Social media has amplified the rumors about the possible launch of a token by MetaMask, an unconfirmed information but which will have been enough to sharply increase the activities on the second layer of Ethereum (ETH) and via MetaMask Swap.
Polygon and MetaMask: spike in activity due to rumors
Both Polygon and MetaMask saw an increase in activity levels following airdrop rumors following a potential token launch by MetaMask. Delphi Digital’s data revealed “a huge increase in usage over the past few days” of activity via MetaMask Swap. These rumors have been taken even more seriously due to the fact that it has been carried by influencers like Chico Crypto, a noise amplified by cryptophiles on Twitter. The explosion in the number of small transactions could be triggered by the desire of users to reach certain prerequisites allowing them to be integrated into airdrop operations, like the generous distribution of Paraswap, a few days ago.
The number of daily active MetaMask Swap users on Polygon more than quadrupled within a week, from 2,000 on November 6, 2021 to 9,000 on November 12, 2021. The volume of activity on MetaMask Swap peaked on November 11, 2021, when these rumors were spread on social media.
Data from DappRadar shows that the average number of 30-day transactions on MetaMask Swap increased by 13.95%. The number of active users increased by 18.25%.
The increase in the number of Polygon users could also be due to the increase in fees on Ethereum, a problem that is prompting a migration to the second layer of the latter.
No information has yet confirmed or denied these rumors about the launch of a native MetaMask token or an airdrop.
Airdrop hunters and attacks: devices against abuse
Will the efforts of airdrop hunters be rewarded? MetaMask could eventually take action against Sybil attacks perpetrated by people trying to abuse the system. A Sybil attack is conducted by multiple nodes belonging to the same person or group of people to disrupt the activities of a network in order to, among other things, profit from it,
As an example, ParaSwap had set up a device against malicious airdrop hunters. The project distributed PSP tokens to only 1.5% of eligible unique addresses.
Will MetaMask eventually launch its own token? A governance token is a way to improve the decentralization of a project, and improve its attractiveness to increase its user base. MetaMask is currently facing strong competition from Brave, but also from Coinbase with its new extension.