Hamster Kombat Airdrop: Key Reasons Behind the Fail

2024-10-16, 06:52

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## [TL; DR] 
Many community members criticized Hamster Kombat for the failure of its airdrop.

The community’s main complaints against Hamster Kombat were unfair token distribution, technical glitches and last-minute change to the airdrop rules.

Crypto projects that aim to launch their airdrops should be transparent in all what they do.

## Introduction 
The Hamster Kombat airdrop [has attracted millions of people to](https://www.gate.io/promo/HMSTRBonus "has attracted millions of people to") participate in the Telegram- based gaming platform. However, many users were not happy about how the airdrop was conducted.  Some of the major challenges that hindered the smooth conduct of the airdrop include technical glitches, unfair distribution and last-minute rule changes. This analysis looks at how these hurdles affected the participants.

## Hamster Kombat Airdrop Overview
Hamster Kombat, [the tap-to-earn game, launched its airdrop on 26 September](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/what-is-hamster-kombat-all-you-need-to-know-about-hmstr/4174 "the tap-to-earn game, launched its airdrop on 26 September") after the users had waited for several months. At the same time, it launched its native token (HMSTR) on several crypto exchanges. Unfortunately, only around 131 million out of a total of [about 320 million active users](https://hodlfm.com/gaming/hamster-kombat-airdrop-token/ "about 320 million active users") were able to participate in the airdrop. Now, let’s focus on the various hurdles that made the airdrop unsuccessful.

Unfair Token Distribution and Player Disqualifications: As said, only 131 users were able to take part in the airdrop. This means that more than 2.3 million gamers were disqualified on allegations of cheating. The team claimed that they wanted to protect the integrity of the game by disqualifying the people who had failed to follow its standing rules. Basically, the people who focused on boosting their points per hour (PPH) were mostly disqualified. This is because the developers used an “anti-cheat” system they introduced at the last minute. Most of the disqualified individuals believe that the team did so in order to distribute most of the tokens to the influencers. Thus, many regular players were sidelined. Such a development caused much dissatisfaction among the Kombat Hamster users.

Total Supply Control Issue: One cause of dissatisfaction [among the potential airdrop beneficiaries was the reduction in the number of tokens](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/hmster-overview-1/4038 "among the potential airdrop beneficiaries was the reduction in the number of tokens") to be issued in September. The developers reduced the number of HMSTR tokens to be issued from 100 billion to 60 billion. Also, the qualified users would only claim 88.75% of the allocated tokens now. They will claim the remaining portion after 10 months. That control over the supply and the reduction in the total number of air dropped HMSTR caused much disillusionment among the players that had invested much of their time and resources in the project.

Last Minute Change in Airdrop Rules: The last-minute change in the rules that governed the distribution of the tokens also led to the airdrop failure. When the team introduced  free token distribution through an airdrop program they stated that the Points Per Hour (PPH) was the main metric for determining the distribution of the HMSTR tokens through the airdrop. Therefore, the players focused on their PPH in order to increase their shares of the tokens. The players acquired the points through completing quests and battling the hamsters. However, the team switched the criterion of the token distribution to key collections at the last minute. That created confusion among the players who had concentrated on increasing their PPH.

Technical Glitches: Probably, the greatest cause of the airdrop failure were the technical glitches the users experienced during the airdrop period. The TON network had many outages as the traffic to the blockchain gaming platform increased. For example, the tokens would take much time to appear after claiming them. The congestion on the Ton blockchain was compounded by the DOGS airdrop that was concurrently taking place. Also, some players had difficulties in accessing their digital wallets. As a result due to the overload the wallet experienced many people were unable to access or trade their tokens.

Disappointing Token Debut Price and Subsequent Price Fall: One of the Hamster Kombat crypto project pitfalls was the low HMSTR debut price. The initial [HMSTR price](https://www.gate.io/price-prediction/hamster-kombat-hmstr "HMSTR price") was $0.01 which was far lower than its community’s expectation. Most disappointingly, the token price started falling a few hours after its launch. At the end, the HMSTR token price dropped by between 50% and 60%. A related thing that made the situation worse was the difficulty the users encountered when they wanted to sell the tokens. This is because some exchanges had minimum withdrawal amounts. Since the value of HMSTR was low most of the users’ claimed token values were below the minimum amounts. For instance, the minimum trading amount on Binance was $5 worth of HMSTR tokens.

