Ethereum's layer-2 scaling solution, zkSync, is set to airdrop its new zkSync (ZK) token to nearly 695,000 eligible wallets next week. This highly anticipated event will distribute approximately 3.68 billion tokens, equating to 17.5% of the total 21 billion ZK tokens.

The project announced on June 11 that the tokens would be distributed to wallets that met specific criteria before the snapshot date of March 24. This airdrop aims to reward active participants and protect against Sybil attacks, with eligible wallets required to have interacted with the zkSync Era or zkSync Lite networks. To qualify, wallets must have engaged with at least 10 smart contracts, traded 10 ERC-20 tokens, or deposited liquidity into a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, among other activities.

The ZK token, which has already traded up to $0.71 on pre-market exchanges like Aevo and PancakeSwap, is estimated to have a market capitalization of around $14.91 billion. Of the total airdrop, 89% will be allocated directly to network users, with the remaining tokens reserved for native projects and community initiatives.

Each eligible wallet will receive up to 100,000 tokens, while less than 0.5% of the total supply is set aside for players of Crypto: The Game and holders of specific NFT collections, such as Pudgy Penguins and Milady Maker.

The distribution of the ZK tokens is not just a community gesture but a strategic move. The remaining one-third of the token supply will be split almost equally between investors and the zkSync development team, Matter Labs. This follows a controversial attempt by Matter Labs to trademark "ZK," which was later abandoned.

Tokens will be unlocked over three years, from June 2025 to 2028, allowing immediate participation in protocol governance for holders. The airdrop will commence next week and run until January 3, 2025, marking a significant milestone in zkSync's development and community engagement.