ZFT Unfazed By Criticism Over Paid Airdrop Seminar

By Shiela Bertillo, Additional information and editing by Michael Mislos
- Trading organization ZFT is proceeding with the paid crypto aidrop seminar despite online backlash.
- Coins.ph clarified its level of involvement with ZFT for this particular event.
- George Isaac Asibal, CEO of ZFT, who defended the pricing of the event, criticized the web3 leaders who should have been at “the forefront, verifying things before they react.โ
ZFT (Zeefreaks Tribe), a prominent trading organization in the Philippines, is proceeding with its “Mastering Airdrops by ZFT” event despite facing criticism for charging a โฑ3,000 attendance fee. The seminar, slated for April 6, 2024, at the Coins.ph Office in the Asian Century Center in BGC, aims to equip participants with strategies to maximize cryptocurrency airdrops.
The event’s announcement sparked a debate within the local community about the ethics of charging for education on airdrops, which are traditionally free. A BitPinas Asks Facebook poll revealed a division, with many arguing that such information should be freely accessible, mirroring the nature of airdrops themselves.
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Should a Seminar About Free Airdrops Be Free?
Critics argue that the wealth of free resources available online makes paid seminars unnecessary. However, some also countered that personalized guidance and expert insights might justify the cost.
The language use in the copy was also criticized, such as the use of the word “milking”.

โFree. So many resources available online. Pero kung tamad ka, edi magbayad ka sa seminar,โ a follower commented.
[Translation: Free. There are so many resources available online. But if you’re lazy, then pay for the seminar.]
Firstly, a significant number of these airdrops necessitate the use of a referral link. This implies that individuals promoting the airdrop may already earn compensation based on the volume of referrals they generate. This is particularly true if the structure of the airdrop rewards them with additional tokens for each referral or incorporates referrals as a factor in determining the quantity of tokens received.

Shun, an online crypto personality who has been sharing information on airdrops, who agreed to be quoted in this article, expressed reservations for charging money to airdrops education but emphasized what investors should do before enrolling in paid services.
He emphasized that the instructor must be credible and have a proven track record of delivering results in what they teach. If both criteria are satisfied, investing in such services becomes viable.
โAnd kahit ako nagbabayad din ako ng mga paid courses para mas matuto pa ako. Piliin mo lang mabuti kung kanino ka magpapaturo para yung pera naman na pinaghirapan mo ay hindi masayang.โ
Shun, CryptoPH Personality
[Translation: And even I pay for paid courses to further my learning. Just choose carefully from whom you’ll be learning so that the money you worked hard for won’t go to waste.]
Eli Becislao, managing director of The BLOKC, who also agreed to be quoted in this article, echoed the sentiment of not being against paid lessons. Becislao lamented that some people who join free seminars might not have the incentive to continue learning because they did not pay for it to begin with.
โAt the end of the day, 1% or less lang dyan yung talagang magpu-pursige or magpapatuloy para i-apply yung natutunan nila sayo at matuto pa lalo. Bakit? Kasi โLIBREโ lang naman yan and wala naman mawawala or nawala sa kanila gawin man nila or hindi (except siguro loss of opportunity kapag pumapaldo sa mga airdrop na tinuro mo na di nila ginawa).โ
Eli Becislao, managing director of The BLOKC
Becislao added that there are several Filipinos who are willing to teach and share knowledge for free, but laziness and ingratitude often prevail among learners.

โThe best way to thank these people na nagtuturo or nagshe-share ng LIBRE ay to show them na youโre applying it and youโre making use of it to compensate their time, effort and knowledge na shinare sa inyo,โ he concluded.
[Translation: The best way to thank those who teach or share knowledge for free is to show them that you’re applying and making use of it to compensate for their time, effort, and shared knowledge.]
ZFT Unfazed With Criticism
Despite the controversy, ZFT defends the price point, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of the workshop.
The ZFT website presents itself as a platform empowering the “new generation of wealth builders” in the Philippines. The website also noted that it is recognized in various traders shows and awards, as well as highlighting partnerships with Binance, 2TradeAsia, eToro, XM, and TradingView.

