Drift Protocol

A later report says the first airdrop took place in May 2024 and distributed 120 million DRIFT, about 12% of total supply, to roughly 150,000 eligible wallets. It included a bonus for users who waited to claim, intended to reduce network congestion and spread claims out: the longer the wait, the higher the bonus. That is a clever incentive and it also tested users' patience, since waiting meant risking a price move.

The first drop was not labelled "Season 1". The next distribution was called Season 2 and was scheduled for May 2025, according to The Defiant. A governance draft refers to a "FUEL S1" campaign resolving in May 2025, which has caused confusion because Fuel is a separate project.

One roundup also claimed that Drift rebranded to Velocity after an April 2026 exploit, but that appeared in a single secondary source and we could not confirm it in other reporting, so we do not rely on it.

The numbers differ from announcement to distribution (100 million announced against 120 million distributed), a reminder that the final figures are the ones on the official documentation. Perpetual exchanges hold users' collateral, so security history matters as much as rewards.

The claim bonus is worth a closer look as a design idea. Paying more for waiting spreads load on the network and reduces gas spikes, and it also makes recipients decide between a smaller amount now and a larger one later, which is a small test of risk appetite.

People who chose to wait took on the risk that the token price would fall in the meantime, which makes the bonus an uncertain advantage and not a free one.