dYdX, a decentralized crypto derivatives exchange, ended its contentious $25 first deposit bonus promo amid overwhelming demand. The campaign which was launched on August 31 was very short-lived as it ended on September 1. It offered new users a $25 bonus if they deposited $500 or more into the platform.
Users, who wanted to participate in the promo, had to agree to do a liveness check through a webcam to verify their identity. This drew backlash from certain sections of the community. dYdX said the facial recognition was only used to make sure that users weren’t doubling up on accounts to claim the bonus.
dYdX tweeted that it’s ending the campaign due to extremely overwhelming demand for the $25 deposit bonus promotion. The platform thanked its users. It revealed that it had truly underestimated the amount of interest the campaign garnered. dYdX onboarded thousands of new users. Some users believe dYdX ended the promo abruptly because of concerns raised about the use of facial recognition tools.
Adam Cochran, Yearn Finance contributor, tweeted that he would move off the dYdX platform, despite being a major advocate for it. He will sell his DYDX tokens until he sees meaningful changes. Cochran said that for the platform, privacy is a commodity and an acceptable risk if they get growth. He is hopeful for a decentralized perps market but expressed worry about such behavior where company culture prioritizes growth over users. Cochran described it as dangerous.
