The Starknet Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the Starknet blockchain, has announced its plan to distribute its native token, STRK, to nearly 1.3 million eligible wallets.
The distribution, which will start on February 20, 2024, is part of the Foundation’s mission to foster the adoption and growth of Starknet, a scalable and secure layer-2 solution based on zero-knowledge proofs.
According to the Foundation’s blog post, the distribution will be overseen by a Provisions Committee, which will allocate 900 million STRK tokens (9% of the total supply) to various groups of users and contributors, based on their past and future involvement with Starknet and StarkWare, the company that developed the underlying technology. The eligible groups include:
- Starknet users: Users interacting with Starknet or StarkEx-powered applications, such as dYdX, ImmutableX, Rhinofi, and Sorare, will receive STRK tokens proportional to their activity and volume.
- Ethereum validators: Validators who have run solo staking nodes on Ethereum, up to 12 validators per address, will receive STRK tokens proportional to their stake and uptime.
- Ethereum developers: Developers who have deployed smart contracts on Ethereum, especially those related to DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs, will receive STRK tokens proportional to their impact and popularity.
- Open source developers: Developers who have contributed to open source software projects on GitHub, especially those related to cryptography, blockchain, and Web3, will receive STRK tokens proportional to their reputation and quality.
The Foundation claims that this is the “broadest distribution of its kind” to date, as it aims to reward and incentivize a diverse and inclusive set of stakeholders in the Starknet ecosystem. The Foundation also stated that this is only the first phase of the distribution and that more details and announcements will follow soon.
The STRK token is designed to have multiple functions within the Starknet network, such as governance, fees, and security. STRK holders will be able to stake their tokens to secure the network and earn rewards.
Starknet is one of the most anticipated and innovative projects in the blockchain space, as it promises to bring unprecedented scalability and efficiency to Ethereum and other blockchains, without compromising on security and decentralization.
By leveraging zero-knowledge proofs, Starknet can process thousands of transactions per second, while reducing the load and cost on the base layer. Starknet is also compatible and interoperable with various rollup solutions, such as Optimism, Arbitrum, and zkSync, creating a network of interconnected layer-2 platforms.
Starknet is in its alpha phase, with several applications and partners already onboard, such as dYdX, ImmutableX, and DeversiFi.
The Foundation plans to launch the beta phase in Q2 2024, which will introduce more features and improvements, such as the STRK token, the data availability layer, and the full EVM compatibility. The Foundation’s ultimate goal is to launch the mainnet in Q4 2024, which will mark the completion of the Starknet vision.
