It is the season of airdrops once again and you certainly would like to be rewarded for performing simple tasks. Crypro Projects like Blur and Aptos rewarded some users with a substantial amount of tokens just a few months ago. With “crypto winter” (bear market) the chances are very high that projects such as zkSync will be delivering an airdrop to users soon. zkSync has been in development for a while now and has hinted at an airdrop coming soon.
This article will show you how you can get the free Zksync airdrop. It will describe the step-by-step process and the boxes (tasks) you need to tick to be better positioned to receive the airdrop. All the activities have been divided into tasks to make it easier for you to follow. But first, a little background about zkSync.
What Is ZkSync Protocol?
zkSync Protocol is a layer 2 Ethereum scaling solution that uses zero-knowledge technology to batch or roll up several transactions into a single one. It helps you save costs and speed up transactions that otherwise would be very expensive and slow on the Ethereum main chain. It does this without compromising security.
According to its official documentation,
zkSync Era is a Layer-2 protocol that scales Ethereum with cutting-edge ZK tech. Our mission is not only to merely increase Ethereum’s throughput, but to fully preserve its foundational values – freedom, self-sovereignty, decentralization – at scale.https://zksync.io/
zkSync Protocol is being developed by Matter Lab and has the support of several leading firms in the crypto space. zkSync has secured about $460M in funding from investors and it is not likely they will be doing a tokens sale, instead, they are more likely to airdrop their tokens to the community of early adopters to incentivize usage of the platform -similar to what their main competitors did (Optimism and Arbitrum).
zkSync Protocol is fully active with the recent launch of the zkSync Era in 2023. Their ecosystem is growing very fast, attracting some of the top-rated Dapps in the crypto sphere. Its first Roller-up -zkSync Lite- was released in 2020 and has actively been in use since then, especially with the Gitcoin Community where it is used to batch transactions. zkSync is widely supported and used by the Gitcoin community
It is worth noting that the Gitcoin Community is one of the top-rated communities in the crypto space and has the endorsement of the best firms and personnel in crypto, including Vitalik Buterin – The co-founder of Ethereum.
Tasks To Get The Airdrop
Airdrops are becoming much more competitive with stiffer rules being applied to reduce the chances of people farming airdrops with multiple wallets. To maximize your chances of getting the zkSync airdrop, you should be a true supporter of the platform. Having just a single interaction will not likely earn you anything with zkSync.
To begin, you will need an Ethereum wallet to use for the airdrop, Some options are Metamasks, Argent (one of the top wallets specifically listed wallets in the zkSync ecosystem), Mathwallet, etc. If you currently do not have a wallet set up, you can set up a MetaMask wallet – How to set up a MetaMask wallet for beginners
You will stand a better chance of qualifying for the airdrop if you do perform most of the tasks listed below or at least are a repeat user (Preferably with some time interval between transactions -weeks or months)
Task 1: Be A Gitcoin Donor
As mentioned earlier, the Gitcoin community is one of the earliest supporters of zkSync lite, so you can score some good points if you donate on this platform using zkSync lite. The gitcoin.co is an open-source platform for the funding of public goods particularly those related to the Ethereum ecosystem.
The Gitcoin platform is one of the most common ways to receive airdrops particularly those related to the Ethereum ecosystem.
Your task here will be to make a donation to any publicly funded goods (or projects of your choice) in any of the donation rounds and use zkSync as the check-out option. It is one of the only two options available on the platform. You can support grants of your choice at https://bounties.gitcoin.co/grants/explorer
Task 2: Participate In The Testnet
Use the zkSync Testnet to help the developers build a more robust project. Testnet users are usually rewarded with Airdrops in many instances and zkSync will likely not be an exception. Moreover, it costs you nothing to use the Testnets (besides your time) and is a great way to support the protocol.
Request for free Testnet tokens, make transfers, and token swaps on the available DApps in the Testnets to support the project. The Testnet link is at https://portal.zksync.io and you will find the list of the DApps supported in Testnet at https://matterlabs.notion.site/zkSync-Era-Testnet-Applications-e38328bccda7472793024a25e26a1cac
Task 3: Use lite.zkSync, Mint NFT And the Swap on Zigzag Exchange
Although the team has discontinued the further development of the lite version Zksync, you can still score some airdrop points by using it. zkSync lite is the first roller-up release since 2020 and is still active. Your Task here should be to bridge some tokens to it from the Ethereum Mainnet or other Layer 2 chains using the official bridge available on its webpage. You can also use other third-party bridges.
