Forwarded the Original Title: Panoramic interpretation of the second phase of Aptos airdrop: ecological expansion and potential opportunities

Preface

Two years have passed since Aptos’ initial airdrop. During that first round, simply minting an NFT on the test network could net you thousands of dollars in rewards. As Aptos ecosystem becomes more and more robust, with developments occurring more frequently, a second phase of airdrops seems imminent. This article will analyze the possibility, timing and participation strategy for Aptos’ second airdrop from multiple angels.

1. Aptos Airdrop Overview

• Aptos’ first airdrop size: 23,454,750 APT (accounting for 3%)
• Community token pool: 510M APT (accounting for 51%); Used community tokens: approximately 130M APT; Remaining available tokens: approximately 380M APT
• Current token price: $9.6
• Current market capitalization: US$5 billion
• The project team prioritizes community involvement, as evidenced by the high 51% allocation for airdrops. The first phase distributed only 3% as an initial offering.
• With a substantial number of tokens still awaiting distribution, this generous airdrop ratio heightens expectations for the second round.

2. Analysis of the Possibility of the Second Airdrop

• Ample token reserves

Aptos Foundation and Aptos Labs still have approximately 380M APT tokens to be released, which will be unlocked linearly on a monthly basis. Sufficient token reserves provide the basic conditions for the second phase of airdrops. It is worth noting that these tokens will be gradually unlocked within 10 years, indicating that the team has made long-term plans for the ecosystem.

• Ecosystem development needs

Judging from the current status of ecosystem development, Aptos is in a critical expansion period. Neil, the head of strategy at Aptos, once mentioned on Twitter:

“Aptos 2024 = Move + DeFi/RWA + AI”, highlighting the four key areas of focus for 2024. Once these sectors meet their targets, a second round of airdrop incentives may be launched to further energize the ecosystem.

Move

Let’s start with Move. Move is the underlying development language and the cornerstone of the project. To create beautiful features on this foundation, of course, skilled craftsmen are essential. Those craftsmen carving out the features in Aptos are developers.

According to statistics from Electric Capital, at the beginning of this year, the number of active developers on Aptos last month was around 500, and the cumulative number of code submissions exceeded 5M. It was the largest Move developer community at the beginning of the year.

With the explosion of Sui in memes and games, there has been a surge in developers, leading to an overtake. Although the overall number of developers is lower than that of competitors, Aptos’ development remains relatively stable. Currently, there are 835 active developers, representing an increase of about 37% over two years.

DeFi

• DeFi is developing strongly on Aptos, with its current Total Value Locked (TVL) quietly entering the top ten of all public chains, currently ranking 8th. It has surpassed established public chains from the previous cycle such as Polygon and Avalanche, as well as its competitor Sui. Aptos’ TVL has reached $1.617 billion, up from $55.23 million in 2023—an astounding annual growth rate of 2,840%.

Starting from August this year only,daily active usersIt is in a blowout state, from 630,000 daily active users to 6.73 million today. A 10-fold increase in three months

Data such as the number of transactions on the chain and the number of active addresses are showing a growth trend, indicating that the activity of the project is increasing, which may be a positive signal for airdrops. In addition, user growth is also an important indicator. If the number of Aptos users continues to increase, it means that the attractiveness of the project is increasing, which may also indicate the approach of the second airdrop.

RWA

(RWA) Real-world asset tokenization integrates assets like credit, funds, luxury goods, art, and real estate into blockchain networks. This sector is a key narrative in the crypto space and is widely recognized as the best channel for expanding Web3 user growth, with significant future potential. Let’s briefly summarize Aptos’ important achievements in the RWA field.

Fund:

Recently, global asset management giant Franklin Templeton, the second largest tokenized fund by market value, is also the only one using blockchain technology for transaction processing.

With $1.6 trillion in assets under management and 9,200 employees, Franklin Templeton holds a significant position in global asset management.

Partnering with Aptos Foundation to launch on-chain currency fund FOBXX (FOBXX fund invests in low-risk U.S. government securities, including fixed, floating and variable-rate securities, as well as repurchase agreements fully collateralized by U.S. government securities or cash).

Real Estate:

Propbase is a pioneering real estate trading platform and the sole real estate tokenization company operating in Southeast Asia. Its unique feature allows token holders to directly trade assets on the platform. Propbase’s tokenization process offers an end-to-end solution that seamlessly integrates traditional real estate with blockchain technology.

This comprehensive approach showcases Aptos’ potential to transform illiquid traditional assets into easily tradable digital tokens. Such innovation is poised to revolutionize the real estate investment landscape, potentially attracting significant capital inflows to the market.

Treasury Bonds:

Ondo Finance as the first company to tokenize the U.S. Treasury bonds, has established a groundbreaking cooperation with Aptos that holds great significance.

Rooted in the traditional financial sector, Ondo’s collaborative partnership with BlackRock has precisely addressed the growing interest and demands of institutions in RWA (Real World Assets). This collaboration has successfully positioned Aptos as the premier choice for institutional-grade RWA solutions.

