Maximizing the zkSync Airdrop: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you’re into crypto, you’re likely aware of the potential to earn big rewards for participating in developing protocols and networks via airdrops. Airdrops are a way for developers to distribute free tokens to their community as a way of incentivizing their participation in the network. And with recent airdrops like Arbitrum’s $ARB, where many people received over $5,000 or even $10,000 of tokens, it’s no wonder why many people are looking to participate.

One upcoming opportunity is the upcoming zkSync token airdrop. The ZkSync project has raised an impressive $458 million from major venture capital funds, including Sequoia Capital, Paradigm, and Founders Fund. With the recent Era Mainnet launch on March 24, 2023, the project is in full swing and much anticipation surrounds the future airdrop. 

While both testnet and mainnet strategies to airdrop participation were previously available, now that the ZkSync Era mainnet is live, we focus here on the mainnet strategy.

Five Steps to Getting the zkSync Mainnet Airdrop

As you take the steps below, remember an important point: Maximising your rewards is not a one-time task. Repeat participation is the key. The more volume, value, and frequency of transactions you bridge to and use on the protocol and applications, the greater the value of the airdrop you’re likely to receive. It’s recommended to try to make transactions of at least $100 if possible, but any participation is still beneficial.

Here are the steps:

1. Add zkSync Era mainnet on Metamask

Use the details at https://chainlist.org/chain/324 to add the zkSync Era mainnet to your Metamask. This is the first step to participating in the ecosystem. Metamask is a popular wallet extension for browsers that allows you to connect to various Ethereum-based networks. By adding zkSync Era mainnet to your Metamask wallet, you’ll be able to interact with the protocol and applications. 

2. Bridge $ETH to ZkSync Era Mainnet using the official ZkSync bridge

The official ZkSync bridge allows you to move your Ethereum assets to the zkSync network. By bridging your $ETH to zkSync Era mainnet, you’ll be able to use the network to make transactions and participate in the ecosystem. The more $ETH you bridge – amount and frequency – the greater your rewards are likely to be, although as we see from the analysis at https://ecosystem.zksync.io/, if you bridge more than 0.1 ETH, you’ll be ahead of 74.5% of participant wallets.

3. Bridge $ETH to ZkSync Era Mainnet using Orbiter Finance

Orbiter Finance is another way to bridge your Ethereum assets to the zkSync network. Using multiple bridges can increase your chances of receiving a larger airdrop. It’s recommended to do this repeatedly on an ongoing basis to increase your participation and eligibility for the airdrop.

4. Test and use as many zkSync mainnet dapps as possible

The zkSync Era ecosystem has a thriving community of developers building decentralized applications (dapps) that you can use to potentially earn future airdrop rewards. The more you use these dapps, the more value you’ll add to the ecosystem and the higher your chances of receiving a larger airdrop. Some dapps to consider include:

a) MintSquare – an NFT marketplace built for zk Rollups. Use it to mint, buy or sell NFTs.

b) Mute Switch – a zkRollup DeFi platform. Swap some ETH for MUTE and USDC, then provide liquidity on USDC / WETH & MUTE / WETH pairs.

c) SpaceFi – a cross-chain platform that aims to connect the Cosmos and Ethereum Layer 2 networks. Use SpaceFi to make swaps and provide liquidity.

d) Gitcoin – a platform that allows you to donate to open-source projects. Make a donation to a Gitcoin grant using ZkSync.

5. Participate regularly!

Remember to take the steps above regularly, bridging to the protocol and using its dapps every week if possible to maximize your rewards.

Participate Now to Maximize Future Rewards

The ZkSync Era ecosystem is one of the most promising Layer 2 protocols, with a thriving ecosystem. Early participants are likely to be rewarded well in a future airdrop, so start participating now to maximize your potential rewards.