical issues with Ebi.xyz, and, ultimately, underwhelming rewards.

The Dotcoin team has been following these developments closely and is committed to avoiding similar missteps. With a focus on transparency, long-term value, and a well-balanced tokenomics model, Dotcoin is determined to deliver a sustainable, rewarding experience that truly prioritizes its players.

Key differences that set Dotcoin apart:

• A tokenomics model that balances users' reward shares with a focus on long-term project growth.
• Conditions ensuring real utility for the $DTC token, even prior to any airdrop or listing events.
• A commitment to transparency regarding project information and stability in airdrop terms.
• Reliable technical solutions to ensure a smooth airdrop process.
• Enhanced anti-cheat measures, along with additional testing to prevent honest users from missing out on the airdrop.
• A recognition that an airdrop is just one of many community reward methods, with further initiatives to create long-term value and utility for the $DTC token.

The rise of T2E on Telegram: trend of 2024

Telegram's expansion into mini-app functionality has unlocked access to an astonishing 950 million active users, with 500 million engaging with mini-apps each month. This immense engagement potential has propelled the viral spread of Web3 mini-apps, which offer generous token rewards to users who participate in various projects:

• Notcoin: The Notcoin mini-app has surpassed 35 million users, with 11.5 million successfully claiming the token airdrop.
• DOGS: The Dogs mini-app has attracted over 53 million users, with 42.2 million qualifying for the token airdrop.
• Catizen: The Catizen P2E game now boasts more than 35.8 million users, with 15.2 million eligible for the token airdrop.
• Hamster Kombat: The Hamster Kombat T2E app has reached an impressive 300 million users, with 131 million eligible for the token airdrop.

Hamster Kombat: a phenomenon capturing millions

When it comes to T2E, Telegram, and airdrops, Hamster Kombat is the project that immediately comes to mind — a unique phenomenon of 2024 that has introduced tens of millions of Web2 users to the world of Web3.

Hamster Kombat statistics

Launched in March 2024, Hamster Kombat has already set remarkable records:

• Attracted 300 million players across 190 countries.
• Created the largest Telegram channel, boasting 55 million subscribers.
• Became the fastest YouTube channel to reach 10 million subscribers, achieving this milestone in just 5 days.
• Maintained an impressive monthly active user base of 92.3 million.

Despite its initial viral success and popularity, Hamster Kombat eventually faced widespread user dissatisfaction following the airdrop. What are the reasons behind this shift, and how can similar issues be avoided in the future?

Unpacking the Hamster Kombat airdrop controversy

The highly anticipated Hamster Kombat airdrop, touted as one of the largest in Web3 history, attracted millions of users and significant media attention. Yet, despite the hype, a combination of opaque conditions, technical issues, and unexpected tokenomics led to widespread user dissatisfaction. In this analysis, we’ll dive into the main pain points voiced by players, including last-minute rule changes, perceived unjust bans, technical difficulties, and underwhelming rewards. By understanding these challenges, other projects can glean insights into designing more transparent, rewarding, and resilient token distribution events in the future.

User dissatisfaction: main reasons

Opaque participation conditions

On June 6, Hamster Kombat announced that Points Per Hour (PPH) would be the primary criterion for airdrop eligibility. However, in July, the company proposed adjusting this criterion to prioritize “key” collection. Furthermore, users cannot claim all their tokens immediately. When Hamster Kombat revealed the token distribution plan, it confirmed that only 88.75% of the allocation could be claimed initially, with the remaining 11.25% unlocking ten months later, in July 2025.

These new distribution conditions were announced less than four days before the airdrop date (on September 22, 2024), resulting in considerable dissatisfaction among players regarding their allocations.

Unjustified bans

Of the over 300 million users who played the game, only 131 million made the initial cut, with an additional 2.3 million banned for alleged cheating. Shortly before the airdrop, Hamster introduced a user verification system, claiming these bans targeted players who had reportedly attempted to cheat by using multiple devices, multiple accounts, or engaging in referral abuse.

However, users expressed frustration on social media, with many claiming they were banned without engaging in any fraudulent behavior. The criteria for what constituted cheating were, in some cases, questionable. One particularly contentious criterion involved the purchasing of keys. Players were expected to obtain keys by completing mini-games, but some opted to buy keys instead, unaware that this would be flagged as cheating. As a result, many were banned solely for purchasing keys, sparking significant backlash.

Media influencers highlighted that even players who collected a modest number of keys — between 100 and 200 — were disqualified. One user lamented on September 21, 2024: I played the game for 4 months, collected more than 200 keys by playing your damn games. 8.36 m hourly earnings, I set up an alarm and followed the rising times of the cards. Now you're telling me I don't deserve it. Hamster is a cheater.

Technical difficulties (platform selection)

While the airdrop concluded successfully and users received their tokens, Hamster Kombat faced technical issues throughout the airdrop preparation. The initial listing date was delayed due to technical overload, as the Hamster Kombat team aimed to ensure a smoother airdrop experience.

