1.3 million addresses can participate in claiming 700 million tokens airdrop: StarkNet has become popular in the past few days

Author: DeMan

On February 14, the Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution StarkNet announced the launch of its first round of token distribution. The token STRK will be distributed starting from February 20 at 20:00 (UTC+8) through the StarkNet Foundation's Provisions program (i.e., the token airdrop program), at which point the claiming interface will be open.

In the first round of token distribution, approximately 1.3 million addresses are eligible to claim, with a total issuance of 700 million tokens (the community share in the total supply is planned to be 1.8 billion tokens), and the claiming period will last four months until June 20.

Around the same time, StarkNet's total locked value (TVL) surged significantly to $187 million, with a 7-day increase of 21.39%, attracting industry attention. The continuous surge in TVL is attributed to the upcoming release of StarkNet v0.13.1, which will significantly reduce transaction costs. Of course, the impending airdrop has also stirred the market, with heavy investments in this project.

In the face of StarkNet's imaginative returns, how can users seize this airdrop opportunity? This article will comprehensively review the project-related content to help users fully understand the project and better capture this round of benefits.

Overview of StarkNet: A Rising Star Among L2 Solutions, Accumulated Financing Over $100 Million

With the rapid development of blockchain technology and the continuous rise in Ethereum network transaction fees, L2 solutions have become key to alleviating network congestion and reducing user transaction costs. In this context, StarkNet not only provides an efficient and economical trading environment but also offers strong support for the development and operation of decentralized applications (dApps).

StarkWare is headquartered in Netanya, Israel, co-founded by four individuals. Two of the co-founders, Eli Ben-Sasson and Alessandro Chiesa, are also the founders of ZCash. CEO Uri Kolodny holds an MBA from MIT and has held leadership positions in several tech companies. The technical team is led by Eli Ben-Sasson, Alessandro Chiesa, and Michael Riabzev, who have over a decade of experience in ZKP systems.

In January 2018, the seed round raised $6 million, with investors including Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, Paradigm, Pantera Capital, and PolyChain; in July 2018, the Ethereum Foundation invested $12 million; in October 2018, Series A raised $30 million, with investments from Sequoia, Paradigm, Scalar Capital, Multichain Capital, Intel Capital, Semantic Ventures, and Pantera; in March 2021, Series B raised $75 million, with continued participation from Sequoia, Wing Venture Capital, Paradigm, and Pantera Capital, along with Three Arrows Capital and DCVC; in November 2021, Series C raised $50 million, with a valuation of $2 billion, led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Paradigm, Three Arrows Capital, and Alameda Research; on May 25, 2022, Series D raised $100 million, with a valuation of $8 billion, led by Greenoaks Capital and Tiger Global, with funds used for product and business development and ecosystem growth.

Zero-Knowledge Proof Technology Combined with EVM Compatibility, StarkNet Has a Series of Technical Highlights

StarkNet has the following technical performance advantages:

1. Zero-Knowledge Proof Technology:

One of StarkNet's core technologies is Zero-Knowledge Scalable Transparent Arguments of Knowledge (ZK-STARKs), which allows StarkNet to significantly improve network processing capacity and efficiency without sacrificing security and decentralization. Through ZK-STARKs, StarkNet can compress multiple transactions into a single transaction for verification, greatly reducing the on-chain data storage requirements and thus lowering Gas costs.

2. Cairo Language and Virtual Machine:

StarkNet introduces the Cairo language and virtual machine, a Turing-complete language and execution environment optimized for STARK proofs. The design of Cairo aims to improve development efficiency, reduce development difficulty, while ensuring code flexibility and scalability. The introduction of the Cairo language provides developers with a powerful tool to build complex and efficient dApps on StarkNet.

3. EVM Compatibility:

To reduce the difficulty for developers migrating from Ethereum to StarkNet, StarkNet provides the Solidity-Cairo transpiler Warp and zkEVM Kakarot, achieving high compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This means developers can seamlessly migrate existing Solidity smart contracts to StarkNet without rewriting code, significantly reducing migration costs and development difficulty.

4. High Security and Scalability:

StarkNet's STARK proof system not only provides resistance to quantum attacks but also achieves linear and logarithmic scalability in proof generation speed and verification efficiency. This allows StarkNet to maintain efficient operation as the network scales, meeting the demands of large-scale applications.

Basic Introduction to the StarkNet Airdrop Program: Over 700 Million STRK Tokens Will Be Distributed to Participants

The StarkNet airdrop program, known as the StarkNet Provisions Program, aims to reward individuals and groups that support StarkNet's values, use the network and its underlying technologies, or participate in building and maintaining StarkNet itself. Additionally, the airdrop is also aimed at those who contribute to ensuring Ethereum's security and the development of open-source software and infrastructure, as their work has become a public good, promoting a more open and inclusive network.

