Gate Alpha’s Points Carnival Changes How Crypto Users Access Airdrops

For years, airdrops have been a staple of on-chain engagement. For many users though, they’ve often been hard to access, heavily gamified, or skewed towards large traders. Gate Alpha is looking to change that.

Gate’s newly upgraded incentive model has seen the crypto exchange distribute more than $800,000 worth of rewards to over 100,000 users, through a 33-day event that users could take part in with as little as a single 0.5 USDT trade.

Billed as the first large-scale user incentive campaign since Gate Alpha’s upgrade, the Points Carnival aimed to introduce a real-value reward system designed to simplify access to on-chain assets.

Now, with a third wave already underway, the platform is continuing to focus on low barriers, fast-paced participation, and early-stage token access—all with the stated goal of making airdrops more retail-friendly.

Airdrops without the whales

Running from May 27 to June 30, 2025, the Gate Alpha Points Carnival featured 17 consecutive token listing airdrop events and two special points giveaways, covering trending on-chain projects including PFVS, SOPH, GOCHU, EDGEN, and GT. Unlike conventional airdrops that often require holding or spending large amounts of capital, Gate Alpha’s campaign allowed users to get involved with as little as 0.5 USDT.

“’The vision for Gate Alpha is to enable “everyone to get on board,” Kevin Lee, Chief Business Officer at Gate, told Decrypt. Gate Alpha, he added, facilitates a lower entry threshold and an alternative approach to participation compared with rival offerings that require large capital commitments or high-frequency trades.

“We designed the Alpha Points Carnival to be a less restrictive structure, which attracted significant user participation,” Lee said, pointing to “a growing demand for more accessible on-chain incentive models.”

Alpha Points

At the centre of Gate Alpha’s approach is its Alpha Points system—a reward mechanism where points are redeemable for token airdrops on a set schedule. Some users also received mystery boxes containing up to $100 worth of trending tokens.

According to data provided by the platform, individual participants earned up to $1,400 over the 33-day period. The special airdrop structure combined both planned and surprise incentives, reflecting an emphasis on tangible returns even for smaller trades.

The prize pool for the first and second Points Carnivals totaled $800,000, with one user scooping an accumulated reward of $1,400—for a total of $300 a week on average, according to Gate.

Community feedback also noted that lower-volume trades could generate dual benefits in the form of instant cashback and points-based rewards. Gate Alpha’s one-click trading experience and automatic token selection process were also highlighted as factors that helped make participation more streamlined.

“The best of both worlds”

Alongside its incentive campaign, Gate Alpha rolled out several product updates designed to make trading more responsive and flexible. These included full support for both limit and market orders, along with customisable slippage settings that allow users to adjust for volatility.

The candlestick chart interface was also overhauled. Users can now access personalized chart styles, add or remove indicators, and share charts with a single click—all designed to improve how market data is viewed and interpreted.

At the same time, the platform’s multi-chain capabilities were expanded to include SOL, ETH, BNB Chain, and Base. Gate users can now trade on-chain assets directly from their spot accounts using USDT, with no need to switch networks or complete separate authorisations. The idea, Gate told Decrypt, is to make on-chain trading feel more like traditional spot trading in terms of ease and immediacy, “blending the best of both worlds” of centralized and decentralized exchanges by combining the convenience of a CEX with the vast coin selection of a DEX.

Token listings

In a further upgrade to the platform’s infrastructure, Gate Alpha has also overhauled its token listing mechanism, shifting to a high-frequency model that now supports new listings on a minute-level basis. Described by the platform as entering a “burst-phase” of onboarding, this new approach is designed to reduce the time between on-chain discovery and centralised availability, giving users faster access to high-growth assets.

The platform positions this as part of its broader product philosophy—All On-Chain Assets, One Gate Alpha. Listings now cover a wide range of sectors, including Meme, AI, GameFi, RWA, L3, and NFTs, and span the full asset lifecycle, from early-stage experimental tokens to more established projects.

Gate Alpha is designed to combine the usability of centralized exchanges with the listing speed and breadth more commonly associated with decentralized platforms. It aggregates token sources from major launchpads like Pump.fun, Boop.fun, USD1, Believe, and Bonk.fun, while still maintaining the risk controls and compliance infrastructure of a CEX. Users can trade any listed token using USDT without bridging, chain switching, or interacting with contracts, further lowering the barriers to participation.

What’s next? A bigger prize pool of over $1 million

Gate Alpha’s Points Carnival campaign is continuing with the Third Points Carnival, which maintains the same low-barrier approach and adds three new ways for users to earn rewards with over $1 million prize pool in total up for grabs.

First, the Daily Trading Check-in lets users earn up to four points per day by completing daily trading volumes between 50 and 300 USDT. Bonus points are available on weekends, and users who check in for eight consecutive days qualify for access to a special $50,000 prize pool.

Elsewhere, Gate Alpha has also introduced a referral system—users can earn up to 100 points for each friend they invite who completes their first trade.

Finally, users can also continue to earn points by participating in new token listing events, with all points feeding into a total reward pool worth $150,000. The mystery box feature also returns, offering rewards of up to $100 in trending tokens.

The future of airdrops

While this round of the campaign is live, Gate Alpha told Decrypt that it is already preparing additional airdrop events, new mechanics, and broader project coverage. Its points-based system will continue to evolve as the platform experiments with different forms of engagement across a wider range of user profiles.

At the same time, the listing infrastructure upgrades aim to expand access to on-chain opportunities—not just by offering new incentives, but by drastically reducing the time it takes for users to engage with new tokens.

Ultimately, Gate Alpha is aiming to position itself as a key entry point for on-chain trading—particularly for users looking to access early-stage tokens without the complexity or scale typically required. Whether through small daily trades or participation in token listings, Gate told Decrypt, the platform is focused on enabling lower-friction ways for more users to engage with Web3.