Sonic Labs’ recent airdrop of $S tokens has ignited controversy, with users facing a liquidity trap due to the requirement for NFTs to unlock and be burned after 270 days. This mechanism, while intended to curb market speculation, is generating significant backlash from community members who feel exploited by limited access to their own funds. This situation highlights the emergence of new strategies employing psychological manipulation and NFT lock-ups to control user incentives and potentially create a power imbalance in the ecosystem. 270-day lock-up periods restrict immediate access to tokens, forcing users to endure market volatility and potential missed opportunities. Meanwhile, some are leveraging the airdrop NFTs for arbitrage opportunities on secondary platforms, further exacerbating liquidity concerns. Further, while developers benefit from Sonic’s airdrop model with a significant portion of transaction fees, the project team has faced accusations of prioritizing developer gain at the expense of user equity and potentially creating an unfair economic structure. 270-day lock-up periods are now seen as a way to increase long-term engagement but also raise questions about control over user liquidity and market volatility.