MetaMask urges users not to count on a generous airdrop in the event of a token release

MetaMask did not rule out the possibility that a non-custodial wallet could have its own token, but urged users not to expect a generous airdrop. This was stated by the project’s chief operating officer Jacob Cantale in an interview Decrypt.

“We truly believe in progressive decentralisation; we are gradually moving toward it with principled methods that do not amount to cash grabbing,” he said.

Cantale described the wallet’s own token as an “important aspect” of MetaMask’s aim to hand control of the project to the community. At the same time, he noted that users should not expect significant financial gain.

“That is not what we are aiming for. We are not going to expose the project to regulatory risks or hand control to people who farm airdrops or the like,” he explained.

“Airdrop farming” Cantale described as the practice whereby individuals or private companies create multiple wallets to maximise profits from the distribution.

In May 2021, the DeFi project Ribbon Finance conducted a token airdrop, but the assets were unlocked only in October. The developers configured the distribution so that “smaller contributors” received greater benefits from the distribution.

This was used by the venture-capital analyst Bridget Harris of Divergence Ventures. By registering a large number of wallets, she sent small transfers to the project’s address and ultimately received more than $2.4 million in RBN.

In November 2021, Joseph Lubin, head of ConsenSys, which owns MetaMask, hinted that a non-custodial wallet might have its own token. He emphasised that the team is moving toward decentralisation of “several projects”.

In February 2022, ConsenSys acquired the operator of the Ethereum wallet MyCrypto. The latter’s team will join the work to develop MetaMask.