2026-01-16 19:22:04

Every builder and growth team should pay attention to this…

Some major platforms dropped $100M+ in incentives to users last cycle

Initially, the rewards mechanism worked like a charm

But then things got messy

The strategy became game-able

Marketing playbooks fell apart

Projects ended up with inflated user bases

Ghost accounts everywhere

Real engagement? Nowhere to be found

It's a cautionary tale about how poorly designed incentive structures can backfire spectacularly.

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DegenWhisperer

· 16h ago

Hundreds of millions in incentives poured in, but the results are all zombie accounts. This clearly shows that throwing money alone can't attract real users; it requires good design.

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ForkMonger

· 17h ago

lmao $100M down the drain because nobody understands basic incentive design... governance attack vector in plain sight and they're still surprised

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BridgeJumper