The debate around token lockups is heating up again! This time it’s sparked by the contrasting fates of Humanity Protocol and Caldera. With 90-day locks in play, one side of the coin saw a major pump, while the other faced a steep correction.
Is the 90-day lock period a curse that stifles liquidity and traps holders... or a blessing that fosters diamond hands and long-term conviction? I think it depends on each scenario!
The market’s reaction to $H’s surge and $ERA’s slump paints an intriguing picture of how psychology, timing, and tokenomics intertwine in the early days of a project’s life cycle.
Let’s break down what’s really going on... and why the same mechanism can send one token flying while another nosedives. Humanity Protocol’s native token, $H, was launched on the 25th of June 25, 2025!
It started with spot and futures trading debuting first on Binance, and a lot of hype behind the fairdrop system! The protocol uses biometric data and zero-knowledge proofs to enable secure, privacy-focused identity verification resistant to Sybil attacks.
Binance offered an exclusive airdrop for early users, and 0.2% of $H’s total supply was allocated to reward active community members in the Kaito ecosystem. Some where upset by the Binance deal!
The claim system was simple if you locked for 90 days or super complicated if you wanted instant claim on the Humanity blockchain! I said "this is an issue for another day!" and staked the pot!
The value on TGE day was $192 so wasn't to bothered to track the value. I remembered about Humanity Protocol three months after the claim, when a bag of 4545 $H was dropped into my wallet.
Was busy with IRL stuff and didn't cashed out straight away, which turned out to be a class move. Instead of dropping in value after the staked tokens were unlocked, the $H tokens started to go up!
I was happy to see my bag pumping over 50% and showing some uptrend, making it easier to cash out! I swapped the whole amount and got a sweet deal just in time for Uptober!
Those 4545 $H tokens turned into $346 worth of $ETH, which later where turned into 400 USDC and put to work. The complicated claim process was useful, helping me double my profits!
The $ERA airdrop marked a major milestone for Caldera, when 7% of the total supply was shared to early users, contributors, and testnet participants. I wasn't ready for what was yet to come!
Now let's look at Caldera, and how the 90-days lock turned into a curse! The onchain activity was rewarded with 232 $ERA, from quests and being active on Discord.
However... the Kaito yappers had a bigger share. My X activity was rewarded with 3,480 $ERA ... which was OK when I checked the airdrop eligibility. With TGE you have no clue where the price starts!
What a touch of class from Caldera to double the allocation with bonus staked tokens. These tokens were automatically staked at TGE, so 3712 $ERA stayed locked for three months!
I had no clue $ERA will cook, and once the token went live... this airdrop went straight into the top! Years ago I got $8k worth of $FORTH for playing with $AMPL... and nothing major since then!
Caldera’s approach was all about rewarding real engagement without extra hoops. I tried to be diamond hands.... and watched $ERA going above one dollar... and flying past $1.60 when I cashed out!
The fees were massive, as $ERA broke the Ethereum mainnet. I spent $300 to claim my airdrop and to swap it to $ETH, which I left idle until the next morning for lower gwei.
Half of the $ERA airdrop was swapped for $5,872 worth of $ETH and half is still farming. I was inspired when I swapped for $ETH not stablecoins, because it went up by another $400 until the next morning!
Cashed out $6,200 in $USDC and started moving around and DCA into some of my favourite tokens. I was more than happy with how Caldera managed the distribution, and even happier with the price movement!
The fact that I had over $5000 in $ERA was giving me good vibes. However, there's nothing guaranteed in crypto... especially the price of tokens. It wasn't pump and dump... just normal bull market!
The $ERA price dipped with every market correction or overall crypto dip, and never raised as much as others on the small bull runs. I soon realised that 90 days is a lot!
From the peak time, I've watched $ERA going down the slide from summer to autumn. It's nearly Halloween and the glory of Caldera has reduced to a bucket of sweets (a very big bucket TBH)!
The same 3712 $ERA that were swapped for $5800 three months ago were converted into 1229 USDC! It's not the usual 99% drop, which shows the Caldera utility, but down 78% is still massive! Call it the 90 days curse!
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