The crypto community recently excitedly stirred over the STRK airdrop eligibility leak on X.

While the exact date and criteria for the Starknet airdrop remain unclear, the community eagerly awaits the announcement soon.

Starknet is a Layer 2 scaling solution designed for Ethereum.

Created in 2022, its native token, STRK is itching to hit the market stage, but as of December 4, 2023, it’s still in the wings.

In this post, I covered everything you need to know about Starknet, its STRK token, and “Wen airdrop”. Let’s dive in!

Post Summary

1. 🤔Starknet: What is it?
2. Understanding the Technology Behind Starknet
3. Exploring Starknet Ecosystem
4. STRK Token – Anticipating the Airdrop!
5. Conclusion

🤔Starknet: What is it?

Starknet is a Layer 2 scaling solution that aims to speed up Ethereum transactions and reduce costs.

Layer 2s are protocols that run on top of slow blockchains, in this case, Ethereum, to help them process transactions faster while capitalizing on their robust security.

To achieve this, Starknet uses a scaling technology known as Zero-Knowledge Rollup or zk rollup.

This helps it process many transactions quickly, and then bundle them as a single transaction for final approval on Ethereum. More on this later.

In light of this, Dapps deployed on Starknet enjoy decentralization, low fees and robust security.

Starknet was developed by Starkware, an Israeli company founded in 2018 by Eli Ben-Sasson that specializes in blockchain scalability using zK rollup.

It is also known to be the mastermind behind StarkEx and STARKs.

Starknet has recorded 85 million transactions with 7.33 max daily tps since inception in 2020.

Its parent company is valued at $8 billion having secured funding from major investors like the Ethereum Foundation, Paradigm, Sequoia, and more.

This makes Starknet a big player in the L2 game. Let’s get to the tech part, shall we?

Understanding the Technology Behind Starknet

ZK-Rollups and Zero-Knowledge Proofs

As mentioned before, Starknet operates as zero-knowledge proofs.

First thing first! What is zK rollup?

Zk-rollups is a Layer 2 scaling solution that processes numerous transactions off-chain and bundles them into a single transaction submitted to Ethereum.

This approach significantly boosts throughput and reduces transaction fees, as costs are shared among many users

But then, to avoid offloading wrong transactions to Ethereum, it verifies the validity of offline transactions by employing zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs)

Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are advanced cryptographic tools used to confirm the legitimacy of off-chain transactions without disclosing the actual transaction details.

Starknet, specifically, utilizes a ZKP type known as STARK proofs, which are acknowledged for their superior efficiency and scalability compared to other ZKPs.

{Suggested Read: ZK-Rollups and Optimistic Rollups Explained – What Are Rollups?}

Cairo – Programming Language

In contrast to Ethereum which uses Solidity, Cairo is the native programming language for Starknet.

This means every Dapp and smart contract on Starknet is built with Cairo.

Also, proficiency in Cairo is a prerequisite for developers looking to launch their Dapp on Starknet.

Interestingly, Cairo is specifically designed for STARK-based scaling, making it the best of choice for Starknet.

Unlike zkSync Era (zkEVM), it’s important to highlight that Starknet doesn’t support Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility.

This implies that  Dapps on Ethereum, such as Uniswap and SushiSwap cannot be ported into Starknet.

Luckily, the team did mention that it is developing transpilers that will allow EVM contracts written in Solidity to be deployed on Starknet.

Let’s take a deep dive into the Starknet ecosystem!

Exploring Starknet Ecosystem

Boasting over 100 deployed DApps, Starknet’s burgeoning ecosystem holds over $153 million in total value locked (TVL).

Here are some of the most popular Dapps on Starknet:

The list doesn’t end here; Starknet’s ecosystem includes DAOs, lending, and socials (view more).

To interact with the ecosystem, you might require Starknet’s wallet, Argent X, or manually include Starknet on your Metamask via Chainlist.

A deep dive into the STRK token, shall we?

STRK Token – Anticipating the Airdrop!

STRK is Starknet’s native token!

On November 22, 2022, the team deployed STRK on the Ethereum network, with an initial supply of 10 million tokens (this supply is not fixed).

Here’s a breakdown of the allocation:

• 17% – StarkWare Investors
• 32.9% – Core contributors
• 9% – Community Provisions
• 9% – Community Rebates
• 12% – Grants
• 10% – Foundation
• 2% – Donations
• 8.1% – Unallocated

Interestingly, as of this writing in December 2023, the STRK token has not yet entered the market for trading.

In addition, the allocation plan was established in 2022, as a result, the team may still be finalizing this decision. See the full details of the allocation plan here.

But in a recent event, it seems the coin’s launch is imminent and the community is eagerly anticipating an airdrop soon.

Wen Airdrop?

Recall that the token’s allocation did outline a specific percentage for the community, hinting at a potential airdrop.

Interestingly, on November 30, 2023, an official screenshot detailing STRK airdrop eligibility circulated on X, formerly Twitter, stirring excitement within the community.

Below is the screenshot as seen on X.

In a follow-up, the team clarified that the leaked eligibility screenshot was a draft under review, and they hinted that the airdrop snapshot had been taken. See the response below.

Well, this gives off a feeling of hopium that an airdrop is coming soon.

Additionally, rumours are circulating that the airdrop might occur around January 2024.

It’s important to note that this is purely speculative, and no official announcement has been made yet.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, Starknet is a layer 2 solution designed to scale Ethereum using ZKPs known as Starks proofs.

While Cairo is the sole supported programming language, the ecosystem is bustling, boasting over 100 Dapps with millions of total value locked.

Despite the STRK token’s pending launch, the community eagerly anticipates its release, with hopeful expectations of a potential airdrop

It’s time to get your response – Do you see the airdrop coming soon and do you think you will be eligible?

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