The ZKsync Association has announced that it will airdrop 3.675 billion ZK tokens to eligible early users and adopters of ZKsync, the Ethereum Layer2 network, next week.

Around 695,232 wallets are eligible for the airdrop, with Matter Labs CEO stating the airdrop will reward “real people first.”

ZKsync Set For Airdrop

The 3.6 billion ZK tokens represent 17.5% of the total 21 billion ZK tokens supply. ZKsync stated that the airdrop will be a one-time airdrop, with users able to claim their ZK tokens beginning next week. Users can claim their ZK tokens until January 3, 2025. Additionally, contributors will be able to claim their tokens starting from June 24. ZKsync will distribute an additional 49.1% of the ZK token supply through ecosystem initiatives. 17.2% of the tokens will be allocated to investors and 16.1% to the Matter Labs team. 

“Awarding more tokens in the airdrop than to the Matter Labs team and investors is more than a symbolic decision for the community. When the ZKsync governance system launches in the coming weeks, the community will have the largest supply of liquid tokens to direct protocol governance upgrades.”

Details Of The Airdrop 

According to ZKsync, 695,232 wallets were shortlisted for the airdrop. The wallets were shortlisted based on a snapshot of each wallet’s activity on ZKsync Era and ZKsync Lite, taken on March 24, 2024, at 0:00 UTC. This date also marked the one-year anniversary of the mainnet launch of ZKsync Era. 

The airdrop, comprising 17.5% of the total ZK token supply, will be split between two sets of community members. 89% of the airdrop is allocated to users, while 11% has been allocated to contributors. Users comprise those who conducted transactions on ZKsync and met a specified threshold for activity. On the other hand, contributors are developers, researchers, individuals, communities, and companies who have contributed to the ZKsync ecosystem. This contribution can be through advocacy, education, or development, regardless of their activity on zkSync. 

The remainder of the community allocation will be distributed through various initiatives. This will be managed by the ZKsync Foundation and the ZK Nation governance process, which will help support a growing ecosystem as more users come on board. The airdrop will also cap the amount of tokens eligible addresses can receive, with the cap set at 100,000 tokens. 

“It’s not a whales-first airdrop. It’s a community-first airdrop. By capping whales, the ZK airdrop fairly rewards community members that contribute to ZKsync in different ways.”

A small allocation of under half a percent will also go to what are being called “experimental communities.” These communities include wallets that previously received the Bonsai and Degen airdrops due to their activity on decentralized social networks Farcaster and Lens. Notably, the airdropped ZK tokens will not have any lock-up or vesting period and will be fully liquid from day one. Matter Labs CEO Gluchowski stated that he was hopeful that most recipients would opt to participate in governance, delegate their tokens, and become active members of the ZKsync community. 

“It’s a community governance airdrop. So, we hope that the majority of the recipients will participate in the governance, delegate their tokens, and become active members of the community. If some of them don’t want to do this, it’s better if the tokens go into the hands of people who actually deeply care about the protocol.”

Other Major Airdrops

The ZKsync airdrop follows those from EigenLayer and StarkNet. Both sets of airdrops outraged users, who expected a significantly larger allocation of tokens. Users were particularly upset with EigenLayer after it decided to bar airdrop claimants from the US and several other countries. However, Matter Labs CEO Alex Gluchowski stated that a lot of thought was put into the ZKsync airdrop. 

“We have put a lot of thought into the design of the airdrop. No matter what you do, some people are going to be disappointed, but we have looked into others.”

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.