Key Takeaways:
Ethereum Layer-2 network ZkSync allegedly plans to conduct a token generation event (TGE) as early as this week, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.
Ethereum Roll-up ZkSync Announces Plans to Airdrop ‘ZK’ Token in June
The insiders who spoke to crypto news outlet The Block said the TGE will be followed by a token launch, including an airdrop, within the next 30 days, supposedly on a date in mid-June. They highlighted that the ZkSync token will have a total supply of 21 billion.
As per an internal message shared with The Block, Matter Labs – the company behind ZkSync – is aiming at around June 13th for the airdrop, also noting that the event would be before Blast’s token airdrop, which is scheduled for June 26th.
The sources said ZkSync wanted to go with the “ZK” ticker for its native token, but since Polyhedra Network has already claimed that ticker, there is a chance for potential conflicts. Matter Labs could still go ahead with its proposed ticker symbol, given that Polyhedra is yet to list its ZK token on Binance.
ZK Airdrop will Happen After the Layer-2 Roll-Up Undergoes the v24 Upgrade
Last week, ZkSync announced in an X post that an upgrade to accelerate its blockchain’s decentralization mechanism will soon be rolled out. The v24 upgrade, scheduled for this summer, has been confirmed to be the final planned protocol update before the network transitions its governance over to the ZkSync community.
Keen observers found the announcement was a sign that ZkSync would conduct an airdrop right after the upgrade goes live. In September 2023, Matter Labs said that the v24 upgrade would make it possible for the blockchain to release its native token.
Investors have been waiting for the ZkSync token since early last year when over $8 million worth of Ether (ETH) was bridged to the Layer-2 scaling solution.
ZkSync is a widely popular Layer-2 blockchain founded in 2019 that utilizes zero-knowledge, or ZK roll-up, technology to improve Ethereum’s scalability. The tech aims to reduce the cost of Ethereum transactions by storing data off-chain.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is a huge proponent of ZK-rollups, once saying that it will “win out in all use cases” in the medium to long term because of its application-specific advantages. This week, Buterin reiterated his views on ZK-rollups by saying that in ten years, all rollups will be zero-knowledge and commit blocks with finalized state roots to every Layer-1 blockchain.
Matter Labs Has Raised Over $450 Million for the Development of ZkSync
Matter Labs, the parent company and developer of ZkSync is backed by some of the biggest names in venture capital, such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Dragonfly Capital, Blockchain Capital, Crypto.com Capital, Placeholder Capital, and 1kx.
In November 2022, the company raised $200 million in a Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital and Dragonfly Capital, with participation from LightSpeed Venture Partners, Variant, and a16z.
The investment round brought the project’s total funding to $458 million, with Matter Labs claiming at the time that the funds would give the company enough runway capital as it focuses on developing its ecosystem and supporting projects built by external parties on the ZkSync network.
Matter Labs also has plans to start the Matter University, which will act as an onboarding and education platform for ZkSync users and developers.
