ZkSync planning on token generation this week with airdrop in middle of June: Sources

ZkSync, an Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by Matter Labs, plans to host its token generation event (TGE) this week, two sources with knowledge of the matter told The Block.

The token launch, including an airdrop, will follow within the next 30 days after the TGE, the sources said. The token will have a total supply of 21 billion tokens, they added.

ZkSync is currently aiming at around June 13 for the airdrop, with the company noting that it would be before Blast's token airdrop on June 26, according to an internal message screenshot seen by The Block.

ZkSync wants the ticker ZK for its token, one source said, but since Polyhedra Network has already claimed that ticker, it has created some issues, the source added. They noted that ZkSync could still go with the ZK ticker and also highlighted that Binance hasn't listed Polyhedra's token.

"zkSync is currently in the process of becoming decentralized. At this moment, no definitive plans have been finalized," a Matter Labs spokesperson told The Block.

ZkSync token launch

Last week, ZkSync hinted at a token launch and airdrop by the end of June, saying it will soon roll out an upgrade to accelerate its protocol's decentralization.

"The upcoming release of v24 is the final planned protocol upgrade needed before handing over network governance to the community," ZkSync said last week. "The remaining missing pieces are expected to be in place by the end of June."

ZkSync developer Matter Labs is backed by high-profile investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Dragonfly Capital, Blockchain Capital, Crypto.com Capital, Placeholder Capital and 1kx. The project has raised $258 million in total venture funding and also raised a $200 million ecosystem fund.

ZkSync is one of the popular Ethereum Layer 2 networks utilizing ZK-rollups to scale Ethereum, making the blockchain faster and cheaper to use. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin once said that ZK-rollups "will win out in all use cases" in the medium to long term because of their application-specific advantages and other use cases.

Earlier Tuesday, Buterin reiterated his view on ZK-rollups, saying that "in 10 years, all rollups will be ZK and will commit blocks with finalized state roots to L1 every slot. It will take a lot of infrastructure and prover optimization to get there, but that's the clear endgame."