Lessons learned from the Blast token TGE: Airdrop experience is more important than the claiming process
TGE is an opportunity to sow a new behavioral cycle.Author: TPAN
Compiled by: Shenchao TechFlow
Alright, let's continue discussing the TGE (Token Generation Event) of Blast.
TGE of Blast
In the past few months, we've seen several high-profile projects conduct TGEs (Token Generation Events, which can be thought of as IPOs for those who are less familiar). These moments are like Christmas for token hunters, as they receive airdropped tokens and make money. Just like Christmas, these "gifts" can make the airdrop day the best day ever or a disappointing one, depending on the number of tokens they receive or the price of the tokens after release.
As someone who participated in several recent TGEs, I am more interested in how the events themselves were conducted, and Blast's TGE is by far the most interesting. So, what did the team do?
TGE Announcement
Similar to other TGEs, Blast announced the event on X and Discord.
But a very important detail was overlooked…
Compared to last week's ZKsync TGE announcement, the first line is the claim link, which is clearly the focus.
So, where is the claim link for Blast? It was buried at the bottom of the post, and the 9th post provided the specific instructions. Why?
Blast used the TGE event to provide more information about the chain's achievements, upcoming plans, and the introduction of new terms and slogans. If users came from Discord, they would see it three times (from: Discord announcement text, X post preview, X post).
Claim Process
Alright, having found the claim link (which is actually just blast.io), what's next? Users first watched a non-skippable video where founder Pacman explained the chain's achievements, upcoming plans, and introduced new terms and slogans, etc…
After watching the video, users needed to install the Blast app on their mobile devices, and the desktop screen would redirect to the Blast blog post, sharing the team's vision for the chain (I guess you know what the blog post is about).
Blast App
The Blast app is not a complete mobile app, but a PWA (Progressive Web App, popularized by friendtech). After installing the app, users could finally claim their airdrop after waiting in line (I waited about 5 minutes, while others waited longer, possibly because their allocation was larger).
But hey, you won't be bored while waiting; you can watch a video titled "Blast: THE FULLSTACK CHAIN."
Golden Tickets and Blast Wallet
After claiming the $BLAST tokens, the app displayed a dashboard similar to the desktop version, but with a new mobile-exclusive feature: Golden Ticket.
Golden Tickets are essentially scratch-off lottery tickets, but in this case, it seems that every one (of the 4 I scratched) is a winner. The value of each win varies, with some prizes being physical items, including merchandise and a Cybertruck (they clearly know their audience's preferences). The amount of asset bridging and app usage determines how many are obtained each week. Each wallet claiming the airdrop has at least 1 Golden Ticket, giving users a dopamine rush and insight into how the mini-game works.
The last part of the app is the wallet, and Blast shared that the mobile wallet will be launched in Q4.
Theme of Blast's TGE
Putting aside complaints about price and airdrops (there will always be dissatisfied people), this is another impressive performance by the Blast team.
TGE: From Token Generation Event to Token Generation Experience
Historically, TGEs have been events (after all, it's in the abbreviation), but they haven't really been treated as events. Blast seized this rare moment when the project could capture user attention:
Burying the claim link in the announcement post
Including a non-skippable video
Automatically redirecting the desktop page to the Blast blog post when users switch from desktop to mobile, maximizing every piece of digital real estate
Requiring users to download the Blast mobile app to claim
The only similar experience I can think of is Azuki's "Check Your Wallet" moment during a real-world event, where NFTs were airdropped to Azuki holders in real-time. Of course, it's not as flashy, but it's still an experience.
Of course, users can mute the video or quickly complete the steps; almost everyone did that. However, Blast mitigated the impact of this behavior by repeatedly emphasizing two core themes:
Fullstack Chain
Cancel Bank Deposits
Even if users are not consciously paying attention to these themes, their brains will process this information subconsciously. Check out their updated Twitter profile.
Claim Moments Become More Complex
The days of simply claiming airdrop tokens are over. Now it's X to claim (complete a task to claim) or claim and X (do tasks after claiming to unlock everything), which is a variant of the X-to-mint concept I introduced earlier. We see similar trends in other recently conducted TGEs:
Pirate Nation, a web3 game, adopted a "Claim and Stake" mechanism. The earlier you stake your airdrop, the greater the multiplier for future rewards.
LayerZero introduced the concept of "Donation Claim".
Blast brought "Download to Claim", introducing a mobile app.
Future TGE events will likely follow this theme and may even become more stringent. As a far-fetched hypothetical example, Blast could even force users to grant microphone access and repeat "Blast is the best" 100 times before proceeding.
Will people be angry? Yes (though I would find it amusing).
Will people do it? Of course, that's what we're talking about with the fullstack chain!
Projects and teams will begin to shift their thinking about Token Generation Events (TGE) from a singular moment to an experience that can capture significant attention. It is essential to find a balance between making users feel fresh and avoiding the feeling of completing another tedious "task." Blast has done well in this regard, successfully surprising users who completed the claiming process with Golden Tickets.
TGE is an Opportunity to Seed New Behavioral Loops
Blast is no longer just a one-time event; it has launched a mobile app and introduced a new mobile behavioral loop, complete with Golden Ticket rewards. Thus, in addition to Coinbase and Base, Blast has also become a multi-platform Layer 2 blockchain (though this is a bit like comparing apples and oranges).
Although the Blast app is a Progressive Web App (PWA), the team treats it as a complete mobile app, using terms like "download," "app," and "install." The app even has an update interface similar to that of a forced update.
When the Blast wallet launches, user adoption resistance will decrease, as it will be seen as a new feature rather than a brand-new onboarding experience, since most of the heavy lifting has already been done.
So, friends, Blast and Pacman have succeeded once again. We will see if their approach will inspire other teams to borrow from and expand upon this TGE playbook in the coming months.