Originally scheduled for the end of July, the launch of Hamster Kombat’s native $HMSTR token on the TON blockchain was postponed just two days before the end of the month, with the team citing ongoing preparations for a large-scale airdrop. “The team is actively working on making the airdrop happen, and they will share the exact date as soon as they can,” reported Coinspeaker on July 30, 2024.

Once the date was finalized, users had two options for claiming the airdrop. While The Open Network (TON) successfully managed the HMSTR airdrop without issues, Ebi — a decentralized exchange supporting “off-chain airdrop deposits” — was not as fortunate. Due to the overwhelming demand, Ebi.xyz experienced challenges processing transactions linked to the Hamster Kombat claims. As a result, the team has made the decision to postpone the airdrop launch by a few hours. To compensate, Ebi promised affected users 50,000 EBI points each.

Airdrop size

Many users were disappointed with their airdrop allocations, referring to them as “dust” — a cryptocurrency term for trivial amounts left over from transactions. Numerous social media users reported receiving tokens worth only $5 to $15, with some finding that their airdrop allocation didn’t even cover withdrawal fees.

“I’ve been playing Hamster Kombat for 3 months straight, hoping to finally get a decent reward,” Ritesh Kalvellu, a Hamster Kombat player, told The Defiant. “But all I got was $9 worth of HMSTR tokens. It’s really disappointing. I put in so much time and effort, and all we get is dust?”

“You gave me dust after 4 months,” Geoffrey Nwankpa tweeted. “I am killing hamsters, rats, rabbits, or anything that looks like a hamster. It’s hunting season.”

Analyzing HMSTR failure

Widespread dissatisfaction is a common occurrence in cryptocurrency and Web3 projects. It often reveals a gap between user expectations and reality, but it should not be seen as a definitive indicator of a project's failure or incompetence. Let’s set emotions aside and pragmatically analyze this phenomenon by focusing on the objective factors that may have negatively impacted the project.

The purpose of the airdrop

Rewarding the community is a commendable initiative, but it must be balanced with the short- and long-term welfare of all project participants. Hamster Kombat’s initial appeal centered around the claim of hosting “the largest airdrop in Web3 and crypto history.” 

Starting with such a prominent positioning, the project was able to attract the attention of millions of users and, together with them, many partnerships and advertising contracts. The monetization of attention was colossal, which allowed Hamster Kombat to prepare significant monetary resources and use part of them to maintain the airdrop. That's why the key product components, especially the tokenomics, got this look.

However, despite subsequent interviews and publications indicating the team’s intention to evolve Hamster Kombat into a full-fledged gaming ecosystem, the airdrop narrative took on a life of its own among users. While airdrops are excellent for generating initial exposure and awareness, if a project intends to undergo significant evolution, careful attention must be given to the delivery method and long-term goals that foster sustained value for dedicated users..

Short-term tokenomics

As previously noted, Hamster Kombat users had high expectations regarding the airdrop. To meet these expectations, the team adopted a unique approach by emphasizing short-term tokenomics, sourcing funding for future development from “non-token revenue streams” in the publishing business.

Most crypto projects have an obvious incentive mismatch. Most of their capital is in their own token, which they have to sell to pay their salaries and expenses, such as marketing. 

Our goal is to create and leverage additional revenue streams to lower the selling pressure, which gives us flexibility and the ability to grow in a sustainable way. 

Whitepaper rev. 0.3, 12.09.24

This approach led to the following tokenomics structure:

• Total token supply: 100,000,000,000 $HMSTR.
• 60% of the airdrop volume allocated to players.
• The rest was reserved for market liquidity, ecosystem partnerships, grants, rewarding squads, and other initiatives.
• Without backing from investment firms or VCs, there was no added selling pressure; the token’s value would be driven entirely by demand, supply, and community interest. 

Had all eligible users claimed their airdrop rewards, approximately 53% of the total $HMSTR supply would have ended up in the hands of users by the time of listing. This significant portion of tokens was free of any direct (lockup, vesting) or indirect (utility) restrictions, creating substantial pressure on all ecosystem participants from day one:

• The Project team: To meet public expectations, they could not devise more flexible and manageable tokenomics for the long-term growth and stability of $HMSTR.
• Short-term users (airdrop hunters): The significant hype surrounding the airdrop led to a surge in claimants, diluting individual reward sizes. Without restrictions, airdrop hunters quickly sold off tokens, causing a sharp price drop — only a few managed to sell at the listing price.

$HMSTR price after the listing (CoinGecko)

• Long-term users: Those who believed in the project faced a rapid token price decline (~31.2% on the first trading day), diminishing community interest due to airdrop hunters, and limited utility for the $HMSTR token both within and beyond the ecosystem.