A segment of the ZFT masterclass

The organization also stressed focusing on helping Filipinos get into cryptocurrency and start investing in Web3. ZFT offers services beyond its airdrop masterclass, including an Immersion Program (โฑ35,000), a Wealth Builder Access Pass (โฑ55,000 until March 31, 2024), and a Blueprint online course (โฑ3,000) for trading beginners.
George Isaac Asibal, CEO, and Dianne Ubaldo (PR Manager), who both agreed to be interviewed, highlighted that they have received constant requests about airdrops and concerns about scams, thus necessitating the need to conduct the meetup.
โA lot of people feel that it is sobrang mahal or mabigat. And well, it really depends. Mahal is relative, I believe that our pricing is justified and actually, it is undervalued. This is actually just a segment of our master crypto masterclass course. Some people say they want only to learn about airdrops and so we give them that. But our course, you know, the crypto master classes is โฑ35,000 and other people medyo namamahalan sa ganun so we decided, if you don’t want to learn about the whole thing, here is one of them in this specific thing, which is airdrops, then here’s โฑ3000 worth of that.โ
George Isaac Asibal, CEO, ZFT
Is the Price of the Airdrops Seminar Justified?
The biggest issue in the ongoing discourse is the paid nature of the event about airdrops, a crypto activity that is usually free, and with tons of influencers already providing airdrop information freely on social media.
There are airdrops require money to do – Asibal
Asibal and Ubaldo emphasized that while some may view paying for information on free airdrops as unnecessary, there are significant opportunities beyond these basic giveaways, requiring investment in crypto protocols for substantial returns. The CEO noted one specific instance – the airdrops that require money to do these airdrops.
โI think what the majority of the public doesn’t know is that there are a lot of other airdrop opportunities that [isnโt like the] free airdrops. But it’s not always like that, if you want to go for the bigger airdrops, [if] you want to earn, let’s say 100,000 or beyond that, or seven figures; you’ve got to have money to do these airdrops. You have to put it into certain protocols, and certain products in the crypto space. And so I feel like people kind of like misunderstand that.โ
George Isaac Asibal, CEO, ZFT
Involvement of Coins.ph

Moreover, Asibal shared that the event serves as their communityโs networking opportunity, with ZFT aiming to prioritize quality over profit. Asibal noted that the event price will cover expenses like food and speaker fees.
With Coins.phโs logo featured prominently on the eventโs publication material, BitPinas reached out to the crypto platform to clarify its involvement. According to the firm, it is merely providing the venue for the event, with no involvement in the planning process, nor receiving payment from the organizers or ticket sales.
This was also confirmed by ZFT.
โIt was very awesome that Coins actually was gracious enough to, hey, we want to collab with you and do an airdrop event. So they’re covering that for usโฆ Basically, with [the] involvement with Coins this time they [are] just sponsoring the place,โ Asibal stated.

Reaction to Backlash
When asked about their perspective following the backlash they received online, Asibal acknowledged that misunderstandings can arise when the full context is not clear. He shared that he clarified their position with community leaders who raised objections, asserting that while they โdidnโt do anything wrong,โ they could have also clarified with ZFT for clarification.
โPeople who are leaders, theyโre supposed to be the ones in the forefront, verifying things before they react.โ
George Isaac Asibal, CEO, ZFT
Ubaldo also noted that the team remains unfazed by the backlash and sees it as an opportunity to inform the audience of both their paid and free resources, while noting that it would not tolerate people with crab mentality.
โOur heart is not to milk money out of the public, but weโre really here to serve you, weโre here to give what we can, but at the same time, we wonโt tolerate those kinds of people who have crab mentality.โ
Dianne Ubaldo, PR Manager, ZFT
โWe really see this as a good opportunity for marketing, honestly. And we want to also show people that we’ve been here for years, and we’ve been receiving a lot of bashing already, not just this one. And we’re still here,โ she concluded.
This article is published on BitPinas: ZFT Unfazed By Criticism Over Paid Airdrop Seminar
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