In the crypto world, the myth of getting rich overnight and the tragedy of instant zero are often only a fine line apart. Binance Alpha — this 'early project gold mine' that once set a daily trading volume record of $5 billion and swallowed 95.3% of wallet market share, is now embroiled in a trust crisis due to an epic flash crash. The two major tokens, ZKJ and KOGE, plummeted by 80% in just two hours on the evening of June 15, with on-chain liquidations reaching $94 million, and users losing an average of over $800, far exceeding previous airdrop gains. While the 'score manipulators' are still calculating the point thresholds and return periods, the scythe of liquidity withdrawal has quietly struck.

1. The Rise of Alpha: How the Points Mechanism Ignited an On-Chain 'Arms Race'

Binance Alpha is anything but an ordinary token listing channel. Through a meticulously designed Alpha Points system, it deeply binds user behavior to early project dividends:

- Dual-track point design: Holding points (starting from $100 earns 1 point daily) combined with trading points (1 point earned for every $2 purchased, exponentially increasing), forming a 15-day rolling assessment mechanism

- Airdrop and TGE privileges: Meeting point thresholds allows participation in exclusive Token Generation Events (TGE) and airdrops, with users averaging 1/8 of the first day's closing price when purchasing tokens, yielding an average airdrop profit of $1,076

- Traffic explosion effect: On the day of points launch, the number of active wallet users surged by 58%, and trading volume skyrocketed by 143%

This 'task completion for rewards' model quickly attracted retail investors and studios. To reach the 247 points threshold for the ROAM airdrop (June data), users needed to trade an average of $1,024 daily and hold over $1,000, with a 15-day cost of about $800, while expected returns were only $60 — the yield was squeezed to 7.5%, yet it still drew a frenzy of interest.

2. Bubble Burst: Why High-Point Projects Have Become 'Withdrawal Disaster Zones'

When the cost of score manipulation exceeds returns, a liquidity crisis is imminent. The collapse of ZKJ and KOGE exposed the fatal weakness of the Alpha ecosystem:

1. False liquidity trap

These two major tokens became 'score manipulation tools' due to low slippage and stable prices, with TVL once exceeding $30 million, accounting for 85% of Alpha's total trading volume. However, their high trading volume was actually driven by points, and on-chain depth was weak. When three major addresses withdrew $5.84 million in liquidity and sold tokens within five minutes, prices collapsed instantly.

2. Project quality and valuation decoupling

Newly launched projects like AB Blockchain achieved a daily trading volume of $870 million, but token distribution is highly concentrated: the largest holding address accounts for 97.3%, with an FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) reaching $1.5 billion, far exceeding actual ecological value. More absurdly, their website's team page was found to have stolen the avatars of former presidents from multiple countries as 'endorsements,' raising doubts about the feasibility of their technology.

3. Point inflation and participation decay

The skyrocketing airdrop threshold is stifling user enthusiasm: from only needing 45 points in April to requiring 247 points for ROAM in June, the yield has plummeted from 30% to less than 2%. Dune data shows that Alpha's total trading volume has halved from a peak of $2 billion to less than $1 billion, with shrinking liquidity forming a death spiral.

Table: Trends in Binance Alpha Airdrop Thresholds and Yield Changes

3. Future Projection: Can the Alpha Ecosystem Escape 'Point Dependency Syndrome'?

Despite the lurking crises, the underlying value of Binance Alpha is still undeniable:

- Project selection capability: 10% of the tokens listed eventually land on Binance spot, with 43% of new coins coming from Alpha recommendations

- BNB Chain feedback effect: Among the top 20 tokens by trading volume on Alpha, 50% are native BNB projects, driving 4.3 million new addresses on-chain weekly

- Compliance exploration: Deeply connect CEX/DEX, eliminate gas fees and wallet thresholds, attracting traditional trading users

But self-rescue must start immediately: if the points game and the proliferation of subpar projects continue unchecked, Alpha will become a battlefield for 'dumping games.' Project parties must undergo stricter due diligence (such as token distribution audits), and Binance should introduce 'real liquidity weight' adjustments to point rules to prevent volume manipulation from being profitable. At the same time, reduce the proportion of airdrops and shift towards rewards based on project fundamentals (such as staking governance) or seek breakthrough solutions.

Behind the $5 billion trading volume frenzy of Binance Alpha, a gamble of liquidity migration is unfolding. While retail investors are still staying up late to trade for points, the whales have already calculated the withdrawal timetable. The cruelest lesson from this game may be: within the cage of token economics design, there are no real 'early dividends,' only carefully calculated costs and escape velocity. If Binance can reshape project selection and anchor point value, Alpha may be reborn as a true innovation engine; otherwise, ZKJ's flash crash will certainly not be the last bloodbath.