Drift Protocol, a Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX), has announced plans to conduct an airdrop of one million tokens and implement a token-based governance structure. The surprise winner of this announcement is MetaDAO, whose futarchy technology is being partly integrated into Drift.
According to Drift’s website and sources familiar with the matter, the DRIFT governance token will be launched and airdropped to users within weeks. This airdrop follows a three-month points program that attracted traders, borrowers, lenders, and airdrop farmers to Drift, one of the largest venues for trading perpetuals in Solana DeFi. However, most of the million tokens earmarked for this airdrop will go to longtime Drift users.
Airdrops in the world of cryptocurrencies involve the distribution of free tokens or coins to individuals. Drift is aiming to decentralize its operations by creating a token that allows holders to vote on key decisions at the exchange, such as which tokens to list or when to upgrade software. In this airdrop, ten percent of DRIFT’s total supply will be distributed to users, while venture backers and investors will receive a larger allocation.
Drift protocol’s developers envision the trading service becoming a comprehensive venue for crypto investors on Solana. Its main product is perpetuals trading, allowing price speculators to long and short cryptos with up to 100x leverage. Drift also offers spot trading and various exotic financial instruments for high-risk, high-reward plays. However, the newest product does not allow bets on the DRIFT token for legal reasons.
The governance structure of Drift will transition from Drift Labs to a three-pronged system, including a security council with upgrade authority, Realms DAO for voting by token holders, and Futarchy DAO for decision-making through conditional markets based on the price of the DRIFT token. This unique approach to governance was inspired by futarchy, which was introduced to Drift developers during the mtnDAO hacker house in February.
Despite facing challenges such as socialized losses during a recent market crash, Drift has demonstrated resilience and continues to evolve its platform to meet the needs of the growing DeFi ecosystem on Solana. With the upcoming airdrop and governance changes, Drift is poised to further establish itself as a key player in the decentralized finance space.