Running for Three Years Only to Get a 'Witch Verdict'! Big Players Unite to Defend Rights, Backpack Rushes to 'Put Out the Fire'
After three years of anticipation, Backpack Exchange finally conducted its TGE on March 23, but instead of rewards, many users—including long-term supporters and high-volume traders—were labeled as "sybils" and saw their points drastically reduced or zeroed out. The airdrop, which allocated 25% of the total token supply to the community, sparked widespread anger, especially among Chinese users, who reported heavy losses in time, fees, and trading volume.
The lack of transparent sybil-detection criteria and retroactive enforcement led to a severe trust crisis. Even key community contributors and influencers were affected, with some losing referral networks due to collective penalties. In response, Backpack opened a manual appeal channel, promising to reinstate 50% of points for users with three or fewer accounts per device and to initiate a token buyback for compensation.
Amid the controversy, Backpack is pursuing an IPO narrative, with plans to lock team tokens until after a potential public listing and to allow long-term stakers to convert tokens to equity. However, unclear details and the recent airdrop fallout have left community trust deeply damaged.
marsbit03/24 09:48
