I disagree. I think that's a huge obstacle overall. Maybe not for some, but in general a lot of noobs are going to have a hard time getting that one merit. This might lead to more begging and/or trading, but I think it's worth it.
Although, 1 merit might be hard to achieve for most of the low quality users here I think I would still be more comfortable requiring a few of them. Something like 3/5 seems to a good point which would prevent most of them or at the very least demotivate them from making several accounts to earn from airdrops and bounties.