Concerns have been raised about the price of the Friend.tech token after the largest recipient of the airdrop sold all their tokens shortly after receiving them. According to blockchain data, the whale known as “Murphys1d” sold over 55,000 Friend tokens just hours after the airdrop went live on May 3.
In addition to the sell-off, some users, including crypto investor Luke Martin, were unable to claim their airdrop tokens. Martin noted that the whale’s wallet appeared to be linked to a fake account with no activity, allowing it to acquire over 500,000 Friend.tech points without any risk.
Since its launch, the new Friend.tech token (FRIEND) has experienced a significant decline in value. It has dropped by over 52.5% from $3.26 to $1.32 as of 9:50 am UTC. CoinGecko data shows that the token’s price fell by more than 32% in the last hour before the article was published.
While the actions of the largest Friend.tech whale may have a short-term impact on the market, Anndy Lian, an intergovernmental blockchain expert and author, believes that it does not necessarily dictate the token’s long-term trajectory. Lian emphasizes that the token’s value will depend on the community’s trust in Friend.tech and how the team handles the current situation.
The mysterious Friend.tech whale is an example of a professional airdrop farmer who engages with emerging protocols solely for the purpose of receiving airdrop rewards. These farmers often have multiple wallets and sell all their airdropped tokens, creating significant sell pressure and causing panic selling among genuine protocol users.
This issue was evident in the case of the Omni Network’s OMNI token, which lost 55% of its value in less than 18 hours after its airdrop, resulting in a significant decrease in market capitalization.
In a similar incident, airdrop hunters consolidated $3.3 million worth of tokens from Arbitrum’s ARB airdrop from 1,496 wallets into just two wallets that they controlled.
Despite these challenges, it is important to consider the long-term prospects of tokens and rely on the community’s trust in the underlying project to determine their value.