With Ondo’s financial expertise, BlackRock’s potential assistance, and Aptos’ superior technology, it will help traditional finance and blockchain seamlessly connect, bringing new opportunities for the integration of on-chain assets and real-world assets.

The examples mentioned above represent just three of the most notable RWA projects that Aptos has engaged with. The integration with projects like Ondo Finance and Propbase showcases Aptos’ potential to revolutionize asset tokenization, spanning from U.S. Treasury bonds to real estate. This not only demonstrates Aptos’ capabilities but also paves the way for broader application of blockchain technology in traditional finance, a field where Aptos has already established significant advantages.

AI

Aptos is cooperating with Microsoft, a traditional tech giant, to develop AI solutions. Microsoft brings strong capabilities in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, while Aptos Labs offers unique advantages in blockchain technology. This partnership can be described as a powerful alliance.

Aptos can currently process up to 13,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality. This high-performance capability is crucial for AI-related applications that require rapid data processing and validation.

The collaboration between Aptos and Microsoft is expected to reshape the digital experience landscape, making Web3 more accessible and user-friendly while ensuring high security and performance standards. They have already launched an AI chatbot, opening up new possibilities for the integration of AI and blockchain technologies.

Based on this year’s guidelines, all sectors including Move + DeFi/RWA + AI have performed exceptionally well, with DeFi and RWA sectors showing particularly strong results. After achieving these significant milestones, there may be plans for a second round of airdrops to further enhance the prosperity of the entire ecosystem.

3. Market signals

There have been multiple signals recently suggesting that the second airdrop may be coming:

Consider from the project’s perspective:

• Bull market expectations: Trump’s potential election may coincide with the start of a bull market. Conducting airdrops in a bull market environment offers numerous advantages. Market sentiment is high, and investors are confident. Airdrops during this time may face less selling pressure on the token, potentially leading to stronger price trends. This can bring considerable benefits to community members while allowing the project to further expand its influence, creating a win-win situation for both the community and the project.

From the perspective of time/ecosystem development:

• Aptos just celebrated its two-year birthday last month. It is also the project OP of the 22nd airdrop. The interval between the first airdrop and the second airdrop is only 9 months. From a time point perspective, it has also met the conditions for airdrops.
• Improved infrastructure: After two years of intensive cultivation, Aptos TVL has ranked among the top ten, and the DeFi field continues to grow. Aptos has matured in terms of underlying technology, ecosystem protocols, etc., making it capable of handling the surge of new users brought by airdrops and ensuring stable and efficient system operation.

Recent frequent activities from the project team:

• Recently, the interaction between the project team and many of its projects has become more frequent. In addition to the phased success of forwarding projects, it also supports memes and games. Some of them may be internally incubated projects. As these projects mature, it’s reasonable to expect that airdrops might be distributed to benefit the ecosystem.

Analysis from the perspective of token unlocking:

• We are currently in a time window when the pressure to unlock tokens is relatively low. This means that airdrops at this stage will not lead to an imbalance in market supply due to the unlocking of a large number of tokens. This helps maintain token price stability, allows for more orderly airdrop activities, and avoids adverse effects on the project and investors that could result from excessive market fluctuations.

4. Scale and Eligibiltiy

Airdrop scale

Considering the scale of the first-phase airdrop (23.45 million APT) and the current market conditions, the second-phase airdrop is expected to be between 15-20 million APT, which is approximately worth US$130-180 million based on current token prices. With the increase of active users in the ecosystem, the amount obtained by a single address is likely to be lower than that in the first airdrop.

Eligibility

Based on Aptos’ development strategy and ecosystem focus, the following interactions may be included in the airdrop criteria:

DeFi protocol participation (such as Thala, Amnis, Aries Markets, etc.); NFT trading activity;

Early contributions to ecosystem projects; Frequency and diversity of on-chain interactions.

5. Conclusion

Based on the existing data and indicators, Aptos has already met many favorable conditions for launching the second phase of airdrops:

• With Trump taking the office, the bull market has begun, and market sentiment has reached its peak.
• Significant progress in key areas such as Move, DeFi/RWA and AI has met the ecosystem requirements of the second airdrop. Aptos is in a critical expansion period, and the second airdrop is to further promote ecosystem prosperity.
• Factors such as time points and improved infrastructure have created a suitable opportunity for airdrops. In addition, the recent frequent interactive actions of the project team also imply that the second phase of airdrops is approaching.

Overall, the conditions for Aptos’ second airdrops are essentially ripe. Airdrops may occur in the near future, but the specific timing and rules still require further observation. As individual participation strategies vary, this article will not delve into those details.

Disclaimer:

1. This article is reproduced from [ice frog]. Forwarded the Original Title “Panoramic interpretation of the second phase of Aptos airdrop: ecological expansion and potential opportunities”. The copyright belongs to the original author [ice frog]. If you have any objections to the reprint, please contact the Gate Learn team, and the team will handle it as soon as possible according to relevant procedures.
2. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article represent only the author’s personal views and do not constitute any investment advice.
3. The Gate Learn team translated the article into other languages. Copying, distributing, or plagiarizing the translated articles is prohibited unless mentioned.