The L1 public chain Stable pre-deposit activity has sparked controversy: phase one saw $825 million in quota being "snatched" by whales, limiting participation for retail investors.

The Layer 1 Blockchain Stable, focused on stablecoin trading, announced that it will launch the second phase of its pre-deposit activity next week, allowing users to deposit stablecoins (mainly USDT) to earn future token rewards. However, this move has sparked a lot of negative feedback on social media platform X, with many users accusing the first phase of having “front-running” behavior, as the $825 million deposit cap was filled within about 22 minutes after the official announcement of its opening, with on-chain data showing that most of the funds came from a few whale wallets. Although Stable plans to set wallet limits in the second phase to curb the dominance of whales, it has yet to directly respond to the controversies of the first phase and has not disclosed specific measures to ensure fair participation.

Stable Pre-deposit Activity Questioned: Whale “Zero-Sum Game” Provokes Retail Discontent

Stable, as a high-performance network focused on stablecoin trading and dApps, supported by USDT0, is attracting funds and users through a pre-deposit campaign. However, the first phase of this campaign has sparked huge controversy within the community, highlighting the potential dominance of whale capital over early incentive activities of blockchain projects in the absence of transparency.

Phase One $825 million limit exhausted in 22 minutes

The Stable pre-deposit activity allows users to deposit stablecoins in exchange for future native tokens and ecological incentives rewards. The deposit limit for the first phase is 825 million USD, and it was reported that this quota was quickly reached in about 22 minutes after Stable announced its opening.

• On-chain “front-running” allegations: Multiple users from the X community have accused the activity of having “front-running” phenomena, claiming that on-chain data shows that most deposits come from a small group of large Wallets, which completed the fund transfers before the official announcement.
• Limited retail participation: Community members have conducted a rigorous review of this situation, complaining that this practice greatly restricts the participation space for retail investors, making the deposit activities more like a “zero-sum game” among Whales.

The second phase introduces wallet limits, but concerns about fairness remain.

In response to negative feedback from the community, Stable clearly stated during the announcement of the second phase activities that, like the first phase, a fixed total deposit cap will be set. At the same time, to address the issue of Whale dominance, Stable plans to implement a single wallet deposit limit and individual wallet requirements in the second phase, which helps prevent a few Whale wallets from controlling the entire deposit quota again.

However, Stable has not directly responded to the controversy surrounding the “premature launch” of the first phase, nor has it announced any specific measures to ensure that all participants can fairly and synchronously join at the start of the second phase. Community members have once again expressed concerns on X, claiming that deposit limits could still be filled by “insiders” who may have obtained information about the event launch timing before the official announcement. Stable stated that more details about the second phase will be released on X.

Conclusion

The “running ahead” controversy that Stable faced during its early deposit activities as an L1 Blockchain reveals the challenges of transparency and fairness that crypto projects encounter when distributing early incentives. While introducing wallet limits in the second phase to restrict Whales is a positive attempt, the project team needs to directly address the community's concerns about information leakage and unfair competition to effectively build trust and attract a broader range of retail participants. For investors, it is essential to be aware of potential Whale dominance risks and information asymmetry risks when participating in such activities with early Token incentives.