Primer on ZK Rollup Airdrops

After Starknet’s STRK token airdrop in March 2024, the activity on several other zero-knowledge rollups (ZKR) spiked temporarily. Due to Starknet’s strict criteria concerning airdrop eligibility, several other ZKRs saw renewed activity as users were concerned that they may not qualify for future ZKR airdrops if other ZKRs adopted similar stringent criteria that Starknet did.

More importantly, we notice that both Starknet’s total value locked (TVL) and activity have been declining post-airdrop, with the latter falling much faster than the former. While a short downtrend is expected post-airdrop due to the exit of airdrop farmers, the ecosystem would typically benefit from the deeper liquidity bootstrapped by the token, as well as increased activity fuelled by STRK incentives earmarked for Starknet’s dapps. That said, we have not seen any meaningful uptick in Starknet’s metrics post-airdrop, although this could change with the second wave of airdrop that StarkWare has promised its community.