Crypto Fundamentals #82

💫 zkSync and LayerZero airdrop over $2bn to community

This past week two highly anticipated airdrops occurred. The first was zkSync’s ZK token, which debuted at a market cap of $1bn on Monday, sliding to ~$780m by Friday. The token was released on zkSync Era, the zero-knowledge proof-based Ethereum rollup. zkSync Era is the most successful zk L2 by daily active addresses and daily transactions, save for a spike in Linea activity in late March. It is also a significant competitor to in the broader Layer 2 space, often ranking among the top 3 Layer 2s by active addresses and daily transactions.

However, zkSync Era TVL pales in comparison to other Layer 2s, making up less than 2% of Layer 2s aggregate TVL. The zk rollup also makes up less than 2% of rollup fees generated. Then it comes as no surprise that zkSync Era ranks last among all L2s by TVL/DAA, indicating that each user adds very little economic activity to the network.

Later in the week, Layer Zero debuted their ZRO token, which opened at a market cap of $1bn as well before slipping to $760m in tandem with the broader market. The token was launched on Arbitrum One, which caused the rollup’s fees to spike to a new all-time high of $3.3m on June 20th.

The Layer Zero airdrop is of particular importance as the team went to great lengths to filter out Sybils from their airdrop in one of the most rigorous and open anti-Sybil campaigns to date. One sign of a successful Sybil campaign will be whether or not airdropped users sell their tokens shortly after receiving them, which is often the case with airdrop farmers. It may be too soon to tell, although the ZRO token is down 25% since launch but this could be due to broader market movements.

Looking at LayerZero’s analytics site, we can see that the protocol has facilitated the transfer of 134m messages to date. While activity dropped off sharply a month and a half ago following announcement of the airdrop snapshot, activity seems to be coming back in an equally dramatic manner. However, it remains to be seen wether or not these levels of activity can be sustained.

🌞 Martin Shkreli claims he created DJT token with Donald Trump’s son

This week, Martin Shkreli, notorious for his stint as price-gouging "Pharma Bro," revealed his involvement in the creation of the DJT token, a new cryptocurrency built on the Solana blockchain. Shkreli disclosed during a June 18th X Spaces session that he had been part of the DJT project since April, helping to kickstart it under a friend's initiative. He claimed that around ten entities contributed to the development of DJT, with roughly forty to fifty people aware of the project. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT shared insights from direct messages with Shkreli, who claimed to possess over 1,000 pieces of evidence supporting his role in DJT’s creation. This came after Arkham Intelligence offered a $150,000 bounty to uncover DJT’s creators. Despite the controversy, DJT's price skyrocketed, gaining 23% in one day and nearly doubling in value over the past week. The token's self-reported market cap now stands at $2.71 million, although leading crypto analytics platforms have yet to verify these metrics.

Shkreli claimed that Barron Trump, the son of former President Donald Trump, was involved in the project and held the private keys to its smart contract address. He also suggested that Donald Trump approved the token, although these claims have not been publicly confirmed by the Trump family. The DJT token has attracted significant attention and speculation, with bets totaling $2.17 million on Polymarket regarding the token's legitimacy. Prominent crypto figures including GCR of Terra Luna fame have also publicly announced their willingness to place large bets on the token's authenticity. Despite Shkreli's claims, there remains skepticism about the true origins and legitimacy of the DJT token. Some industry leaders have criticized the association with the Trump family, and the debate continues on social media. Overall, Shkreli's involvement has added complexity to the DJT token saga, fueling both interest and controversy in the cryptocurrency market.