The StarkNet airdrop program is a reward for its community members, including early users, developers, and individuals who have contributed to the StarkNet ecosystem. The purpose of the airdrop is to promote further development of the StarkNet ecosystem and encourage more participation and contributions. Here are the basic details of StarkNet:

1. Start Time: February 20, 2024, 12 PM (UTC);
2. Duration: Four months, until June 20;
3. Eligible Wallets: Approximately 1.3 million wallet addresses are eligible to claim STRK tokens;
4. Airdrop Targets: Tokens will be distributed to independent Ethereum stakers, Ethereum LSD holders, and non-Web3 developers, marking the first attempt among Layer 2 projects;
5. Total Distribution Amount: Over 700 million STRK tokens, which is part of the 900 million STRK specifically for the Provisions program (a total of 1.8 billion STRK is dedicated to the community);
6. User Share: StarkNet users will receive 51.33% of the token share;
7. Ethereum Staker Share: 21.99%;
8. StarkEx Users and StarkNet ECMP Members Share: 9.62% and 9.05% of the token share, respectively.

It is worth mentioning that the STRK token will be used to pay network fees, stake, and shape the long-term evolution of the StarkNet protocol through participation in governance voting. This marks an important step for StarkNet towards decentralized governance, allowing token holders to vote on various issues that affect the future of the network. The maximum total supply of STRK tokens is 10 billion, with the distribution ratio being 17% for StarkWare investors, 32.9% for core contributors (including StarkWare and its employees and advisors, as well as StarkNet software development partners), 50.1% for the foundation distributed by StarkWare, and 9% for community distribution. Regarding the lock-up period, all tokens allocated to core contributors and investors will be subject to a 4-year lock-up period, with the first year fully locked and then released linearly.

Who Has the Opportunity to Claim the Airdrop? What Are the Rules for Claiming the Airdrop? What Are the Related Considerations?

The StarkNet airdrop program targets multiple groups, including:

1. StarkNet Ecosystem Contributors: Individuals or teams that develop, participate in, and test the StarkNet network and technology stack;
2. Early Users of StarkNet: Early users who test and use applications built on the network;
3. Early Community Members of StarkNet: Including early code contributors, StarkNet event organizers, community managers, etc.;
4. StarkNet Developers: Developers who have made significant contributions to the StarkNet ecosystem GitHub repository;
5. StarkEx Users: StarkEx users who interacted with STARK technology in its early stages;
6. Ethereum Contributors: Members of the Ethereum protocol guild, developers, and EIP authors who have contributed to the development and security of Ethereum;
7. ETH Stakers: Ethereum stakers who contribute to Ethereum's security;
8. Open Source Developers: Developers who contribute to open-source projects that may relate to the development of blockchain infrastructure.

Of course, if you meet the following basic conditions, you can also participate in claiming the airdrop:

1. Network Usage: Used the StarkNet network for at least 3 independent months;
2. Transaction Count: Conducted at least 6 transactions;
3. Total Transaction Amount: Not less than $100;
4. ETH Holdings: Held at least 0.005 ETH in the address at the time of the snapshot (November 15, 2023).

It is worth noting that understanding the specific quotas and scoring rules will help you know how to obtain these related rewards later:

1. STRK Amount per Address: Between 500 and 10,000 tokens;
2. Scoring Increment Rules: Based on the user's usage duration, total transaction amount, and total number of interacted contracts, scores increase incrementally by 7 points; using StarkNet for 7 to 10 independent months, a total transaction amount of $7,000 to $35,000, or interacting with 20 to 39 contracts can earn an additional 1 point; using StarkNet for over 11 independent months, a total transaction amount exceeding $35,000, or interacting with over 40 contracts can earn an additional 2 points;
3. Claiming Method: Users need to use the StarkNet wallet to claim Provisions tokens.

The StarkNet Airdrop Event Attracts Attention, But the Future Operation and Development of the Project Are the Core Focus

The implementation of the StarkNet airdrop is not only a reward for community members but also a milestone in the development of the StarkNet ecosystem. Through the airdrop, StarkNet aims to increase user engagement and incentivize more developers to build applications on its platform. At the same time, the airdrop may attract new investors and users, further expanding StarkNet's influence.

The airdrop also reflects StarkNet's emphasis on decentralization and community governance. By distributing the native token STRK, StarkNet not only provides an incentive mechanism but also offers community members the opportunity to participate in the governance of StarkNet, allowing them to influence the future development direction of StarkNet.