zkSync Era goes live to become world’s first zkEVM mainnet; users await AirDrop

• With the zkSync Era launch, all users can build on the network and bridge funds to the system.
• 9% of the total number of transactions on zkSync were generated over the last week.

After four years of development, rigorous testing, multiple security audits and bug bounty programs, Ethereum’s [ETH] layer-2 solution, zkSync Era, was fully opened to the public.

With this, zkSync Era became the first Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible with zero-knowledge rollup (zk-rollup) to launch on mainnet. This comes just three days before the scheduled launch of the Polygon [MATIC] zkEVM.

zkSync’s  2.0 mainnet Baby Alpha went live on October 2022 but was limited to developers. With the latest launch, all users could build on the network and bridge funds to the system.

In preparation for the launch, a security mechanism called Execution Delay was also put in place. According to zkSync, the latency will ensure that there is enough time to validate transactions and monitor red flags such as rapid outflows and large withdrawals during an exploit.

zkSync to follow in Arbitrum’s footsteps?

With the launch of the much-awaited governance token of the Arbitrum ecosystem, ARB, the focus now shifts to zkSync. Despite the fact that zkSync has made no official AirDrop announcements, the fervor around the same has caused many supporters to believe they would soon be rewarded.

AirDrops has become one of the most popular marketing strategies in the crypto space. Users receive AirDrops based on certain eligibility criteria. One of the most common is trading activity on the platform. Users participate in a number of transactions, which increases their chances of availing the token.

Data from Dune lent credence to this argument. The total number of transactions on the layer-2 rollup went past 19 million at the time of writing. About 9% of these were generated over the last week. Moreover, daily transactions on the network hit an all-time high level of 336,315 on 22 March.

Source: Dune

Moreover, the number of ETH and ERC-20 tokens deposited on the network went past $800 million, indicating that money was circulating continuously in the ecosystem. 

Token swaps and ETH bridges on the protocol also increased significantly over the last few days.

Source: Dune

Community upbeat about AirDrops

The crypto community was confident that zkSync’s token launch was around the corner. Twitter user hkm.eth opined that with the public launch, users should prepare themselves for a potential AirDrop and start exploring zkSync.

Another user, SmartecVitalik felt that zkSync will probably go for an AirDrop amidst growing competition to capture liquidity in the market.