Web3 has long struggled with onboarding. Traditional airdrops may create hype, but they often attract the wrong crowd bots, multi-wallet farmers, and short-term opportunists who vanish once the tokens hit their wallets. These campaigns rarely educate users or encourage meaningful interaction with the ecosystem. The problem is even worse on Layer-2 chains like Optimism, where new users face extra complexity bridging assets, navigating unfamiliar dApps, and handling multiple wallet prompts. This mix of technical friction and incentive misalignment has led to high drop-off rates and unsustainable growth models.
Optimism flipped the script by teaming up with Galxe to launch a quest-based onboarding campaign that prioritized action, education, and identity. Instead of handing out tokens for nothing, the campaign rewarded users for learning about the ecosystem and performing real on-chain tasks staking, trading, voting, and more. These actions were tracked and verified using Galxe credentials and soulbound NFTs, which acted as proof of progress. The results? Over 3.4 million NFTs minted, a 50% surge in ecosystem usage, and daily active wallets doubling from 11.6K to 25.1K. Most impressively, around 83% of those quest completions came from brand-new wallets showing that meaningful onboarding works when it’s built with intent.
What Are Galxe Quests?
Galxe: More Than Just a Credentialing Platform
At its core, Galxe is a Web3 engagement platform that helps projects verify user participation through on-chain and off-chain credentials. Think of it as the infrastructure behind many of the most successful “proof of participation” campaigns. It powers soulbound tokens, campaign dashboards, and credential-based access for protocols looking to reward real users not bots or passive spectators. By tracking wallet actions, social interactions, and even off-chain behaviors, Galxe gives dApps the tools to build trusted, reputation-based ecosystems.
How the Learn -Act -Earn Flow Works
Galxe Quests are built around a simple, effective structure: Learn, Act, Earn. First, users are introduced to a protocol or topic through a short explainer or quiz this helps them understand what they’re about to do. Then comes the action phase, where users perform tasks like swapping tokens, providing liquidity, staking assets, or following a project on social media. Finally, once tasks are verified, users receive on-chain rewards typically in the form of NFTs or badges that serve both as collectibles and proof-of-engagement. This model ensures people don’t just farm rewards they learn something, do something, and earn something meaningful.
Why Quests Win in Web3 Onboarding
Let’s face it onboarding in crypto is a mess. But quests change that by turning each step into an achievement. Instead of being overwhelmed by complex interfaces or multiple wallet prompts, users follow a clear, gamified path. They earn NFTs that validate their progress and get a sense of purpose along the way. For protocols, this means better-qualified users, higher retention, and real data on who’s doing what. Quest campaigns like those built on Galxe add structure to chaos and help Web3 projects turn curious visitors into confident, committed users.
Optimism’s Campaign Design: Turning Tasks into Adoption
A Four-Month, Multi-dApp Sprint to Scale Users
Optimism’s quest campaign didn’t happen overnight. It was a carefully orchestrated, four-month rollout involving over 18 dApps from across its ecosystem. From DeFi giants to up-and-coming apps, each project was onboarded with its own customized quest experience. This wasn’t just a showcase it was a full-blown growth funnel designed to guide users step-by-step through the ecosystem. Every phase introduced new actions, new tools, and more utility. The timeline allowed room for experimentation and optimization, helping both users and developers understand what worked and what didn’t.
A Balanced Mix of Social, Educational, and On-Chain Tasks
Not all quests are created equal, and Optimism knew that well. The campaign included a mix of task types to appeal to a wide range of users. Some quests were as simple as following a Twitter account or joining a Discord server great for getting beginners warmed up. Others leaned into education, asking users to complete short quizzes or read through protocol guides. But the heart of the campaign lay in the on-chain tasks: swapping tokens, staking assets, providing liquidity, or voting in governance. These actions not only demonstrated real usage but also served as a training ground for deeper protocol interaction.
NFTs as Proof, Not Just Prizes
Each completed quest came with an NFT more than just a badge of honor, it was on-chain proof of participation. These weren’t hype-driven collectibles; they were utility-infused credentials tied to wallet identities. For users, they became part of a verifiable Web3 resume, signaling experience and trustworthiness. For Optimism and its dApps, these NFTs helped segment audiences, reward loyalty, and even qualify wallets for future incentives. It was identity-building through action and it made each task more meaningful.
