The race for Alpha Points: a trap for airdrop hunters or Binance’s gold mine?

In recent weeks Binance Wallet has accounted for up to 80% of decentralised trading volumes among popular Web3 wallets. The surge in activity stems from a gamified rewards system.

In late April the largest crypto exchange introduced a new system for joining TGE via Binance Wallet and for receiving airdrops — Alpha Points. Since then, to profit from campaigns users must hit a moving points threshold. The bar has kept rising: first 45, then 65, later 137 — and up to 205.

Alpha Points are awarded for holding assets on the centralised exchange and/or in the wallet, and for trading volume on Binance Alpha via Binance Wallet.

The balance tiers are:

• $100-1,000 — 1 point;
• $1,000-10,000 — 2;
• $10,000-100,000 — 3;
• $100,000 and above — 4.

For trading, each additional point is credited for doubling volume. The schedule is:

• $2 in volume — 1 point;
• $4 — 2;
• $8 — 3;
• $16 — 4;
• $32 — 5, and so on.

Points are calculated daily for activity over the past 15 days. Older points expire automatically.

To consistently earn 180 points, you need to keep $1,000–$10,000 on the exchange and trade at least $1,024.

There is also a burn mechanic: participating in a TGE or claiming an airdrop costs 15 points.

How much can you earn and what are the risks

Rewards under TGEs and airdrops vary by campaign. On May 15, users with 187 points or more received 198 NXPC tokens — $724 at the time of writing.

Most earlier rounds paid far less — around $100 if the assets were sold immediately. The fatter NXPC payout reflected a price spike right after listing.

For TGEs, earnings often run in the $50–80 range. However, joining a campaign may require up to three BNB, which can fall in price.

You should also factor in the cost of qualifying. To earn 15 points from volume, you must swap $32,768. Slippage and fees will cost roughly $10–20 depending on the network and token. To gain 14 points, you can halve both turnover and related expenses.

There is a significant risk of staying active for 15 days, burning tens of dollars on swaps, yet still missing the threshold for an airdrop or TGE.

继续吃上 pic.twitter.com/X1i5DXH7y8

— 好家伙? (@wjf110) May 12, 2025

Some users report holding 246 points. Achieving that requires keeping $10,000–100,000 on the exchange and generating $8,192 or $16,384 in daily volume.

Criticism

The gamified earn-and-spend system for airdrop access has markedly boosted volumes routed through the exchange’s Web3 wallet. BNB Chain is the most popular network among Binance Alpha’s airdrop hunters.

Binance Alpha has drawn criticism for unfair token distribution: a large share goes to exchange users who do not contribute to a project’s development and act purely out of self-interest. Early ecosystem supporters either receive nothing or far less.

Grind testnet for months.
Give feedback. Squash bugs.
Wait for that sweet airdrop…

Binance Alpha: walks in last minute and gets the fat slice of the pie.
damn.. pic.twitter.com/x2BbItk9Xu

— satyaa (@satyaXBT) May 14, 2025

The launch of the Alpha platform, built into its Web3 wallet, was announced in December 2024 by the world’s largest crypto exchange.