Loyalty Points Are Crypto's New Bait (straitstimes.com) 19
An increasing number of digital-asset startups are offering airline-like loyalty points as they seek to attract more devoted users, even though most have yet to define what the rewards actually entail. From a report: Loyalty programs have sprung up in response to a once-favorite marketing ploy -- the token airdrop -- in which projects give away crypto tokens to users. But the industry is rethinking this tack because many airdrops have done little to retain users while regulatory scrutiny has swelled over tokens themselves. The fledgling points programs already have their detractors, with many users bemoaning a lack of transparency -- most haven't explained how their points can be used -- while experts warn they may pose regulatory risks of their own.
The trend took off in November when new blockchain project Blast lured users by rewarding them with points. Even without a live blockchain, Blast has since attracted more than $1.3 billion worth of crypto from users who can only speculate what the points can be used for later. In a post thread on social-media platform X, Blast said only that the points can be redeemed on May 24. The crypto community has criticised the Blast points programme as a marketing ploy to get people to commit their tokens and refer new users. Some critics have even said the approach is reminiscent of a Ponzi scheme, which Blast's founder Tieshun Roquerre has denied.
The trend took off in November when new blockchain project Blast lured users by rewarding them with points. Even without a live blockchain, Blast has since attracted more than $1.3 billion worth of crypto from users who can only speculate what the points can be used for later. In a post thread on social-media platform X, Blast said only that the points can be redeemed on May 24. The crypto community has criticised the Blast points programme as a marketing ploy to get people to commit their tokens and refer new users. Some critics have even said the approach is reminiscent of a Ponzi scheme, which Blast's founder Tieshun Roquerre has denied.
TrumpCoin has had loyalty rewards for years (Score:2, Funny)
In fact, the more times you vote for Trump, the more rewards you get! #trump2024
Re:TrumpCoin has had loyalty rewards for years (Score:5, Funny)
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I think that the idea of loyalty points was inspired form airmiles. Am I right? Anybody with marketing history knowledge cares to confirm?
Then again, Canadian Tire redeem Dollars have existed since as far as I can remember but the core idea wasn't to better track you in order to maximize profit by reselling your information to data brokers since it was harder to implement back and if you paid cash, Canadian Tire didn't have any idea who you were.
I would have no problems with that if the goal was to enhance
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I think that the idea of loyalty points was inspired form airmiles. Am I right? Anybody with marketing history knowledge cares to confirm?
Then again, Canadian Tire redeem Dollars have existed since as far as I can remember but the core idea wasn't to better track you in order to maximize profit by reselling your information to data brokers since it was harder to implement back and if you paid cash, Canadian Tire didn't have any idea who you were.
I would have no problems with that if the goal was to enhance customer experience and all data was kept internal to the company providing services. Maybe I am dreaming out loud although.
Loyalty programs started long before frequent flyer programs although it is fair to say that frequent flyer programs popularised them and are the basis for the modern implementation. 1793 is the first recorded use of a store handing out tokens that could be redeemed, so the practice predates powered flight by a fair margin.
Airmiles/points have become a mugs game as airlines have separated out their frequent flyer programs into two tiers, the tier that gets their points from credit cards which are devalue
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Re: TrumpCoin has had loyalty rewards for years (Score:2)
Average prison sentence for Jan 6 is what? 2 years? A fine and just reward.
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In fact, the more times you vote for Trump, the more rewards you get! #trump2024
Trump loyalty points only go one way. You work hard for Trump loyalty points, sometimes even breaking the law and going to prison, and Trump redeems them for whatever he wants. But you get nothing, just ask Trump loyalty champion, Rudi Giuliani.
They discovered the formula! (Score:2)
Number goes up, brain releases dopamine, monkey happy.
Get Blast before it takes off to the moon! (Score:2)
You only need to go _here_ to get in on the ground floor of this new and very limited special offer, available only to a small pre-determined set of very discriminating investors!
Join this elite club now! Don't let this opportunity pass you by!
(Picture of man on yacht surrounded by hot bikini clad girls)
Crypto runs on FOMO (Score:2)
The current pitch to invest in Bitcoin is that the limited supply ensures that it is cheaper now than it will be in 10 years when more people are using it. The shitcoin airdrops work on the same principle, except there is no reason to think that anyone at all will be using it in 10 years, so they goose demand by giving away supply (via endowment effect + rooting interest as a member of the team).
In the real world there is an underlying product that you are loyal to. People may honestly feel that they run
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Same idea as 'NFTs will allow you take your skin from GameA and use it in GameB', ignoring that no game will enable that for a variety of reasons, and since any such integration would rely on contractually enforced 'trust' between the two parties -- there's no reason to use a trustless blockchain to track who has what.
Very innovative (Score:2)
Blockchain companies have discovered the secret to success: ditch the blockchain.
Some critics have even said the approach is reminiscent of a Ponzi scheme, which Blast's founder Tieshun Roquerre has denied.
Obviously it's not a Ponzi scheme. In Ponzi schemes you use new "investments" to pay off old "investors." The idea is that since you're actually paying the returns you promised, everything looks legit and you a
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I always though that crypto worked more like a pump and dump scam than a Ponzi scheme.
Every few years, we have crypto shills coming up with a new "killer app" like a new meme token or NFT and hype it up like it's somehow going to revolutionize the industry. Then, they unload their bags at or near the all time highs before people realize that it doesn't really work all that well. When that happens, they create new accounts to spread FUD and try to cause a market panic. Then, they buy back in at low prices. R
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Yeah, still very complicated. These guys just say "give us your money" and apparently people do. Much simpler.
Clearly the reason I don't have a billion dollars is that my opinion of people is too high.
Re: Very innovative (Score:2)
The Joke that Never Was (Score:2)
I was going to post some wiseass comment about getting a loyalty punch card for cocaine. Then I realized that it's an unfair comparison. Cocaine has a well defined purpose and value, and your dealer is providing an actual honest-to-goodness service.
Not all of them have to be this bad... (Score:2)
I like the proposal from these guys: https://koos.io/usecases [koos.io]
Can't find the asshole-get-rich-fast loophole.