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The Starknet Airdrop: High Demand, Controversies, and Market Impact
The much-anticipated Ethereum layer-2 solution, Starknet, recently experienced a surge in demand for its airdrop, leading to a fully diluted market cap exceeding $20 billion. Despite the excitement surrounding this development, controversies have arisen, impacting the protocol’s market performance.
Airdrop Allocation and Claiming Process
On Feb. 20, Starknet developers allocated approximately 700 million STRK tokens out of a total supply of 10 billion to reward various stakeholders, including Ethereum solo and liquid stakes, Starknet developers and users, as well as projects and developers from outside the Web3 ecosystem. Within the first 90 minutes, 45 million STRK tokens were claimed, and this number has since surpassed 220 million. Users have until June 20, 2024, to claim the remaining balance.
Market Performance and Valuation
Despite the initial investor enthusiasm, the price of STRK tokens has experienced a decline, dropping to $2 from its opening high price of $7 on the crypto exchange Binance. However, the protocol still maintains a high valuation, with a total value locked of $57 million.
Controversies and Allegations
On the same day as the airdrop allocation, Yearn Finance developer Banteg raised concerns about the inclusion of airdrop squatters in the eligibility list by Starknet developers, despite prior warnings. Banteg alleged that a significant number of wallet addresses eligible for the airdrop were linked to repeat or renamed GitHub accounts controlled by airdrop squatters, raising questions about the fairness and legitimacy of the airdrop process.
Airdrop Hunters and Market Impact
The involvement of airdrop hunters, who aim to profit from farming tokens from airdrops, has also been a point of discussion. These individuals utilize scripts to consolidate multiple addresses into a smaller number, potentially impacting the distribution and market dynamics of the airdropped tokens. Previous instances have shown airdrop hunters consolidating significant token amounts, highlighting the potential market impact of their activities.
Conclusion
The Starknet airdrop has garnered significant attention within the crypto community, with high demand and controversies shaping its market impact. As the protocol continues to navigate these developments, stakeholders and investors will closely monitor the resolution of the raised concerns and the subsequent market dynamics of the STRK tokens.
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