Hunting Airdrop & Retroactive on Layer 2: Where is the next opportunity?

Layer 2 (L2) scaling solutions became necessary due to Ethereum's congestion and high costs. These solutions give users a smooth transaction experience, very low transaction fees, and inherit the security of Ethereum. L2s clearly demonstrate the efficiency with multi-billion dollar ecosystems, however, there is still one more important piece missing. It's a token, most L2 blockchains don't have their own token yet.

At the moment, the most growing Layer 2 segment is still Optimistic Rollup projects. These projects obtain high TVL and outstanding users, driving L2 development in general. As the "leading projects”, it is perfectly reasonable for projects in this segment to issue tokens first, then other L2s to follow up.

Up until now, the Optimistic Rollup projects have had the most blockchains with their own tokens, with Optimism (OP), followed by Metis (METIS), Boba Network (BOBA).

Revising OP Airdrop #1

Optimism, the top-tier L2 project, recently announced an airdrop for early adopters, spending 5% of the total initial token supply to reward 264,079 wallets.

So, what are these criteria? Simple or difficult? Users must meet the following criteria in order to receive the airdrop:

• Optimism Early User: Used Optimism before 6/23/2021, receive 727.36 OP per wallet.
• Repeat Optimism Users: Interact with Optimism for 4 weeks, receive 1,584.42 OP per wallet.
• DAO Voter: Regularly participate in voting on Ethereum DAOs (Governor Alpha and Bravo, Aave, Maker, Curve, Aragon, DAOHaus, DAOStack,...), receive 254.45 OP per wallet.
• Multi-sign signer: Usually DAO leader and builder, receive 1,114.23 OP per wallet.
• Gitcoin Donor: People who have donated on-chain through Gitcoin, receive 520.34 OP per wallet.
• Users Priced Out of Ethereum: People who used to bridge from Ethereum to other L1 chains but still have transactions on Ethereum dapps, receive 383.27 OP per wallet.

Furthermore, addresses that meet many criteria at the same time will also receive bonus rewards, specifically:

• 4 Categories to get a bonus of 3,913.29 OP.
• 5 Categories to get a bonus of 12,449.18 OP.
• 6 Categories to get a bonus of 25,769.80 OP.

As you can see, the criteria are ranked from easy to difficult; if you are an early user of this ecosystem, the first 2 criteria are relatively simple. Optimism aims to build The Optimism Collective DAO, so the other criteria are quite close to the activities of a DAO, this is the special point of this airdrop.

Since the OP token has not been traded, let's do some calculations to predict the token value when it comes to exchanges. OlimpioCrypto suggested an MC/TVL calculation method, with the newest metrics, we have:

OP's total initial supply will be 4,294,967,296 tokens, according to tokenomics, the first year will have about 30% of the total supply distributed to the market. That is, initially there will be about 1,288,490,188 OP tokens.

According to DefiLlama, Optimism currently has $460M TVL. Other Optimistic Rollup projects that have already released tokens, such as METIS and BOBA, also have a current circulating supply of 30%.

Since already have the token, you can track down the relevant numbers and calculate the MarketCap/TVL ratio of each project:

Assuming Optimism has a similar ratio of MKC/TVL to Metis of 0.96, Optimism will have a Market Cap of about $441M, FDV of $1.46B and OP token will cost $0.34.

With the Boba Network case, Optimism will have a Market Cap of about $1.1B, FDV of $3.65B and OP token of $0.85.

In addition, last March, Optimism also announced the close of a $150 million Series B funding round at a valuation of $1.65B. So the valuation from the VCs would be Optimism with a MKC/TVL ratio of 1.08, Initial Market Cap of $496M, and OP token at $0.39, FDV at $1.65 billion. Of course, VC deals are usually very good deals, so it's not surprising that OP traded on the market for x2, x3 of the VC price.

To summarize, the OP token will be priced as follows, according to the above prediction:

• Pessimistic case: FDV $1.46B, OP $0.34.
• VC valuation case: FDV $1.65B, OP $0.39.
• Positive case: FDV $3.65B, OP $0.85.

If the token price at TGE is the VC price, each wallet that meets the first two basic criteria will receive about $900, which is a very profitable amount when compared to the Optimism transaction fee.

So if you miss Optimism, which L2 project next?

Preparation for "hunting" airdrop/retroactive

If you want to interact with dapps on Layer 2, you need to prepare a few things first.

The first and most important thing is still to prepare ETH, the reason is:

• Currently, fees on L2s are in ETH, users are required to have ETH to operate on.
• ETH gets high adoption from Protocols.
• Most trading pairs are paired with ETH.

