I think the idea is to require at least that much earned merit (not airdrop) to be able to wear a signature. I kinda like that. I'd make it a requirement per time period, e.g. 1 merit per 3 months or so, to further devalue farmed accounts.
That'd be great considering the amount of earned merit required should be proportional to the Rank applying for i.e.
100 for Legendary
70 for Hero
50 for Snr Member
30 for Full Member
20 for Member
10 for Jr. Member... Since that'd also be equivalent to x10 of no. of stakes most managers assign to each rank according to the OP.