Gm shaper! The $SHAPE token is now live and distributed to true believers. You can check your eligibility and claim now @ claim.shape.network
This article breaks down how $SHAPE was distributed in this initial airdrop and reveals a glimpse of the energy behind the token. We know you want the TL;DR, so what can you do with it right now?
From today you can temporarily lock $SHAPE to mint a Maximal @ maximals.shape.network
For every 360k $SHAPE locked you'll be able to claim 1 of 3141 unique NFTs - plus a Black medal - each reflecting your belief in Shape. It's the strongest signal you're here to shape the future.
You can also delegate governance power to yourself or others, and that carries some serious responsibility. To understand why, and before we explore the finer points of the airdrop, let's look at the power of $SHAPE.
$SHAPE: THE NETWORK TOKEN
$SHAPE has power in the protocol. But what does that mean?
$SHAPE makes you a member of Structura, the Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association ("DUNA") of the protocol, and you use it to help guide Shape through decisions that carry weight beyond the chain.
This makes $SHAPE the next major step for decentralization, and that's why 70% of the supply is dedicated to the shapers using and building on the network.
Almost half of this is committed to a Full Decentralization Incentives ("FDI") pool, which unlocks when shapers can actively help secure Shape at the network level. Think concepts like running validators, participating in sequencer decentralization, or other infrastructure roles that don't exist yet.
Until a concept like that is available the FDI pool is locked, so for now, all shapers will be able to direct their energy to pitch use cases and apply for grants from the Community Treasury.
Follow @structura for all the latest updates, then read on to learn more about the airdrop and see who holds this power.
AIRDROPS TAKE SHAPE
For this initial airdrop, there were four paths to $SHAPE. They're laid out below in individual allocation size, from smallest to largest, and shapers could be eligible from just one to all four.
Letters
This allocation went to everyone that minted their Letter from Shape, a token of gratitude for your ongoing contribution to the space. Plus if you'd also minted a Stack, your allocation was doubled.
This preserves your Letter forever and reminds us all why we're here. NFTs are dead, long live NFTs!
Tickets
Tickets went to active members of existing onchain communities and projects.
Each Ticket NFT grants a fixed amount of $SHAPE (check the metadata before you claim to see how much you'll get) and the ability to claim rare & exclusive items for your DeePle, the customizable avatars created in DeeKay's signature style. Check them out @ deeple.xyz/claim
Creative Shapers
This allocation is for the creators whose projects became part of the Stack before this airdrop. You helped shape the early ecosystem and for that every shaper thanks you!
Each specifically-named individual creator of a Stack project received the "Creative Shaper" medal. This $SHAPE allocation is tied directly to ownership of the medal, which has a max claim of 1, regardless of how many projects that creator has on the Stack.
The Stack
The Stack is the largest $SHAPE allocation for the initial airdrop.
On the Stack, shapers earn medals for participating in projects on Shape, as well as from being members of onchain communities. Medals have four tiers: Black, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, and these medals are used to determine shaper's Leaderboard ranks.
Leaderboard ranks are determined in lexicographic order - think like how nations are ranked in the Olympics. One Black medal is considered more valuable than any number of Gold medals, which itself is considered more valuable than any number of Silver medals, and so on. It's a system for engagement quality over quantity, reflecting the fact that Gold and Black medals are much harder to accumulate than their Bronze and Silver counterparts.
These Leaderboard ranks are very competitive and designed to recognize ongoing participation in the ecosystem, rather than a mad one-time rush for points. The Leaderboard snapshot for this airdrop was taken 3/14 2026 @ 3:14pm ET:
⚫ Top 2500 shapers qualify for a $SHAPE allocation
⚫ Top 360 shapers receive a scaling $SHAPE allocation relative to their rank
The scaling for the top 360 was concentrated to maximize rewards for these most dedicated shapers. For example, the rank 1 shaper received 11,111,111 $SHAPE tokens, as it's only fitting that number 1 gets all the 1s.
Use this power wisely, shapers!
KEEPING STRONG SHAPE
As the next major step for Shape's decentralization, $SHAPE represents something far bigger than a token launch. This means the initial distribution had to land in the right hands: the true believers that will help shape the future.
Now we know farming is a natural response to an airdrop, and that's ok! Who wouldn't want $SHAPE? The issue is where farmers scale to thousands of wallets, all with identical behavior patterns, that plan on vacuuming up tokens at the expense of real users.
It's no secret that airdrops have sybil problems and the standard playbook is for protocols to aggressively filter and nuke everyone that isn't a whale. We didn't want to do that. The question was never "how do we punish farmers?", but instead "how do we make sure real shapers get the most?"
We tried several approaches with a focus on minimizing collateral damage. We kept iterating until we found a filter that was tight enough to matter, but loose enough to preserve the core; this initial airdrop was concentrated to maximize rewards for active participants after all.
The result: if you only held medals from the following projects, you became ineligible for a Stack allocation in this airdrop:
- Assembly
- Block TinyDino
- Bubble(s)
- Buildtree
- FORMS
- Heavy Helms
- Highlight.xyz
- Infinite Garden
- Invites
- Kex
- Kolam
- Medal Spin
- Moveable Type
- OTOM
- Postino
- Proof of Personhood
- Shaper
- the deviates
- The Seeker
- Transient Labs
Let's be clear. This list isn't reflective of project quality at all (if we didn't love them they wouldn't be on the Stack!), it's simply sybil risk. At some point in time, these projects had a very low mint cost AND unrestricted mint conditions, a combination which made them easy to farm at scale.
But there were exceptions. Owning any of the specific medals below restored your Stack eligibility even if you only owned medals from projects on the above list:
- FORMS = HEXAGON Holder
- Proof of Personhood = Onchain Maxi
- Shaper = Creative Shaper / Good Shape / Good Shape Creator / Competition Time / Elite Shaper / Shape Invader / Chad Shaper
And here's the key takeaway: owning any medal from any project not on the above list made you eligible for a Stack allocation. Plus this filtering only applies to the Stack, so everyone remains eligible for their other allocations - including Letters and Tickets - and, as this was a one-time filter, everyone can still continue where they left off for Season 2.
SHAPE UP THE LEADERBOARD
We needed to address the sybil risk properly. The good news is it ended up being a positive for shapers, as for every account that became ineligible, all eligible shapers below them moved up in rank.
This impact included invites. If a user invited 100 others, they earned a Black medal. The issue came when those invited accounts consistently matched the behavior patterns above. In fact, we found one user had invited 100 accounts which all became ineligible, and when it's on that kind of scale, that's not bad luck - that's a strategy. Invite medals were therefore adjusted to only count how many eligible users had been invited.
After these changes, the leaderboard further shifted in favor of eligible shapers. Their ranks increased and so did their allocations, meaning sybils didn't just lose: shapers won more.
SHAPE THE FUTURE
Everyone who holds $SHAPE will help guide what Shape becomes, and that's what decentralization actually looks like. Not a token in every wallet. The right tokens in the right wallets.
So what next? First up, the Stack continues! Season 2 brings new projects, new features, and new ways to earn medals. One of those new medals will be for locking $SHAPE and, for every Black medal you earn from locking, you can claim 1 of 3141 unique Maximal NFTs. Keep stacking @ stack.shape.network
Many exciting developments are coming soon, including the full rollout of onchain governance and the remaining 250m+ $SHAPE allocated to airdrops. Follow @shape and @structura for all the latest updates.
Now $SHAPE is live. This airdrop marks the very early stages of Shape's decentralization, and we can all see everything starting to take shape ⚫