The Hamster Combat craze: Why are youths after quick money?
By Ndidiamaka Ede
Since the trend to engage players in the Telegram-based tap-to-earn game began in late 2023, with Notcoin being the first, many have luckily made money in the process. For others, it has always been an initiative of speculation, illusion, and dashed hopes, but the driving force remains uncertain.
Many participants abandoned Tapswap, Catizen was launched on the 20th of September, and Fastom Swap is slated to launch on the 1st of October.
However, Fastom Swap players are required to deposit 0.99 TON before the listing date, which has led many to believe the game is a scam. Yet, Hamster miners have been patiently waiting for September 26th to claim the rewards of the game, which began its mining activities in March 2024.
Few days ago, Hamster Combat concluded its Season One. Many who have been part of the Season One have all connected their wallets. Those whose accounts were not blocked have also seen the 60% calculated coins as promised by the anonymous Hamster Team. Minus the vetting coins, participants are ready to either see the remaining coins transferred to their Binance account on the listing date, or claim the airdrops depending on the exchange connected to wallets.
While lucky participants are patiently waiting to cash out tomorrow, no one knows what the listing price will be.
The major exchanges for the listing are Binance, BitfeX, OKX, Bitget, TON, etc. According to Bybit’s data, the pre-market trading price announced in July varied between $0.001 and $0.10 per token approximately, but the pre-market trading price might not be the token’s eventual listing price. In an interview with Chioma Ogbuozor, one of Hamster miners, she hopes the price will be listed at least $0.01.
Telegram Mining versus Dashes of Hopes Trend
The model of combining gaming with decentralised finance (DeFi) elements, that allows players to earn cryptocurrencies, began to be successful with the introduction of Telegram-based mining games that integrate airdrop mechanics. With Notcoin listed in May 2024, the trend has attracted many Telegram users.
In Nigeria, for instance, it is estimated that about 11 million Nigerians participated in the Notcoin airdrop campaign as the team distributed over $80 billion Not tokens.
Immediately after Notcoin was listed, many Nigerians joined the Tapswap Bot, which has not launched since May as promised. DOG was launched, though many people did not participate in the game, those that did cashed out within the space of three weeks.
Catizen, another popular airdrop, did not really favour its participants as the highest players received about 39.32 $CATI. This is followed by Fastom Swap among many other bots on Instagram.
Hamster delayed from its initial July listing date, has also blocked many users’ accounts, whose reports were said to have violated the game’s rules. Reports online showed that about 20% of the accounts were blocked. Some participants also replied and pleaded with Hamster on X handle to unblock their accounts.
As the final hour for those that made it to Hamster’s result calculation is fast approaching, factors such as market demand, HMSTR token supply, and pre-market trading impact will determine the listing price. Yet participants have to wait patiently.
Youth Unemployment, Free Money, and Web 3.0 Airdrop Trends
Reports indicate that young people between the ages of 18-35 are the most engaged in crypto and airdrops due to their familiarity with digital technologies, social media platforms like Telegram and unemployment are among the driving factors. According to the UN DESA 2023 Policy Brief, youth participation is often driven by the prospects of immediate rewards.
Out of a total youth population of about 151 million in Nigeria, reports show that more than 80 million young people are struggling with unemployment, as Nigeria has the largest number of youth unemployment globally.
Looking at the number of unemployed youths and understanding that most Nigerian youths are involved in the current Telegram mining and airdrop games, it is pertinent to comprehend the factors making many Nigeria Youths get involved.
According to Chi Ofoegbu, a freelance product marketing manager and a Web3 enthusiast, many Nigerians engage in activities like tapping on their phones to participate in airdrops, driven by the potential for financial rewards.
Meanwhile, in an interview with some Nigerian youths, they shared their views on the driving force behind Telegram airdrops and mining.
Views of Nigeria Youths about crypto airdrops
Chibuife Chukwuebuka, a youth based in Lagos stated, “airdrops offer free money because you only invest your time, data, and energy. There is no monetary investment; that is the driving force.”
For those who have been doing it for years, he said they know which ones are genuine and which are fake, so they understand the trend.
For the youths who suddenly start to engage because they were referred. he said “they are participating because they need something to hold onto considering the state of the economy. You cannot blame young people because the country is hard.” He explained also that people are not mining and playing the games because they want money to grow or because they do not have anything else to do. They engage because there is no amount of money that can currently sustain one as a Nigeria considering the value of naira.
Chibuife also noted that everything mined will not pay off, so he advised young people to balance their time, because airdrops money will not last forever. “I can’t use the time I will be busy in the office and be tapping. My time is very important, so I am not that serious with it. You can play the games in your free time,” he said.
For Chioma Ogbuozor, she has done Notcoin, DOG, and all have benefited her. She explained that she has even received about 2000 coins from Hamster; she prays that they just list well. She as well maintains that eventually, if Hamster does not list well , it will hurt her, but not too much because she did not invest any money to participate.
Ogbuozor who is a student from Enugu, Nigeria, said she likes the trend because it has been helpful to her as a student. When asked why she joined the game, she said: “the country is hard and I don’t want to disturb my parents for all my needs. I do other online businesses, but in this case, I don’t have to invest money to meet my needs.”
Conversely, John Oche from Benue State also shared his views about the trend. For him, he is not into any of the mining because it is a phenomenon of getting rich quick, driven by laziness.
In his opinion, “the driving force is not necessarily unemployment because even those who have something to do are involved.”
He said that it is for Generation Z (Gen Z) who want to make it fast even though there are options; “at the end of it all, you either get money or waste your time.”
Oche further explained that he is not a fan of crypto or even airdrops because he is an environmental change activist, who understands the impacts of crypto on Ozone layer. “The Gen Z world is a model for avoiding stress; being at home and tapping,” he added.
However, he clarified that there is nothing wrong with making money; “but the best ways to do so, do not involve sitting in your bed and tapping.” To him, money from airdrops is not reliable and will not last forever. “The money you get from these things can be used to create your own businesses since the government is not creating jobs. Getting the money and spending it all at once is not the best.”
Oche also explained that most of the airdrops are not backed by monetary regulations, so many fall apart within weeks or months; “quick money and referral block chains are almost the same as MMM that is not backed by regulations, very insecure and nobody can be held accountable if anything happens.