What Happened
The CoreDAO team wrapped its “Ignition” rewards program on October 6, 2025. The program had promised users big rewards for on-chain actions in the BTCfi space. But many participants now say they feel under-appreciated, confused and financially reminded of costs.
How Ignition Worked
CoreDAO launched Ignition in early 2024. It aimed to drive DeFi on the chain by rewarding users with “Sparks” for tasks like bridging assets, using dApps, staking CORE and completing campaigns.
The idea: accumulate Sparks then redeem them for stCORE tokens. Early on, many users reported higher returns. But returns dropped as time went on.
The Final Rewards: October 6 Payouts
On payout day, users' Sparks are converted into sCORE tokens via the Ignition dashboard. But community reports say the actual value was much lower than expected. One user in France said they got only about US$26 in value. Other users said their payout was just 20% of what they had hoped. These complaints include the cost of gas fees eating into net gains.
What the Community Is Saying
On X (formerly Twitter), the sentiment turned negative. Many posts said core participants “burnt more in fees than earned any reward”. One said: “We put in our trust, time and capital … seeing the rewards fall short feels unfair.”
Some say the lack of public data on how the reward pool was split is a root cause. Others claim early insiders got more of the benefit, leaving standard users with less.
The community disappointment resulted in a lack of trust as the Core dropped off from the number 1 bitcoin-powered blockchain with the highest DeFi Total Value locked to number 6 on the table.
This is expected as real users lost trust due to activities where reward structure was deeply unfair, resulting in participants losing 70% of their capital .
— Elites ⬡ 🔶 (@AARUMQ) October 22, 2025
Hope core contributors can rise up and correct the abnormal decision taken by few.@BrendonSedo @richrines @Coredao_Org https://t.co/kLFp649h4b
Why Things Went Wrong
- CORE token price dropped, which reduced the real value of what Sparks could buy.
- The team did not share detailed metrics on how much was in the reward pool or how many Sparks each tier earned. That hurt trust.
- Users say maintaining activity over months wore them out. What once felt exciting started feeling like a grind.
- Meanwhile, other BTCfi platforms offered higher yields or simpler reward models. CoreDAO’s more complex model may have lost appeal.
Where CoreDAO Stands Now
CoreDAO is moving to a new program called “Core Missions”. The idea is to reward users through campaign-style tasks rather than continuous Sparks. But many users say they want a guarantee that this new program will treat past participants fairly.
The community is asking for a full audit and breakdown of Ignition’s total payout size, how many users participated, and how rewards were tiered.
What Must Happen for Growth
To rebuild faith, CoreDAO should:
- Release a full report of the Ignition program results.
- Offer bonus compensation or early access perks to top Ignition users.
- Include the community in future reward-program design via governance votes.
- Consider subsidising transaction/gas costs for users engaging heavily in the program.
Final Thought
CoreDAO still has a strong technological promise in the BTCfi space. But this Ignition finale shows a key fact: reward programs need clarity, fairness and predictable value.
For users, rewards only feel real when gains outweigh costs. For projects, you earn loyalty by being transparent, not just by being generous at first.
Have you participated in Ignition? Will “Core Missions” win back your trust? Share your thoughts below.
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