Real Results: What the Numbers Reveal
3.4 Million NFTs Minted And They Meant Something
Optimism’s quest campaign wasn’t just a feel-good experiment it delivered serious numbers. Users minted more than 3.4 million NFTs throughout the campaign. These weren’t just collectibles to clutter wallets. Each NFT represented a completed task, a credential, and in many cases, a first meaningful interaction with a protocol. That scale of participation showed clear demand for structured, purposeful onboarding and proved that people are willing to engage when there’s value beyond just a token giveaway.
Daily Wallet Activity More Than Doubled
Before the campaign kicked off, Optimism averaged around 11,000 daily active wallets. By the end of the campaign, that number had soared to over 25,000. That’s a 2x jump in on-chain activity fueled by real users taking real actions. And here’s the kicker: about 83% of those wallet interactions came from brand-new wallets. That means the campaign didn’t just activate existing users it pulled in fresh participants who stuck around.
A 50% Surge in Ecosystem Usage
This wasn’t just about one-time task completions. The Optimism ecosystem saw a 50% increase in overall usage during the quest period. More swaps, more bridges, more governance votes users were doing more across the board. This level of sustained engagement is rare in Web3, especially when most campaigns peak early and fade fast. But by guiding users through multiple dApps and rewarding progress, Optimism kept momentum rolling.
Granary, Perpetual Protocol, and Others Reaped Big Gains
At the dApp level, the impact was just as strong. Granary Protocol saw its user base grow by over 270%. Perpetual Protocol onboarded more than 7,000 new wallets. PoolTogether, Velodrome, and others also posted major spikes in activity and user retention. It wasn’t just the chain winning it was the ecosystem as a whole growing together. The takeaway? When you turn onboarding into an adventure, everyone benefits.
Sybil Resistance and Quality Control
Designing Quests That Bots Can’t Game
One of the biggest issues with airdrops and reward campaigns in Web3 is Sybil farming where bad actors use multiple wallets to claim the same reward repeatedly. Optimism’s quest strategy tackled that head-on. Each quest was intentionally designed to demand real effort. Tasks weren’t limited to just clicks they required users to swap tokens, stake assets, or participate in governance. That made it much harder for bots to simply “farm and exit.” When effort is tied to outcome, it naturally filters out low-quality actors and encourages authentic engagement.
Galxe Passport and Soulbound Credentials: Identity Meets Action
To tighten the filter even more, the campaign integrated Galxe Passport a decentralized identity framework that links user credentials across dApps. Alongside it, soulbound badges (non-transferable NFTs) acted as receipts for each completed task. These badges weren’t just shiny collectibles; they served as proof of intent, showing that a wallet wasn’t just active it had a verifiable history of participation. With these tools in place, Optimism could trace behavior and prioritize users who actually contributed to the ecosystem, not just those chasing rewards.
Only the Right Users Get the Real Value
Optimism didn’t want just anyone collecting incentives it wanted users who would stick around, explore, and build. That’s why every piece of the campaign focused on quality control. Rewards were earned, not handed out. Quests were layered to ensure progression. And identity tools made it easier to tell the difference between high-value users and opportunists. The result? A campaign that didn’t just look good on paper it actually brought in users who mattered.
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Community Building Through Quests
Twitter Spaces, Discord AMAs, and Dashboards That Sparked Dialogue
Optimism didn’t just rely on quests to do the heavy lifting it activated its community across every major channel. The team hosted multi-day Twitter Spaces where each participating dApp had a chance to pitch its value, explain its quest, and answer live questions. These weren’t scripted infomercials they were real conversations that helped users connect with the people behind the protocols. On Discord, AMAs kept things interactive and gave users a space to troubleshoot, learn, and share. Meanwhile, Galxe’s live dashboards tracked progress, leaderboard scores, and NFT mints in real time turning the whole experience into a community-driven event.
From Explainers to Experiences: Making Learning Stick
Let’s be real reading whitepapers and clicking through documentation rarely gets users excited. That’s why Optimism leaned into gamified content. Each quest embedded educational moments: mini-quizzes, protocol intros, and task instructions that didn’t feel like homework. It wasn’t just about doing something it was about understanding why it mattered. That clarity turned passive readers into active explorers. By making every step interactive and bite-sized, users stayed motivated, informed, and curious about what came next.
Building a Movement, Not Just a Campaign
More than anything, Optimism created a mission-driven environment. It wasn’t just “complete tasks, get rewards” it was “learn, explore, and grow with us.” Every layer of the campaign reinforced that mindset. Soulbound NFTs became badges of honor, users started sharing their progress online, and new wallet holders felt like they were part of something bigger than themselves. It sparked a sense of belonging a key ingredient for long-term community health. When people feel included and empowered, they don’t just show up they stick around.