In its attempt to grant the community maximum freedom and prioritize immediate project needs, Hamster Kombat and its users encountered a downward trend in the $HMSTR price and a lack of flexible tokenomics to support the project during the listing and early post-listing phases.

Negative news surrounding the project

The reputation of a project can shift dramatically in response to emerging news and controversies. The head of marketing for Hamster Kombat, Nikita Anuriev, who is also a YouTube blogger, departed from the project on August 24. He had been promised a 25% share of profits in exchange for promoting Hamster Kombat and securing early investments, but these promises went unfulfilled.

Anuriev’s exit was anything but quiet. He publicly voiced concerns about the escalating tensions within and around Hamster Kombat, suggesting that he might need to reveal more details if the situation does not improve, particularly to protect users, influencers, and investors from making decisions based on incomplete or misleading information.

In a related development, Alex, the Telegram admin for another crypto project, Simple (SMPL), has made serious allegations regarding Hamster Kombat. He claimed that the $HMSTR token listing could be canceled, asserting that internal conflicts have “derailed” the viral game and labeling the project as “a scam involving broken promises, leadership deceit, and stolen investments.” Alex further stated that Hamster Kombat’s founder, Eduard Gurinovich, failed to deliver the promised 18.6% profit share to players.

While these allegations cannot be fully confirmed or denied, it is possible that these individuals have their own motivations for spreading negative publicity (for example, a CryptoWorld YouTube video suggested that Alex might be leveraging Hamster Kombat’s popularity to promote his own project, SMPL). Nevertheless, the online negativity has captured public attention, leaving a detrimental impression and temporarily damaging the project’s reputation, which deterred some potential users.

Lack of utility at listing

Token utility could have been a powerful tool to retain users within the Hamster Kombat ecosystem. However, at the time of listing, the project failed to provide users with a clear way to utilize the tokens they received.

• First, there were no long-term token usage mechanisms to increase holdings, such as staking or liquidity provision. The only limited options available involved marketing events with external partners (welcome deposit bonus on exchanges, earning $HMSTR for locking up $BNB on Binance Launchpad or short-term staking in wallets.)

Currently, there does not appear to be any ways to stake HMSTR within the game after launch, which would let users lock up their tokens for a small percentage gain.  Decrypt, 26.09.24

• Second, users had no alternative projects within the Hamster Kombat ecosystem where $HMSTR tokens could be utilized. This left users with only one viable option to monetize their time and activity: quickly selling the airdropped $HMSTR tokens.

High FDV at launch

Before listing, the project team sets the initial token price for purchase or sale on the exchange. While the token price alone doesn't tell the whole story, it provides a foundation for analyzing other project metrics.

One key metric is the Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV), which represents the total value of all issued tokens at the current price.

FDV = Current Token Supply * Total Supply

High FDV has been a common characteristic of recent token listings for T2E projects in 2024.

Change in the FDV of T2E project tokens, based on Coingecko data.

FDV can serve as a valuable metric for investors assessing a project’s valuation and potential, as well as facilitating comparisons with other projects. A high starting FDV — typically close to $1 billion or more — often indicates that a project has secured significant funding from early investors in exchange for equity. However, this strategy can restrict the token’s potential for price growth, as the project already carries a high valuation, and it may create selling pressure when initial investors decide to exit.

Once a token is listed, its value is primarily influenced by market conditions, supply, and demand. If users align with the project’s valuation, the token price may stabilize or even rise.

High FDV is common among major infrastructure projects like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, where users appreciate the scope of the solutions offered and their future potential.

In contrast, for T2E projects, creators might assign a high FDV similar to that of infrastructure projects. However, users may harbor less optimism if there is a limited range of use cases for the tokens. Consequently, T2E token prices and FDV often decline over time.

It’s important to note that FDV is not the sole metric to consider when evaluating a project. A project’s success depends on a combination of various factors.

Summary

Future airdrop campaigns in 2024, majority of which is led by Hamster Kombat and its record-setting yet controversial airdrop distribution, as well as the Web3 ecosystem, will be analyzed for their lessons. Despite reaching engagement marks and attracting 300 million users, Hamster Kombat received criticism for unclear participation rules, technical glitches, unnecessary bans, and small rewards. These uncovered issues stress the need for matching user expectations with real-time operation.

On the flip side, Dotcoin is the good example of a transparent and sustainable case. Dotcoin, through the introduction of great anti-cheating mechanisms, excellent communication, and subtle balancing of the tokenomics, sets the standard of airdrop delivery.

Key takeaways for future airdrops include the need for:

• Transparent and stable terms to foster trust.
• Technical preparedness to ensure smooth execution.
• Long-term utility for tokens to retain user engagement.
• Thoughtful tokenomics to mitigate price volatility and reward dedicated users.

These lessons emphasize that airdrops, beyond their marketing potential, must serve as strategic tools for building loyal and sustainable communities in the evolving Web3 space.