Missed the Arbitrum Airdrop? Don't Worry, These 5 Airdrops Are Coming Soon!

The recent announcement of the Arbitrum airdrop has ignited excitement in the crypto community. As we informed in this article, Arbitrum developers are distributing their governance token, ARB, to eligible users and DAOs on the Ethereum layer-2 platform. With the average user receiving approximately 625 ARB tokens, equivalent to around $625 to $1,250, the airdrop has generated significant interest in future airdrop opportunities.

Airdrops have proven to be a successful strategy for protocols to attract liquidity and usage, benefiting both developers and users. Moreover, they circumvent securities laws, mitigating legal risks for development teams. As a result, it is likely that future protocols will adopt similar strategies to decentralize their platforms.

In light of the Arbitrum airdrop, we've compiled a list of five potential airdrop opportunities for the coming year. These include zkSync Era, Starknet, Scroll, Sui Network, and Sei Network. As the crypto landscape evolves, these projects could offer lucrative opportunities for users looking to participate in airdrops and capitalize on the growth of decentralized networks.

zkSync Era

zkSync Era emerges as a promising layer-2 rollup solution on Ethereum, leveraging zero-knowledge (ZK) proof technology. Industry experts, including Ethereum's co-founder Vitalik Buterin, believe that zk-based EVM-compatible rollups have the potential to revolutionize scalability and throughput, leading to widespread adoption.

Matter Labs, the team behind zkSync, secured $200 million in a December 2022 Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital and Dragonfly. Top decentralized applications on Ethereum, such as Chainlink, Uniswap, and Aave, have shown interest in launching on zkSync.

With Matter Labs opening the doors for registered projects to deploy their code on the zkSync mainnet on February 16th, public deposits are expected to commence soon. Users looking to increase their chances of securing an airdrop should focus on expanding their on-chain footprint on the mainnet.

Starknet

Another ZK-based Ethereum rollup, which supports decentralized applications and has confirmed the STARK token's role in decentralizing the Ethereum layer-2 network. StarkWare, the company behind Starknet, has a track record of success, having previously developed StarkEx, an Ethereum scaling engine utilized by independent Layer-2 solutions like Sorare, ImmutableX, and dYdX.

Following the launch of the Starknet mainnet in November, total deposits surged 45% to $2.49 million as users anticipated the next airdrop after the Arbitrum token launch announcement. On-chain analytics firm Nansen reported a record $3.4 million in Ether and Dai deposits on March 17 to the Starknet ecosystem.

Sui Network

Sui Network is a Move-based layer-1 blockchain resembling Aptos, created after the collapse of Meta's Libra project. Evan Cheng, former head of Meta's crypto wallet R&D unit, became CEO of Mysten Labs, the team developing Sui.

Aptos Labs introduced the APT native token on October 18, airdropping 20 million tokens to eligible users who minted a specific NFT on the Aptos testnet. On launch day, the airdrop's value exceeded $1,500. Sui testnet users can anticipate a comparable airdrop upon the mainnet launch in Q2 2023.

On March 21, Mysten Labs unveiled a Wave to Mainnet campaign, featuring a "series of events and content to further educate the community about the potential for Sui protocol." Participation in Sui campaigns and engagement on the testnet could enhance users' likelihood of earning a future airdrop.

Sei Network

Sei Network, a Cosmos-based layer-1 blockchain, focuses primarily on DeFi and high-frequency trading applications. The platform incorporates essential applications, such as an order-matching engine and a unified liquidity model across the ecosystem, to optimize the trading experience. Industry giants like Multicoin Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Delphi Digital back the project.

The Sei Network team launched its incentivized testnet in Q2 2022, featuring various missions and NFT minting campaigns. Users who participated in these events are likely to receive an airdrop upon the mainnet launch. The team has hinted that the launch will take place soon.

Layer Zero

Layer Zero is an inter-chain communication protocol developed on Omnichain. By leveraging oracle technology, Layer Zero facilitates the exchange of information between applications on different blockchain networks. 

The protocol aims to connect every blockchain network into a single ecosystem by enabling applications built on one chain to access infrastructures from other chains. Layer Zero ensures the security of these interchain transactions by performing proper validations on the receiving chain.

Though a Layer Zero airdrop has not been officially confirmed, users anticipating such an event can begin by actively participating in Layer Zero projects. 

Conclusion

The Arbitrum airdrop illustrates the growing trend of distributing governance tokens to eligible users and DAOs. Airdrops benefit both users and protocols by attracting liquidity, usage, and decentralization. Considering the legal risks associated with token sales, it's likely that more protocols will adopt the airdrop strategy in the future.

However, questions arise regarding the long-term implications of these airdrops: will they encourage innovation and organic growth, or merely fuel short-term speculation? Can these airdrops maintain their appeal amidst the increasing competition for users' attention?

With potential airdrops like zkSync Era, Starknet, Sui Network, Sei Network, and Layer Zero on the horizon, users who actively participate in testnets, campaigns, and on-chain activities can capitalize on these opportunities while observing the ongoing debate surrounding the future of airdrops in the crypto space.