DeFi
Solana DEX Zeta Markets Airdrop Kicks Off With a Bang as ZEX Token Soars
Zeta Markets, a Solanadecentralized exchange based on (DEX) which also aims to build the chain’s first Layer 2 scaling network, launched an airdrop for users on Thursday that has so far exceeded initial expectations.
The ZEX airdrop, which includes 100 million tokens (10% of the total token supply), was designed to reward long-term Zeta users, making it easier to trade perpetual contracts on-chain. Perpetual contracts are a type of derivative contract that allow traders to speculate on the future price of crypto assets, but importantly, they do not have an expiration date.
Early this morning, ZEX opened at $0.13, slightly above pre-market trading forecasts. Its value then quickly tripled, exceeding $0.30, and pushing the value of the Zeta airdrop to approximately $30.78 million.
At the time of writing, ZEX had since stabilized at around $0.25.
The Zeta airdrop will be carried out in two phases. Today, 80% of airdrops have become available to early adopters of the platform, and was awarded based on user “Z-scores,” a points system that tracked individual trading volumes, among other criteria. At a second later date, the remaining 20% of the airdrop will be distributed to ZEX holders who stake their tokens with Zeta.
Staking is a core element of ZEX, which will serve as Zeta Markets’ governance token. In an effort to encourage engagement with the token, the longer holders stake ZEX, the more influence they will be able to exert exponentially over the direction of Zeta and the more financial incentives they will receive.
ZEX will also ultimately serve as the native gas token for Zeta X, a DeFi-focused blockchain built on Solana, which the Zeta team aims to launch early next year.
Zeta is currently one of the largest decentralized exchanges in Solana. In May alone, perhaps in anticipation of today’s airdrop, the platform recorded trading volume worth $3.24 billion, according to Lama DeFi.
The summer was full of cryptocurrency airdrops. Just yesterday, the Ethereum layer-2 Blast network launched a massive airdrop $354 million airdrop for users. Despite the magnitude of this free gift, many Blast users were disappointed with the result, thanks in part to Dizzying forecasts of the value of the airdrop, although the price has not check later in the day.
Another sign that, in the cryptocurrency space, expectations can often matter more than size.
Edited by Andre Hayward