## The Aftermath of Hamster Kombat and Blockchain Community
Generally, the technical glitches which the Ton blockchain experienced during the time of the cryptocurrency airdrops have damaged the reputation of the blockchain. Many users expressed the view that Hamster Kombat and the Ton blockchain failed to deliver on their promises. The negative sentiment that developed due to the smart contract issues faced during the airdrop period may influence some players to boycott Hamster Kombat’s future seasons. The delays experienced in claiming the HAMSTR tokens will likely erode the trust that investors had in the cryptocurrency.

Most significantly, many Hamster Kombat users took their airdrop related grievances to various social media platforms such as X which might have tarnished its image. With the current situation it may become difficult for the developers to promote fruitful crypto community engagement. The frustration that emanated from the airdrop failure was evident in the comments which the users posted on various social media. For example, some users used the terms #HMSTRSCAM and #BoycottHamster to vent out their frustration. Definitely, such a negative perception of the blockchain and Hamster Kombat may influence the perception of many members of the broader blockchain community regarding the Ton ecosystem. And indeed, that may scare some people from investing in HMSTR and Toncoin.

## Beyond the Airdrop: Main Challenges and Opportunities in the Crypto Ecosystem
Despite the hassles related to the Hamster Kombat airdrop it is important to note that the crypto ecosystem has many opportunities that can benefit many people.

Financial Inclusion: There is a high possibility that many people around the globe may benefit from cryptocurrencies. This is because the unbanked people can use digital currencies to execute financial transactions. For example, they can easily send and receive cryptocurrencies from anywhere in the world.

Cost Effective Remittances: Using cryptocurrencies is a convenient way  for people to send cryptocurrencies across borders. Apart from being cost effective such transactions are fast and reliable. The reason is that the blockchain ecosystem does not have intermediaries.

Investment Opportunities: Cryptocurrencies afford people many opportunities to make profitable investments. What is essential is for the investors to be informed of the current developments and use proper digital asset management strategies. With cryptocurrencies, for instance, it is very easy to diversify one’s portfolio to hedge against <a  rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"  href="/price" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">crypto market</a> volatility. Investment strategies such as average dollar costing and “buy and hodl” can help investors to get high returns. However, there is also an equal danger of making losses if you have limited knowledge about crypto trading.

As hinted above, the blockchain sector has various challenges which investors should be aware of. Nonetheless, with the right knowledge and experience crypto investors may find ways to navigate such challenges.

Regulatory Uncertainty: Probably one of the greatest risks the crypto community faces is that of regulatory uncertainty. In most countries there are no clear regulations that govern the use of cryptocurrencies. So, many crypto investors fear that their investments may be affected when governments finally introduce relevant regulations.

Volatility and Risks: Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile assets. Large price fluctuations may lead to much losses among the investors. Therefore, it is important for crypto investors to acquire much knowledge about how cryptocurrencies behave and the market risks they pose.

Security Concerns: Digital assets that include cryptocurrencies are liable to many risks. Security threats such as scams, frauds and hacks exist in the sector. Basically, their digital currencies may be stolen while on exchanges or in their wallets. Hot wallets are more susceptible to hacking than hard wallets.

## Key Takeaways for Future airdrops
The errors which Hamster Kombat made should be lessons for other crypto projects that may need to launch airdrop programs. The team should be very transparent in what it does. This means that they should have well-laid out airdrop strategies. For example, they should set airdrop rules which are effectively communicated to all interested people on time. It is also important to avoid last minute changes in the rules as some people may feel disadvantaged. In addition, the developers should also inform their communities about the number of tokens that will be distributed and to whom. Since airdrops are part of user participation incentives they should be fairly distributed.  Favoring influencers or other groups of people will lead to frustration among the community members.

Here is a full guide [on how to buy Hamster Kombat on Gate.io.](https://www.gate.io/how-to-buy/hamster-kombat-hmstr "on how to buy Hamster Kombat on Gate.io.")

## Conclusion 
During the Hamster Kombat airdrop period users faced many challenges such as network outages. The players also complained about unfair token distribution, last minute change in rules and low HMSTR debut price. Going forward, crypto projects that aim to use airdrop programs should ensure that there is transparency in whatever they do. Also, they should engage their communities at all times.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:**Mashell C.**, Gate.io Researcher
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.All investments carry inherent risks; prudent decision-making is essential.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
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