Crypto Users Bridge Millions to zkSync Blockchain in Hopes of Token Airdrop

Crypto users are bridging millions of dollars in funds to the zkSync network in a move that’s likely in anticipation of a potential token airdrop.

Airdrops refer to crypto projects sending free tokens en masse to their communities in a bid to encourage adoption.

Crypto users who frequently interact with new and existing platforms will likely receive an airdrop at some stage – which has quickly spurred the narrative of “airdrop farming” in Crypto Twitter circles, as large airdrops can be valued at thousands of dollars in effectively free money at peak.

Strategies from Crypto Twitter participants for a chance to claim the tokens – if and when they are issued – include bridging to zkSync, providing liquidity on decentralized exchanges such as ZigZag and conducting a few trades every week.

zkSync is a zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup, a trustless protocol that uses cryptographic validity proofs to provide scalable and low-cost transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. In zkSync, computation is performed off-chain and most data is stored off-chain as well.

Data from Nansen shows nearly $8 million worth of tokens have flowed to the network in the past week.

Elsewhere, DefiLlama data shows the total-value-locked metric on the zkSync-based decentralized exchange ZigZag ballooned to over $13 million on Tuesday from last week’s $1.5 million. All of the flows to ZigZag were in tether USDT$1.0002 stablecoins, the data shows.

Such movements are likely coming in the anticipation of an token airdrop from other networks following layer 2 blockchain Arbitrum’s move to issue its token to users in a decision last week.

“The Arbitrum airdrop has brought renewed interest in airdrop hunting across other chains that have yet to launch a token,” Nansen analyst Martin Lee explained in a note to CoinDesk. “The confirmation of the Arbitrum airdrop also means that farming activity will shift away from Arbitrum and towards other chains.”

Last week saw layer 2 network Arbitrum confirm its much-awaited native token, ARB, to users based on their prior network activity. The tokens are claimable on Thursday, but futures markets are already pricing the tokens from $1.40 to over $9 apiece, as CoinDesk reported.