zkSync, a scaling solution for Ethereum, is set to distribute 3.6 billion ZK tokens to users in the upcoming week. However, the crypto community has voiced concerns over the fairness of the distribution list.
A year after the initial anticipation for a governance token, zkSync, a zero-knowledge (ZK) layer-2 network, has confirmed an airdrop for active participants on-chain. Following a snapshot taken in March, more than 695,000 users are expected to receive 17.5% of the total supply of 21 billion ZK tokens.
The project has also dedicated two-thirds of its token supply to the community, with around 33.3% of all ZK tokens allocated to team members and investors over a four-year lock period.
Criticism has arisen within the community regarding zkSync’s allocation to Sybil wallets. Despite the fact that the 3.6 billion token airdrop is the largest among major rollups so far, users have expressed dissatisfaction with the eligibility data of the protocol. In an unusual move, the project has released a CSV file containing all eligible wallet addresses on GitHub.
Sybil accounts, characterized by a single entity controlling multiple accounts, were found to have amassed thousands of tokens. On the other hand, some single-account users were reportedly ineligible for the airdrop, leading to further scrutiny within the community.
One user, who goes by the name “Artemis the Sybil Hunter,” claimed that Sybil accounts could potentially receive up to two million ZK tokens from the airdrop. Several of these addresses have been excluded from LayerZero’s distribution, as the protocol has launched a campaign against Sybil clusters.
Mudit Gupta, CISO of Polygon Labs, criticized zkSync for its lack of Sybil filtering, stating that anyone who knew the criteria could have easily taken advantage of the situation. This has caused a reaction within the broader DeFi community in response to the latest airdrop controversy.
Nansen, a data provider, clarified that they did not provide “anti-Sybil” support to zkSync’s parent company, Matter Labs. While the details are public, the project retains the right to determine who is eligible to receive the airdrop, potentially allowing for changes in criteria in the future.
This year’s airdrops have been the center of much debate. Users who have invested significant time and effort into engaging with protocols have at times been disappointed with the distribution plans and tokenomics. Starknet, for example, experienced a decline in user activity following its token announcement. While this pattern is not uncommon during crypto airdrops, users have been particularly frustrated with the allocation process.
In an effort to combat distortions related to airdrops, Coinbase has proposed a new blockchain adoption metric.