Post-Campaign Impact and User Retention
What Happened After the Quests Ended?
Many campaigns shine bright and burn out fast. But Optimism’s quest initiative didn’t just spark short-term excitement it created lasting engagement. Even after the final NFT was claimed, user activity remained high. A large chunk of wallets that completed quests didn’t vanish they kept transacting, exploring dApps, and interacting with the ecosystem. That’s a clear signal that these users weren’t just hunting rewards they were genuinely onboarded. The quest flow had built habits, not just hype.
Keeping the Momentum Alive with Fiat Onramps and Ecosystem Hooks
Optimism made it easy for users to stick around by removing common pain points. One of the biggest: getting funds onto the chain. To solve that, the campaign integrated fiat onramps, letting users purchase tokens directly without needing to hop across exchanges or bridges. On top of that, many partner dApps offered post-quest incentives like extra yield, loyalty perks, or governance access to encourage continued participation. These touches made the user journey feel connected, not cut off.
Why It Mattered: Stickiness, Liquidity, and Real Growth
The ripple effects went beyond just user count. As retention improved, so did liquidity across Optimism’s DeFi protocols. dApps saw more TVL, more frequent interactions, and stronger communities forming around them. And because users had already passed through an educational, action-based funnel, they were more prepared to participate in things like staking, yield farming, or DAO votes. Instead of relying on constant acquisition, Optimism had seeded an ecosystem where users actually wanted to stay. That’s the kind of growth Web3 needs more of.
Technical Foundation: Wallets, Smart Contracts, and Credentials
Plug-and-Play Wallet Access Made It Easy to Get Started
A big reason the campaign clicked with users? It didn’t make them jump through hoops. Galxe quests were compatible with major wallets like MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Coinbase Wallet right out of the gate. That meant users didn’t have to switch tools or learn new systems. They could connect what they already used, sign a few transactions, and they were in. This seamless wallet integration eliminated one of the biggest sources of onboarding friction and helped keep bounce rates low.
Smart Contracts Did the Heavy Lifting Behind the Scenes
Every quest had structure, and that structure was backed by smart contracts. As users completed tasks whether it was swapping tokens or staking those actions were tracked automatically on-chain. Galxe’s smart contracts verified progress, issued NFTs, and ensured rewards were tied to real actions. This wasn’t just automation for the sake of convenience it was transparency. Everyone could verify what happened and when, which added trust and credibility to the whole process.
Optimism OATs and Infrastructure Anchored Identity
Optimism’s use of OATs (On-chain Achievement Tokens) brought everything together. These non-transferable badges acted as credentials signaling what a user had done and which quests they had completed. Stored on Optimism’s scalable Layer 2, OATs didn’t just represent participation they were identity anchors. Protocols could use them to qualify users for future rewards, create advanced roles in communities, or gate access to special features. It added a layer of persistence that most airdrop-style campaigns lack.
Key Lessons for Other Protocols
Make Users Earn It (But Make It Worth It)
One of the biggest takeaways? Easy rewards lead to low-quality results. Optimism’s campaign asked users to complete real tasks, and the reward structure reflected that. When users feel they’ve earned something, they value it more and they’re more likely to stick around. Other protocols can take this to heart by designing quests that balance accessibility with meaningful effort.
Education + Incentives = Long-Term ROI
Throwing tokens at users might spike your numbers, but it won’t build loyalty. What worked for Optimism was the blend of learning and doing. Users were educated before they acted, which meant they actually understood what they were interacting with. That clarity reduced confusion, boosted confidence, and made the incentives more effective. For any protocol building a quest, this pairing is non-negotiable.
Think Beyond the First Click
A successful onboarding journey doesn’t end when a task is complete. Optimism’s approach created a progression path from first quest to full ecosystem explorer. Each interaction led naturally to the next. That kind of flow is what turns one-time users into long-term participants. Protocols that want sustained adoption need to map out a full experience not just a one-off engagement.
Conclusion
Optimism’s partnership with Galxe proved that onboarding doesn’t have to be chaotic or shallow. By blending education, action, and identity into a structured quest framework, they didn’t just attract users they activated them. The results spoke for themselves: millions of interactions, sustained growth across dApps, and a community that actually stuck around. This model isn’t just a success story it’s a blueprint for every Web3 protocol aiming for meaningful adoption. Blockchain App Factory provides Galxe-like airdrop platform development services, helping you build custom quest engines that convert interest into long-term ecosystem value.
