Starknet User Base Dips Amid Controversy Over Airdrop Criteria
Summary:
Starknet's active user base dropped drastically due to dissatisfaction with its Starknet Provisions Program airdrop. The Ethereum layer-2 blockchain saw a sharp rise and fall in active users around the airdrop announcement, with complaints arising over strict airdrop criteria which excluded those with ETH balances under 0.005 in their accounts as of November 15, 2023 from token distributions. Many users who processed significant transactions or added liquidity to the network missed out on the distribution. Starknet is working to address these concerns, but remedies will require time for research, design, and testing. Starknet's total value locked currently stands at $54.18 million.
Over the past week, Starknet has seen a significant decrease in active users, triggered by rising dissatisfaction with its Starknet Provisions Program airdrop. The user base of the Ethereum layer-2 blockchain surged from just below 20,000 on February 9th to over 220,500 on February 14th, achieving its highest level in nearly three months, according to Starkscan data. This increase was primarily driven by users and airdrop farmers joining the network in anticipation of receiving allocations. However, following the announcement of the detailed airdrop plan set for February 20th, the number of active users nose-dived back to levels seen prior to the announcement. By February 19th, active accounts on the network had dwindled down to just over 84,000.
The Starknet community and its users have expressed their dissatisfaction with the criteria for the airdrop, which excludes users with less than 0.005 Ether (ETH) — valued at approximately $10 at the time — in their accounts on November 15, 2023 from receiving token distributions.
Numerous users on platform X and Starknet's Discord have expressed their disappointment at missing token distributions. Despite processing transactions worth thousands of dollars and contributing liquidity to the network, they failed to meet the minimum account balance requirement.
Responding to this criticism, Starknet posted on X on February 19th stating that it is aware of the feedback concerning users feeling left out due to specific Provisions criteria. The team is committed to addressing these concerns but emphasized that finding a solution will require time for research, design and testing.
Another controversial aspect of the airdrop pertains to the token unlock schedule. This schedule rewards Starknet investors and early contributors with 1.3 billion STRK — constituting about 13% of the total supply — on April 15th, just two months after its launch. In contrast, around 700 million STRK, approximating 10% of the total supply, is slated for distribution on February 20th.
STRK is currently trading at up to $1.98 on the pre-market perpetual exchanges Aevo and HyperliquidX. This price level implies a potential market capitalization of around $1.38 billion at launch.
Despite the dip in active users, Starknet's total value locked stands at $54.18 million, marking a 5.7% decrease from its all-time high of $57.5 million on February 14th, as per DefiLlama data.
Published At
2/20/2024 9:06:36 AM
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