Binance Alpha Airdrop Threshold Soars: Are Retail Investors’ Good Days Coming to an End?

High Cost Game: Why is it becoming increasingly difficult

On June 9th, Binance announced the participation threshold for the SKATE airdrop, requiring users to reach 236 Alpha points to participate. This is the highest point requirement since the introduction of the points system by Binance Alpha. Since June this year, the participation threshold for Binance Alpha airdrops has been continuously increasing, from just over 200 points to 223, and finally to the current 233 points. The scores and thresholds are rising, while market participants have become “numb” to the situation.

Since its launch in December 2024, Binance Alpha has attracted numerous players with its low threshold and high returns in airdrops and TGEs. However, with the continuous rise in point thresholds, one cannot help but wonder: is this points frenzy approaching its end? Will it continue to roll on?

Studio Carnival?

From thousands of dollars to hundreds of dollars, the end of Binance Alpha?

The appeal of Binance Alpha lies in its potential returns. According to airdrops.io statistics, in May 2025, the platform’s 5 airdrops averaged a first-day value of $270 per user, with a total value of up to $656 based on historical highs. For example, the 1500 tokens from the SIGN airdrop were worth about $177, while the BOOP and NXPC airdrops also brought significant profits to users. Compared to the uncertainty of traditional on-chain airdrops, Binance Alpha’s transparent rules and fast cash-out mechanism make it attractive to players.
However, high returns come with high costs. The acquisition of points mainly depends on asset holdings and token purchases. For example, in terms of trading volume points, purchasing $2 worth of Alpha tokens earns 1 point, with an additional point for each doubling (3 points for $8, 10 points for $1024).

Assuming a regular retail player with a trading balance between $10,000 and $100,000, the daily balance points are 3. According to the trading volume points rule, if the regular player wants to earn 15 points, the trading volume needs to reach around $32,000, and this is only the requirement for buying (selling does not count towards points). If a new player starts from scratch to increase trading volume, they need to persist for at least 13 days to qualify for the Binance Alpha airdrop. This undoubtedly poses a significant challenge to the capital scale and patience of ordinary retail investors.

In addition, in the process of airdropping tokens, Binance Alpha also adds additional points consumption. Usually, for each airdrop received or participation in a wallet TGE event, 15 points are consumed. This means that if the points have just reached the required amount, then the next airdrop will not be relevant to you. This also tests the judgment of the players greatly, as choosing to receive an airdrop this time with an average target quality could only bring tens of dollars in value, while missing out on the opportunity of the next “round” of airdrops or TGEs worth hundreds of dollars, the time and opportunity cost will be significant.
The “wear and tear” cost in the trading process cannot be ignored. Foresight News noticed that when trading certain tokens, even if bought and sold quickly, it could result in losses of tens of dollars. Therefore, when choosing a token, players need to consider the trading volume, price fluctuations, etc., otherwise, they may find themselves in a situation where although they operated vigorously, the profits from the airdrop received cannot support the costs.
The MEV issue is also worth paying attention to, as unlucky users who do not have MEV protection enabled may suffer severe losses. According to AI monitoring, on June 8th, a user traded KOGE/USDT, with a single transaction involving $47,000, spending $47,000 USDT to buy only 0.009 KOGE tokens, resulting in a cost of up to $5.18 million per token.
However, as long as the airdrop income exceeds the wear and tear costs, arbitrageurs will continue to flock in.

Binance Alpha officially launched on December 17, 2024, positioning itself as a discovery platform for early Web3 projects, aiming to provide users with early participation opportunities in high-potential tokens. Its core mechanism is the Alpha points system, which determines the eligibility of users to participate in TGEs and airdrops based on their asset holdings (Balance Points) and volume of Alpha token purchases (Volume Points) in the Binance exchange and wallet ecosystem. Points are updated daily, based on asset snapshots and trading behavior over the past 15 days, with a validity period of 15 days.
Initially, the threshold for Alpha points was relatively low. For example, the SIGN airdrop in April 2025 required only a few points to participate. However, as the platform attracted more and more users, the point thresholds continued to rise. In May 2025, the BOOP airdrop required 137 points, while the Privasea TGE required 198 points. By June, the Bondex (BDXN) airdrop required 213 points, and Open Loot pushed the threshold to 233 points. Some community users pointed out that thresholds above 220 points have become the norm, and a slight lack of effort could mean missing out.
According to Dune data panel, on June 8th, Binance Alpha’s trading volume reached $20.4 billion, hitting a new historical high, far surpassing competitors such as Solana.

The root cause of this “internal volume” phenomenon lies in the imbalance of supply and demand. The limited opportunities of Binance Alpha’s airdrops and TGEs are constantly raising the threshold, while the number of participants is increasing. According to estimates, about 10,000 people are eligible for the Open Loot airdrop, with each person receiving 1,836 OL tokens. As arbitrageurs flock in, the platform raises the point threshold to screen out truly active users and to curb bot behavior. In June 2025, Binance announced an upgrade to its risk control system, where the use of bots – including but not limited to scripts, automation tools, or other non-manual methods – will be considered a violation.

In the early stages, as there were not many participating users and high-return projects appeared, ordinary retail investors could earn over $1,000 in profits after removing costs if they fully participated in the airdrops. However, as the number of users increased and the threshold continued to rise, their monthly profits have decreased from over a thousand dollars to around $600, and at one point in mid-May, the profits from a project’s airdrop dropped to as low as $25, far below user expectations. This indicates that the Alpha points game is transitioning from “low threshold high returns” to “high threshold low returns,” weakening its appeal to ordinary players.
The popularity of Binance Alpha has not only changed user behavior but has also had a profound impact on the entire industry ecosystem. On the one hand, the huge traffic of Alpha has brought “spillover effects” to other public chains. Since May, the trading volume on Solana DEX has increased from $22 billion to $45.9 billion, partly due to the hype of tokens like $MOODENG on the Alpha platform. The NAVX token from the Sui ecosystem also saw a surge in trading volume after being listed on Alpha, injecting vitality into emerging public chains to some extent.
On the other hand, the success of Alpha has also led to imitation by other exchanges. Twitter KOL @_FORAB revealed that exchanges such as Kraken and Bithumb have recognized Alpha’s model and may launch similar activities. With increasing competition, the airdrop thresholds and costs will further rise, and users may face higher participation barriers. Binance itself is constantly adjusting its strategy, such as introducing double points activities (purchasing Alpha tokens through the BSC chain or limit orders can earn double points) to stimulate trading volume. However, these incentive measures further raise the point threshold, exacerbating the “internal volume.”
Facing high point thresholds and increasingly fierce competition, is Binance Alpha approaching its end? The answer may not be a simple yes or no. User fatigue is showing, high thresholds and costs are discouraging newcomers. If profits continue to decline, ordinary users may choose to exit. Bots and arbitrageurs are crowding the space: although Binance has upgraded its risk control system, the bot point farming issue has not been completely resolved. This not only damages fairness but also increases the operating costs of the platform. In addition, market saturation is also a negative factor, where the supply of high-quality projects on Alpha may become scarce. In the long run, the platform may find it difficult to maintain high-frequency, high-value airdrop activities.
This article is authorized for reprint from Foresight News.