How to Qualify for This Airdrop?
There are two ways to qualify for a 17.5% airdrop:
Users (89%): Bridge your crypto assets to ZKsync Era and meet at least one of the seven eligibility criteria as a ZKsync user.
Contributors (11%): Individuals, developers, researchers, communities, and companies who contribute to the ZKsync protocol and ecosystem through development, promotion, education, or participation, regardless of using the ZKsync network.
For the contributor category, ZKsync Era activity is optional. Contributors are mainly focused on building early projects on ZKsync, contributing to relevant GitHub repositories, conducting security research, serving as Discord moderators, or participating in communities like Degen, Bonsai, Crypto the Game, Pudgy, and Milady.
When mentioning this usage-based airdrop, what does it mean?
Usage-based allocation (89% of the airdrop total) aims to identify and reward a diverse group of users on ZKsync Era who will help manage and develop ZKsync in the long term. The goal is to find individuals who bridge crypto assets to ZKsync Era and provide a multiplier bonus for their actions that demonstrate they are organic users. These individuals are likely to become valuable members of the ZKsync community.
Wallet history on various chains can reveal a lot about its owner. Genuine users are often more risk-tolerant, especially when they feel they are part of a community. They will spend time exploring, trying new protocols, and holding speculative assets. On the other hand, bots and speculators act cautiously, putting in minimal effort while trying to integrate into the community and extract value.
I meet some eligibility requirements but did not receive an allocation, why?
The ZKsync user airdrop allocation (89% of the airdrop total) is based on a combination of:
How many of the seven eligibility criteria are met.
Time-weighted average balance (TWAB) based on the amount bridged and held on ZKsync Era within the last 12 months up to the snapshot date (whether in your wallet or DeFi protocols). This is called value scaling (see question 5 for more details).
Bonus multiplier: If a wallet belongs to a predefined group, such as early ETH adopters, holders of top ZKsync native NFTs/tokens, or holders of ARB, OP, ENS airdrops, it will receive a distribution multiplier.
Important note: Transaction volume itself does not affect the allocation scale.
Calculate the allocation amount for users based on the above criteria. To receive an airdrop allocation amount, the result must be greater than ZK 450.
This means that even if you meet all seven criteria but have a low average amount held over a period of time, or do not qualify for any other bonus multiplier, you may not be eligible for an allocation.
What role does “value scaling” play?
To identify and reward users who bridge crypto assets to the ZKsync Era platform, a portion of the allocation is based on the value scaling formula. This formula adjusts the allocation of addresses based on the amount sent to ZKsync Era and the duration those crypto assets have been held in the wallet.
For example, an address that sent $100 to ZKsync Era at mainnet launch (March 2023) and held it from that point forward will have a greater weight than an address that only deposited $100 in the month before the snapshot.
Value scaling = TWAB = Scaling allocation based on the value of crypto assets bridged by someone and the duration of holding.
Reminder: Transaction volume itself does not affect value scaling.
For more information, please refer to these examples.
If I only use ZKsync Lite, what should I do? Why am I excluded?
To qualify for the airdrop, addresses must meet one eligibility criterion and bridge crypto assets to ZKsync Era. The focus of the airdrop is 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 earn up to 2 qualification points for using ZKsync Lite. However, they also need to have crypto assets bridged to ZKsync Era at some point.
For usage-based airdrops: If a user only used ZKsync Lite and did not use ZKsync Era, unfortunately, they are not eligible to receive any user airdrop allocation.
Why do some addresses with zero transactions still receive allocations?
The airdrop is divided into user-based allocation (89% of the airdrop) and contributor-based allocation (11% of the airdrop). Wallets in the contributor category do not need to show activity on ZKsync Era. For example, contributor allocations focus on building early projects on ZKsync, contributing to relevant GitHub repositories, conducting security research, managing communities on Discord, or participating in communities like Degen, Bonsai, Crypto the Game, Pudgy, and Milady.
There are 184 addresses that meet the airdrop eligibility criteria for ZKsync Lite and have bridged assets on ZKsync Era but have no other transactions.
Additionally, 10 test addresses were added for internal quality assurance and testing. These addresses were allocated a minimum of 917 tokens. Once claimed, these tokens will be sent to a burn address.
Why are rewards given to external groups like Degen and Bonsai instead of ZKsync users?
A small portion (2.8%) of the total airdrop is reserved for experimental on-chain communities: recipients of Degen and Bonsai, Crypto The Game, Pudgy, and Milady. These communities are known for advocating for their ecosystem and passionately defending it, sharing the same cypherpunk values as ZK Nation, while also experimenting with innovative self-organizing ways. These positively oriented communities are valuable additions to any network and are expected to become long-term members and guardians of ZKsync.
Why do some people receive over 100,000 tokens?
100K is the maximum reward for user-based allocation in the airdrop (89% of the total airdrop). 155 addresses (0.022%) received allocations of over 100K tokens because they qualified for the highest user reward and also qualified for the contributor category reward (11% of the total airdrop).
Examples of contributor category groups: ZKsync native projects, GitHub developers, security researchers, Discord community moderators, ZK Credo translators, and more.
Disclaimer: Address disclosure follows this privacy policy.