The Tapswap airdrop is coming: will new initiatives help TAPS price?

In a statement on X, Tapswap’s developers said they were preparing to launch a staking platform ahead of the airdrop. The staking feature will allow TAPS token holders to earn passive income while supporting the network.

The developers are also working on a new skill-based game that users can play to earn rewards. This game is expected to launch before or shortly after the token generation event, which is scheduled for Valentine’s Day.

Tapswap hopes to avoid the mistakes made by other tap-to-earn networks like Hamster Kombat hmstr1.49%Hamster Kombat, Catizen cati0.99%Catizen, and Notcoin not1.61%Notcoin. All these tokens have dropped by over 70% from their airdrop highs and lost millions of users.

According to IntoTheBlock, Hamster Kombat now has fewer than 4 million holders, down from over 300 million during its airdrop. Catizen and Notcoin have 1.6 million and 2.8 million holders, respectively, down from over 40 million in 2024.

Tapswap’s strategy for retaining users is to develop a simple skills-based learning game where TAPS holders can continue participating. The staking element adds to the token’s utility, giving holders an incentive to earn passive income.

Will TAPS price rise or fall after the airdrop?

It is still too early to predict whether the TAPS price will rise or fall following the much-anticipated token generation event in February.

However, several indicators suggest that the token could decline after the airdrop. First, most Telegram-based tokens have dropped sharply after their airdrops, with only a small percentage of holders remaining in profit. For example, only 0.59% of HMSTR holders are currently in profit, according to IntoTheBlock.

TON ecosystem tokens: Source: IntoTheBlock

Second, historical trends show that most “to earn” tokens lose value over time. Play-to-earn tokens like Decentraland, Axie Infinity, and Gala have all dropped by double-digits from their all-time highs. Similarly, move-to-earn tokens like StepN and Sweat Economy have all dropped after their airdrop.

Third, many Tapswap holders are frustrated by the continued airdrop delays. Initially scheduled for July 2023, the airdrop was postponed to the third quarter, then moved to January 2024, and is now set for mid-February.

Given these repeated delays, many holders may sell their tokens immediately upon listing, particularly after seeing similar tap-to-earn tokens decline in value.