I was ecstatic about those massive airdrops lately, just like many of you. I mean, who doesn't love free money? But something feels different now. The excitement seems to have faded, replaced with a sense of unease. Have we entered a new era in crypto?

After a string of high-profile airdrop failures, I can't help but wonder if the days of easy gains are behind us. Talking to friends in the community, everyone seems to feel the same way. It's like the whole thing has become a bit of a lose-lose situation.

I remember when Uniswap's massive $6.4 billion airdrop happened in 2020. It felt like a game-changer, a signal that crypto was truly different. But that gold rush mentality brought about some serious problems.

Insiders and VC firms, with their insider knowledge, seemed to reap the most benefits, leaving regular users like me with scraps. And then the professional farmers came along, creating countless fake wallets to milk the system. In the Ethereum ecosystem, most airdrops are linear, like EigenLayer, so if you're not a whale, you'll receive a tiny amount.

It's gotten to the point where I feel disillusioned. Many recent airdrops have flopped, leaving everyone involved unhappy. I've seen the outrage online, with legitimate users feeling cheated and projects taking a beating. On Solana, the last big airdrop was probably Jupiter Exchange, but Sanctum, after which many people ran, was more than disappointing.

I'm not saying all airdrops are doomed. The Jupiter airdrop earlier this year showed it's still possible to do them right. But it's clear that things need to change.

Maybe we need to adjust our expectations. We can't chase every airdrop expecting a life-changing amount of money. And maybe we should focus on smaller, lesser-known projects where there's less competition and a higher chance of meaningful rewards.

I'm still hopeful about the future of crypto. But I think we need to be more realistic about airdrops. The free money days might be over, but that doesn't mean there aren't still opportunities out there. We just need to adapt and evolve along with the crypto world.