As a long-term crypto investor with experience in the Ethereum ecosystem, I’m following the recent controversy surrounding zkSync’s ZK token airdrop closely. The distribution plan and its perceived lack of fairness have sparked significant backlash from the community, and as an investor, I share their concerns.
The crypto community is expressing criticism towards Ethereum‘s zkSync, a Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Layer-2 scaling solution on Ethereum, following its announcement of a ZK token airdrop. Some community members have raised issues over the absence of Sybil filtering safeguards and the perceived unfairness in the distribution of these tokens.
ZkSync Faces Backlash
On Tuesday, I came across the announcement from zkSync regarding their upcoming airdrop of the ZK token and the distribution plan. According to this announcement, a total of 3.875 billion ZK tokens, which represents 17.5% of the 21 billion token supply, will be distributed among approximately 695,000 eligible wallets on June 17.
As a researcher investigating the details of the zkSync project, I’ve discovered that 33.3% of the total token supply is designated for distribution between the project team and investors. The intention behind this allocation was to recognize and reward early adopters and long-term supporters within the zkSync community.
According to the announcement, users who qualified based on certain requirements by the March 25 cut-off could potentially receive a maximum of 100,000 ZK tokens. Nevertheless, the initiative has encountered backlash as users have examined their allotted amounts.
According to recent online findings, certain community members expressed dissatisfaction with the rewards they received. These individuals, who had been dedicated users for an extended period, complained that they received smaller token allocations compared to less active individuals.
Multiple users reported facing eligibility issues for the airdrop despite having substantial volume and transaction history that met the stated requirements. For instance, one X user with a ranking of 0.04% among all wallets received only 1,023 ZK tokens, while less active wallets registered after the snapshot cut-off secured the maximum allocation.
Some highly regarded initiatives using zkSync as their foundation have voiced their disappointment after being left out. Notably, NFT projects like zkApes and the NFT marketplace Element reportedly haven’t received any airdrops, despite generating significant gas fees valued between $15-$20 million for the network.
As an analyst, I’ve noticed that zkApes, Element NFT, and other related projects have come together to put pressure on the zkSync team and engage in negotiations regarding a token allocation. This distribution would benefit the communities of these projects. Transparency and fairness are the key demands from critics in this situation.
A Lack Of Anti-Sybil Filtering?
Mudit Gupta, Polygon Labs’ Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), described the situation as “the most exploitable and widely exploited airdrop in history.” Gupta emphasized the absence of Sybil filtering safeguards, implying that those aware of the qualifications could have effortlessly taken advantage of it extensively.
As a researcher studying the topic of blockchain airdrops, I’ve come across Adam Cochran’s perspective on the potential vulnerabilities of these events from a Sybil attack standpoint. He argued that the criteria for participation in this particular airdrop were too lenient for real users to miss out, yet simple enough for malicious actors, or “farmers,” to easily exploit.
As a researcher investigating the controversy surrounding zkSync’s controversial criteria, I came across various opinions from users who held Nansen responsible for the issue. However, upon further investigation, I discovered that Nansen had no involvement in the ZK airdrop process.
As a researcher investigating X’s past disclosures, I came across a post where the firm admitted to sharing certain data with Matter Labs, the company behind zkSync’s development, in the past. The data they provided consisted of information regarding some prominent crypto wallets belonging to ‘whales’ and known scammers. However, it is important to clarify that the firm did not engage in any Sybil prevention activities or offer any guidance on token allocation during this data exchange.
The project opted against implementing any Sybil protection measures for the airdrop, viewing this method as insufficient.
Instead of trying to get rid of bot swarms by implementing stringent Sybil rules, it’s more effective for the ZK airdrop to adopt a user-centric method for recognizing authentic participants. The Sybil detection process can sometimes mistakenly exclude genuine users due to overly restrictive filters. Therefore, the human-first approach taken by the ZK airdrop is a more comprehensive solution.
Based on initial reports, I estimate that Sybil wallets are slated to receive approximately $135 million worth of ZK tokens from the airdrop, as per the original list released by LayerZero Labs. However, it’s important to note that Bryan Pellegrino, CEO of LayerZero, has since discarded this list.
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2024-06-13 05:12