Incentives become screening, points are no longer rewards, and Alpha is more than just bait. Behind the mechanism, platforms are competing for users, and users are also building their identities.
Introduction: Why are we so obsessed with "points" and "Alpha"?
Sometime along the way, we seem to have become particularly sensitive to "points" and "Alpha".
The first thing we do when opening an exchange or DEX is no longer finding the next coin that could double, but checking if the points leaderboard has changed or if there are new Alpha airdrop rules.
We begin to carefully maintain our on-chain behavior records - even if we're not truly clear about what points can ultimately be exchanged for, or how Alpha airdrops will be distributed. Yet we remain enthusiastic about "scoring" and "interacting", because we always feel they might bring unexpected surprises someday.
Gradually, we realize that so-called "points" are no longer just trading incentives, but strategic levers for platforms to dispatch assets and control user attention; while "Alpha" is no longer just a vague airdrop qualification, but is becoming the strongest emotional driver in an ecosystem governance mechanism.
Over the past five years, from CEXs like Binance, OKX, and Bybit to DEXs like Uniswap, Curve, and zkSync, points and Alpha gameplay have continuously evolved: from initial trading rebates to today's ecosystem mechanisms centered on community governance, resource regulation, and traffic screening.
This seemingly "user growth game" composed of Alpha and points is actually reshaping the relationship between users, platforms, and ecosystems, and each of us has long been in the midst of this game.
Therefore, the platform begins to try a combination mechanism of "Points + Alpha" for more refined control.
4. Alpha and Points: A Synergistic Hybrid Mechanism
A single mechanism is no longer sufficient to meet ecosystem management needs. Thus, platforms have begun to explore a "dual-track drive":
Mechanism Advantages Risks Optimal Approach Points Clear rules, easy to layer incentives Prone to inflation, creating internal competition As basic structure and screening threshold Alpha Ignites passion, enhances user participation Unstable expectations, induces excessive interaction As additional rewards and emotional driver
The goals of the hybrid mechanism are:
Use points to "regulate behavior paths" and avoid systemic abuse;
Use Alpha to "create ambiguous expectations" and stimulate long-term participation enthusiasm.
Binance's Alpha Points model adopts this strategy:
Set points acquisition rules and consumption thresholds (institutionalized control);
Introduce lucky mechanisms and special conditions (emotional selection);
Control release rhythm and difficulty in each Alpha project to achieve dual goals of traffic management and user screening.
5. New Function of Alpha: Becoming an "Entry Credential" for On-chain Narrative and Ecosystem Identity
Alpha's evolution path is gradually transforming from "reward" to "identity symbol".
In ecosystems like zkSync and LayerZero, users are not just interacting for short-term airdrops, but hoping to be recognized as "ecosystem co-builders" or "long-term participants". Alpha is beginning to become an indirect credential for on-chain reputation and governance rights.
Blur launched points consumption mechanism after airdrop: Encouraging long-term activity rather than one-time ranking
Binance Alpha sets points retention threshold and random conditions: Screening loyal users instead of arbitrage users
LayerZero begins to identify "genuine interaction paths" and sets behavior anti-cheating systems
These changes collectively point to a trend:
Alpha is becoming the most differentiated and symbolic "value distribution logic" in on-chain ecosystems.
They no longer simply "choose platforms" but "choose mechanisms": whether there are reasonable point rules, whether they provide vague but real Alpha rewards, whether there is an identifiable identity trajectory. The unit of platform competition is no longer "number of users" but "mechanism design capability" - whoever can build a smoother incentive structure and precipitate higher-quality user paths will have a better chance of winning future ecological dominance.
Points and Alpha are becoming the "mechanism language" in this competition.
The past traffic war is transforming into a mechanism design battle, and platform governance, community control, and user stickiness are moving towards a deeper structural stage through this fusion.
Chapter Five: After Points, the Mechanism War Has Just Begun
We once thought points were a promotional tool, giving users some benefits, attracting new users, and stabilizing transaction volume. But looking back now, this understanding was too shallow.
In today's Web3 world, the gameplay of points and Alpha is no longer a surface-level incentive structure, but has become a cognitive and power negotiation interface between platforms and users.
On one hand, platforms precisely set user behavior trajectories through point systems - what is worth doing, when to do it, how much needs to be done to be "qualified"; on the other hand, they create expectations of "perhaps" through vague Alpha mechanisms, continuously maintaining user participation emotions.
This mechanism is very clever because it doesn't require you to know exactly what you'll get right now, only that you believe it's worth staying for.
And just as this narrative logic gradually takes shape, new changes are beginning to brew.
We are standing at a junction of "mechanism fusion → mechanism leap". The next round of negotiation will no longer be just about "what you did", but about what trace you left in whose system.
Future points will likely no longer be as simple as "transaction volume × weight", but will be composed of multiple variables:
Which chains have you interacted with?
How many ecosystems' governance have you participated in?
Do you have a complete and coherent on-chain behavior trajectory?
Are you doing ranking tasks or actual participation?
In other words, points are no longer just "evidence of behavior" but become the ecosystem's way of understanding your value.
And this understanding will no longer be limited to a single platform.
We can already see some signs:
zkSync's airdrop introduced "average asset retention time" when calculating interactions; LayerZero's point system has long secretly recorded the chains and depth of your participation; "on-chain identity protocols" like Sismo and Gitcoin Passport are being adopted across platforms, becoming your "identity card" of being a real user.
Perhaps in the near future, points from different platforms will no longer compete with each other but form a cross-ecosystem "trust network": if you've interacted on LayerZero, zkSync might slightly lower your threshold; if you've participated in a DAO's governance, Blur might directly give you a whitelist.
At that time, we'll be facing not "how many points" but "how Web3 sees me".
On the other side, platforms are also becoming nervous.
While ambiguity brings high participation, regulatory uncertainty is also approaching:
Are points assets? Does Alpha constitute disguised financing? If a point system's purpose is ultimately to airdrop tokens to users, does it need to publicly disclose distribution logic? Are there compliance risks?
So you'll see more and more platforms becoming "vague and restrained": not giving you too clear a formula, not directly telling you "how many points can be exchanged for what", everything is just a "reference", everything is subject to "official subsequent notifications".
It looks like "maintaining mystery" but is actually "avoiding responsibility".
And the endpoint of this ambiguity war is likely to be: users becoming smarter, platforms becoming more careful.
Thus, truly effective mechanisms will no longer be about "stimulating interaction" but designing a participation structure that makes users willing to stay and worth being identified. Not about making people rack up points, but willing to co-build.
This mechanism is not just an operational method but the ecological order itself.
Written at the End: You're Not Just Racking Up Points, But Who You Are
Points seem like rewards but are actually records of "you participated".
Alpha seems like an airdrop but is actually a signal of "you being seen".
Looking back at the entire evolution process, from Bitfinex's referral system to Binance's Launchpad, from Uniswap's UNI airdrop to Curve's veToken decision-making rights, to LayerZero, Jupiter, and zkSync's user identification algorithms, we've seen clearly:
Users aren't retained by incentives but by mechanism recognition.
We have long since evolved from "airdrop hunters" to "candidates".
We participate in interactions not for short-term gains but to build an identity, an image that can be seen by the ecosystem.
We're not just racking up points but becoming the kind of person we want to be. We're not just betting on Alpha but believing that a certain mechanism is worth participating in and co-building.
And the battlefield between platforms has transformed from "who airdrops more" to "whose system can retain people".
From traffic competition to structural competition.
From incentive negotiation to identity construction.
From point games to order design.
We will eventually forget how many points we had or what Alpha gave us.
But we will remember: which platform truly saw us.
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