ZKsync has the final say on the interpretation
Ethereum zkRollup representative L2 ZKsync recently released an airdrop, which aroused widespread doubts in the community.
For example, some addresses with no transactions also received airdrops and were suspected of insider trading; some users met all the airdrop criteria but did not receive any airdrops; some addresses received more than 100,000 airdrops, etc.
In response to these questions, ZKsync issued a comprehensive response on June 14, 2024:
1. How to qualify for this airdrop?
There are two ways for a wallet address to be eligible for the 17.5% airdrop:
Users (89%): ZKsync users who have bridged crypto assets to ZKsync Era and meet at least one of the seven eligibility criteria.
Contributors (11%): Individuals, developers, researchers, communities, and companies that contribute to the ZKsync protocol and ecosystem through development, advocacy, education, or engagement, regardless of whether they use the ZKsync network or not.
ZKsync Era activity is optional for wallets in the 11% Contributor category. The Contributor allocation is primarily for people and communities who built early projects on ZKsync, contributed to related GitHub repositories, performed security research, served as Discord moderators, or participated in communities such as Degen, Bonsai, Crypto the Game, Pudgy, and Milady.
2. What does it mean when it says this is a usage-based airdrop?
The user-based allocation (89% of the total airdrop) is primarily intended to identify and reward a diverse group of users on ZKsync Era who will help manage and grow ZKsync in the long term. The goal is to find people who connect crypto assets to ZKsync Era and provide them with multiple rewards in recognition of their behavior as organic users. Such people have a high chance of becoming valuable members of the ZKsync community.
A wallet's history on various chains can reveal a lot about its owner. Real users tend to be more willing to take risks, especially when they feel they are part of a community. They spend time exploring, trying new protocols, and holding speculative assets. Bots and speculators, on the other hand, play it safe, putting in minimal effort while trying to integrate into the community and capture value.
3. I met some of the eligibility requirements but was not allocated. Why?
The ZKsync user airdrop allocation (89% of the total airdrop) is based on the following combination:
How many of the seven eligibility criteria are met.
The amount bridged and held on ZKsync Era (either in your wallet or in a DeFi protocol) is based on the time-weighted average balance (TWAB) over the 12 months ending on the snapshot date. This is called value scaling.
Bonus Multiplier: If a wallet is part of a predefined group, such as early ETH adopters, holders of top ZKsync native NFTs/tokens, or holders of airdrops like ARB, OP, ENS, etc., it will receive an allocation multiplier.
Important: Trading volume alone has no impact on allocation size.
The allocation is calculated for the user based on the above criteria. In order to receive the airdrop allocation, the result must be greater than 450 ZK.
This means that even if you meet all seven criteria, you may not qualify for a distribution if your average holdings over time are small or you do not qualify for any other bonus multipliers.
4. I met four qualifications, but I got less than someone I saw at X who only met two. Why?
The number of eligibility criteria met is only one of three factors that determine the size of the allocation.
The ZKsync airdrop allocation is a combination of the eligibility criteria, the time-weighted average balance (TWAB) on the ZKsync Era, and the bonus multiplier.
In this case, the other person may have transferred a large amount of crypto assets into ZKsync Era and/or held them for a longer period of time. Alternatively, the other person may have qualified for one of the bonus multipliers or been part of a contributor-based airdrop, while you did not.
5. How does “Value Scaling” work?
In order to identify and reward users who place crypto assets into the ZKsync Era platform, the distribution is based in part on the Value Scaling formula, which adjusts the distribution of addresses based on the amount sent to ZKsync Era and how long those crypto assets have been in the wallet.
For example, an address that sent $100 to ZKsync Era at mainnet launch (March 2023) and has held it since then will have more weight than an address that only deposited $100 a month before the snapshot.
Value Scaling = Time Weighted Average Balance (TWAB) = Scaling allocations based on the value of the crypto assets someone is bridging and how long they hold them.
Reminder: Trading volume itself has no effect on value expansion.
6. What if I only use ZKsync Lite? Why am I excluded?
To be eligible for the airdrop, an address must meet one of the eligibility criteria and bridge crypto assets to ZKsync Era. The airdrop focuses on the first ZK chain, ZKsync Era, as it is expected to become the decentralized hub of the entire ZKsync ecosystem.
ZKsync Lite users, as OGs of the ZKsync ecosystem, can get up to 2 eligibility points to use ZKsync Lite. But they also need to own crypto assets on ZKsync Era at some point.
For usage-based airdrops: If a user has only used ZKsync Lite and not ZKsync Era, then unfortunately they are not eligible for any user airdrop allocations.
7. Why do some 0 transaction addresses still get allocated?
The airdrop is divided into user-based allocations (89% of the airdrop) and contributor-based allocations (11% of the airdrop). Wallets in the contributor category do not need to show activity on ZKsync Era. For example, the contributor allocation focuses on people and communities who built early projects on ZKsync, contributed to related Github repositories, conducted security research, managed communities on Discord, or participated in communities such as Degen, Bonsai, Crypto the Game, Pudgy, and Milady.
There are 184 addresses that meet the ZKsync Lite eligibility criteria and have bridged assets on ZKsync Era but no other transactions. These wallets are eligible for airdrops.
Additionally, 10 test addresses have been added for internal quality assurance and testing. These addresses have been allocated a minimum of 917 tokens. Once claimed, these tokens will be sent to the burn address.
8. Why are rewards given to external groups like Degen and Bonsai instead of ZKsync users?
A small portion of the total airdrop (2.8%) was reserved for experimental on-chain communities: Degen and Bonsai recipients, Crypto The Game, Pudgy, and Milady.
These communities are known for being advocates and ardent defenders of the ecosystem, sharing the same cypherpunk values as ZK Nation while also experimenting with innovative ways of self-organizing. These positive-sum communities are a valuable addition to any network and are expected to become long-term members and stewards of ZKsync.
9. Why did some people get more than 100,000 tokens?
100,000 ZK is the highest reward of the airdrop based on user allocation (user airdrop accounts for 89% of the airdrop). 155 addresses (0.022%) received an allocation of more than 100,000 tokens because they qualified for the highest user reward and also qualified for rewards in the contributor category (accounting for 11% of the total airdrop).
Example groups that fall into the Contributors category: ZKsync native projects, GitHub developers, security researchers, Discord community moderators, ZK Credo translators, etc.