No transaction address received airdrop? Someone received 100,000 ZK? ZKsync responded to the doubts

Source: ZKsync

ZKsync, the representative L2 of Ethereum zkRollup, recently released an airdrop (see Jinse Finance's previous report "Quick overview of zkSync token distribution and airdrop details"), which triggered widespread doubts in the community.

For example, some addresses with no transactions also received airdrops and were suspected of being insider trading; some users met all the airdrop criteria but did not receive airdrops; some addresses received more than 100,000 airdrops, etc.

In response to these doubts, 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 qualify for the 17.5% airdrop:

• Users (89%): ZKsync users who bridge 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.

ZKsync Era activity is optional for wallets in the 11% Contributor category. Contributor allocations are primarily targeted at people and communities who are building early projects on ZKsync, contributing to related GitHub repositories, conducting security research, serving as Discord moderators, or participating in communities such as Degen, Bonsai, Crypto the Game, Pudgy, and Milady.

2. What does it mean when we say 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 like 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 play it safe and put in the least effort while trying to integrate into the community and capture value.

3. I met some of the eligibility requirements, but I didn't get an allocation. Why?

ZKsync user airdrop allocation (89% of total airdrop) is based on a combination of:

• How many of the seven eligibility criteria are met.

• The amount bridged and held on ZKsync Era (either in your wallet or in DeFi protocols) 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 such as ARB, OP, ENS, etc., it will receive an allocation multiplier.

Important: Transaction volume alone has no impact on allocation size.

Allocations are calculated for users based on the above criteria. In order to receive an airdrop allocation, the result must be greater than 450 ZK.

This means that even if you meet all seven criteria, but your average holdings over time are small, or you don't qualify for any of the other bonus multipliers, you may not qualify for a distribution.

Example:

4. I met four of the qualifying criteria, but got less than someone I saw on X who only met two of the qualifying criteria. Why?

The number of eligibility criteria met is only one of three factors that determine the size of the allocation. The ZKsync Airdrop Allocationis a combination of the eligibility criteria, the time-weighted average balance (TWAB) on ZKsync Era, and the bonus multiplier.

In this case, another person may have transferred a large amount of crypto assets into ZKsync Era and/or held them for a longer period of time. Alternatively, another person may qualify for one of the bonus multipliers or be part of a contributor-based airdrop, while you did not.

5. How does “Value Scaling” work?

In order to identify and reward users who put crypto assets into the ZKsync Era platform, the allocation is based in part on the Value Scaling formula. The formula adjusts the allocation 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 be weighted more 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 bridges and how long they have held them.

Reminder: Transaction volume alone has no effect on value scaling.

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 a crypto asset to ZKsync Era. The airdrop focuses on the first ZK chain, ZKsync Era, as it is expected to become the decentralized center of the entire ZKsync ecosystem.

ZKsync Lite users, as OGs of the ZKsync ecosystem, can receive up to 2 eligibility points for using 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 allocations?

The airdrops are divided into user-based allocations (accounting for 89% of the airdrop) and contributor-based allocations (accounting for 11% of the airdrop). Wallets in the Contributor category do not need to show activity on ZKsync Era. For example, contributor allocations focus on people and communities who have built early projects on ZKsync, contributed to related Github repositories, performed 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.

In addition, 10 test addresses have been added for internal quality assurance and testing. These addresses are 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, rather than 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 their ecosystems, sharing the same cypherpunk values ​​as ZK Nation, while also experimenting with innovative ways of self-organization. These positive-sum communities are valuable additions to any network and are expected to become long-term members and stewards of ZKsync.

9. Why did some people receive more than 100,000 tokens?

100k ZK is the highest reward for the airdrop based on user allocation (user airdrop accounts for 89% of the airdrop). 155 addresses (0.022%) received an allocation of more than 100k 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 contributor category: ZKsync native projects, GitHub developers, security researchers, Discord community moderators, ZK Credo translators, etc.