Other tasks here should be to make some token swaps with the zigzag exchange. It is one of the few exchanges that use the zkSync lite. (There is also the possibility of getting an airdrop from the zigzag exchange itself)
As mentioned earlier in task 1 above, you should make some donations using this zkSync roller-up to increase the number of tokens you can potentially earn during the airdrop. Details of zkSync lite can be found at https://lite.zksync.io/ and zigzag exchange at https://trade.zigzag.exchange/
Other tasks you can perform here include Minting your NFT using tools such as https://www.pinata.cloud/ to upload your photo or Artwork and then copying the hash to mint your unique NFT on zkSync.
Task 4: Bridge to zkSync Era
zkSync Era is the latest iteration of the zkSync development. Your task here should be to bridge some Ethereum to zkSync Era using the official bridging tool. This is one activity you certainly do not want one miss if you want to get some airdrops. It will cost you some gas fees (less the 10$ depending on the network congestion). Bridge from the Ethereum Mainnet (preferably) or other chains such as Arbitrum, Binanance Smart Chain, or Optimism but do avoid sending Ethereum directly from a centralized exchange.
You will find the official bridge on the main page at https://bridge.zksync.io/ Note that you cannot use the official bridge to transfer tokens to zkSync Era if you are bridging from any chain besides the Ethereum Mainnet. For Chains besides Ethereum (e.g Arb, OP, Polygon to zkSync Era) you will need to use third-party bridges such as Orbiter Finance or Celer Network
Task 5. Use the Different Dapps in zkSync Era
zkSync Era has many Applications already built as part of the ecosystem. These include wallets, bridges, NFT marketplace, Decentralized Exchanges, etc. You will stand a good chance of getting an airdrop if you interact with multiple applications in the ecosystem. Stake some tokens even if for a few hours, Trade, Bridge tokens, Buy NFTs, etc. You will find the list of DApps here https://ecosystem.zksync.io/.
However, here are some of the notable or easy-to-use applications that you should give a try
- Nexon.finance – To Stake your USDC or Ethereum for some interests, borrow against your staked tokens
- SyncSwap – To trade between different tokens
- Orbiter.finance – To bridge tokens across different blockchains
- Argent Wallet – Wallet for cheaper transaction
- Onchain.trade – Spot trading and Lending
- Mintsquare.io – NFT marketplace
- Mute.io – Trade, Invest, Earn yields
- zkswap.finance – To swap tokens at a very cheap gas fee.
Task 6. Get An Assigned Role on the Discord Channel With Crew3 Quest
Join the zkSync discord channel at https://join.zksync.dev and also the crew3 quest at https://crew3.xyz/c/zksync The quest is designed to help you better understand the platform and promote its online presence. You will need to connect your wallet and your Twitter account to perform the tasks in the quest. Completing the quest will help you get an assigned role in the discord channel and thereby help increase your chances of an airdrop.
zkSync discord channel is very active and is a great place to get updates on the progress of the project. Certainly, keep an eye on the discord channel for more tasks. The zkSync quest is available at https://crew3.xyz/c/zksync
Task 7. Continuous Usage
Well for task 7, you are not just hunting or farming for the airdrop, you want to be a part of this amazing project, so you should be using the different projects on the zkSync ecosystem, they are very nice and help you save cost. Be an active user of the platform. It puts you in a position to earn more tokens, potentially more than the 10000 mark (even when others are getting far smaller quantities). Support zKSync Protocol.
Conclusions
zkSync Protocol is one airdrop you wouldn’t want to miss in 2023. Possibly earn you up to $10,000 by performing some simple tasks and being an active member of the community. Some of these tasks include using the Testnets, making a donation on gitcoin.co to some open-source projects, getting an assigned role in community discord, and using the latest updated version – zkSync Era and the apps in the ecosystem.
Like all major airdrops in recent times, the frequency of active use of the platform will likely be a criterion for eligibility. So it helps to be an active user of the platform. Hopefully, the zkSync airdrop is highly rewarding. I will be updating this article for any updates