Starknet Airdrop Controversy: Early Investors Only Lock Tokens for Two Months, Can Stake While Locked

The Ethereum L2 project Starknet finally announced an airdrop on February 14th, which also brought some controversy. Starkware CEO Eli Ben-Sasson addressed the issue in an interview with Decrypt.

Starknet Early Investors Only Lockup for Two Months, Can Stake Locked Tokens

Starknet has allocated over 1.3 billion STRK tokens, accounting for 13.1% of the total circulation, to investors and early contributors. This will be unlocked on April 15th, with a total value exceeding $2 billion based on BitMEX contract prices.

Token distribution to early investors is not uncommon, but what's strange is the relatively short lockup period of about 2 months.

The community member @WazzCrypto also pointed out that these tokens can be staked during the lockup period.

LOL What the fuck is this graph????

Another blatant case of teams making tokenomics as contrived and scammy as possible

This is the kind of thing the SEC needs to look at, not suing random exchanges pic.twitter.com/01I7RwKhGv

— Wazz (@WazzCrypto) February 14, 2024

Starknet Airdrop Criteria: Why Must Your Wallet Have a Balance?

Previously reported, the requirements for the STRK airdrop eligibility need to be completed before the snapshot on November 15, 2023:

• Execute a total of 5 or more transactions

• Be active for 3 months or longer

• Have a transaction volume of $100 or more

• Hold 0.005 ETH or more before 11/15

Celebrating Starknet's Million Wallets! STRK Tokens Are Finally Airdropping, Who Qualifies to Receive STRK?

According to a report by Unchainedcrypto, Discord users "Umaykut" and "Gabrielwillian" both stated that they had conducted hundreds of transactions and provided liquidity to the Starknet ecosystem exchange Ekubo, but were disqualified from the airdrop due to their wallet's ETH balance not meeting the requirements before the snapshot.

Umaykut stated:

I only left about $3-5 worth of ETH, as all my other funds were providing liquidity for Ekubo. This airdrop excluded many who truly dedicated time and believed in the Starknet ecosystem.

Starkware CEO: Even Locking Up for a Year Would Face Selling Pressure

Starkware CEO Eli Ben-Sasson, in an interview with Decrypt, explained:

The airdrop structure of Starknet may indeed be non-standard, but what everyone truly cares about is whether Starkware or the Starknet ecosystem will continue to advance in three months or a year, which our team also continuously monitors. Moreover, extending the token lockup period does not prevent selling pressure. Such concerns could still arise even if the tokens were locked up for a year.

Eli Ben-Sasson emphasized that Starkware chose to shorten the lockup period for STRK tokens because the contributions of these individuals should be rewarded, and the team did not create potential risks due to improper airdrop design.