ZKsync’s Billion-Dollar Airdrop: Are You One of the 695,232 Recipients?

TLDR

Ethereum layer-2 network ZKsync will go live next week for 695,232 eligible wallets with 17.5% of its 21 billion ZK token supply. Eligibility and allocation is based on activity snapshot taken on March 24, 2024 on ZKsync Era and ZKsync Lite. The airdrop is designed to prioritize the community, with 67.5% of tokens allocated to eco initiatives and airdrops. The Meter Labs team and investors will receive 16.1% and 17.2% respectively from the token offering, with a 4-year grace period. The ZK token is currently valued at $0.66 on pre-market exchanges, which could value the airdrop at more than $2.5 billion.

Popular Ethereum layer-2 balancing solution ZKsync is set to distribute 3.675 billion of its native ZK tokens to early adopters and adopters next week.

The one-time airdrop, which accounts for 17.5% of the total 21 billion token supply, aims to reward the ZKsync community for its participation and support.

Eligibility for the Airdrop is determined by a snapshot of user activity on ZKsync Era and ZKsync Lite as of March 24, 2024.

To qualify, users must meet certain requirements, such as interacting with at least 10 smart contracts, injecting liquidity into DeFi protocols, or trading various ERC-20 tokens. The ZKsync team has identified 695,232 wallets that meet these criteria and will be part of the airdrop.

The ZKsync Association has allocated the majority of its token supply (67.5%) to community and ecosystem initiatives, demonstrating their commitment to decentralized and community management.

The remaining tokens will be distributed to the Matter Labs team (16.1%) and investors (17.2%), with a 4-year vesting period to ensure long-term alignment with the project's goals.

Alex Gluchowski, founder and CEO of Matter Labs, said the airdrop was designed to prioritize “real people” and limit the influence of “whales.” The maximum allocation allowed per wallet will be limited to 100,000 ZK tokens, allowing for a more equitable distribution among participants.

Pre-market valuations on exchanges such as Aevo and PancakeSwap have priced the ZK token at around $0.66, which could bring the total value of the airdrop to over $2.5 billion. This price is significant as it is nearly three times the current ZKsync Era Total Value Locked (TVL) of $815 million.

The ZKsync airdrop comes in a wave of similar events in the Ethereum layer-2 ecosystem, with projects like StarkNet and EigenLayer also recently distributing tokens to their users.

However, some of these airdrops have faced criticism for their distribution methods and regional restrictions. ZKsync aims to address these concerns by prioritizing equity and inclusiveness in its approach.