To bridge ETH to L2s:

• Platforms that support transferring ETH via Arbitrum: www.optimism.io/apps/bridges
• Platforms that support transferring ETH via Optimism: portal.arbitrum.one/

With zkSync, you can use the following bridges to transfer funds:

• Wallet zkSync.
• Orbiter.
• ZigZag Exchange bridge.
• LayerSwap.

With StarkWare, the simplest way is to set up the Argent X wallet and then bridge to Ethereum using StarkGate.

Aside from the bridges mentioned above, those wishing to transfer money from the exchange to L2 can check the table below.

Opportunities to hunt Airdrop/ Retroactive on Layer 2

Arbitrum

In the context of Optimistic Rollup projects gradually releasing tokens, "big brother" Arbitrum will certainly not be able to sit still. Recently (before Optimism launched the token) there have been a lot of rumors about whether Arbitrum will launch an ARB or ARBI token.

The Arbitrum Odyssey

This is an Arbitrum event in collaboration with Ratwell, Sugoi, and Project Galaxy to encourage users to learn more about Arbitrum in exchange for an exclusive NFT designed by Ratwell and Sugoi.

The event lasts for 8 weeks, each week there will be certain on-chain tasks for you to claim NFT. After claiming at least 12/15 NFT, you will receive a special NFT, called Arbi-verse NFT.

The snapshot selected the last 14 projects to participate in this event from the 56 most active projects on Arbitrum through a voting process.

The following is a list of the winning projects

The onboarding week is the first week of the event, and its main purpose is to allow users to bridge assets to Arbitrum.

Decentralized bridges will receive an NFT bonus based on bridge volume, which means that the more bridges you use, the higher your chances of receiving this bonus.

A list of decentralized bridges can be found here.

Each week for the next seven weeks, there will be 2 protocols to publish tasks for users to receive NFT.

It's worth noting that after 7 weeks, you'll have a total of 14 NFTs; if you have 12/15, you'll get 1 NFT; with the onboarding week, you'll get 1 more bonus NFT, bringing the total to 16.

However, it is stated on the Arbitrum Medium page that there are 17 NFTs. It is possible that one NFT will be secretly rewarded, and that this NFT will be related to the Arbitrum token airdrop.

Why is it important to claim this NFT?

I believe that the Optimism airdrop based on specific project-related criteria is a good suggestion for Arbitrum. These 17 NFTs will most likely be 17 criteria directly related to Arbitrum's top protocols, which will be used to evaluate and reward users.

Not only Arbitrum, many projects on this blockchain also do not have tokens, in addition to the list of 14 selected projects, you can refer to all 56 other active projects below.

Furthermore, in addition to the official Arbitrum bridge, you should use the decentralized bridge on a regular basis, such as Hop Protocol, which recently announced it will begin decentralizing Hop's governance, a token will be required to perform high-performance governance.

Optimism

That's right, you don't read it wrong, after Optimism is Optimism.

According to OP tokenomics, up to 19% of tokens are set aside to airdrop for users, the last Airdrop #1 only accounted for 5%, that is, 14% more tokens are reserved for airdrops. Optimism also confirmed that there will be Airdrop #2, #3,... in the future.

So, don't dismiss Optimism just because it announced an airdrop; what can you do next, besides bridge to the Optimism network?

Recently, Optimism launched OP Stimpack using 230M OP tokens as incentives for projects developed on Optimism. Projects on Optimism that achieve some on-chain targets can claim OP, Optimism native projects will receive x3 rewards.

In my opinion, it is critical to keep a close eye on these projects because they will be regarded as ecosystem builders, and interaction with them could become a criterion for the next airdrop.

Furthermore, if these projects do not have tokens, it is possible that they will use the OP tokens received from Optimism to airdrop back to users to encourage using the product.

You can check Phase 0 Projects distribution here.

zkSync

In the FAQ section of the project, it has been confirmed that there will be a token. In addition, zkSync always mentions that they want their network to be decentralized and owned by the community, very similar to Optimism. So they will find a way to distribute the project's tokens via airdrop/retroactive to real users.

If you have missed Optimism, zkSync should be on your radar.

To transfer funds through zkSync, you should use both a centralized and a decentralized bridge, similar to Arbitrum. You can use Bybit Exchange, which has just announced integration with zkSync, as a centralized bridge. Orbiter, Layerswap, ZigZag Exchange, and other decentralized bridges can also be helpful, and none of them have tokens yet.

After transferring assets to zkSync, here are a few protocols that you should prioritize interaction:

ZigZag Exchange, currently the largest DEX on zkSync, has a number of pairs listed.

Furthermore, ZigZag has confirmed that a native token will be issued for a transaction fee purpose.

SyncSwap, a seamless decentralized AMM exchange on zkSync 2.0.

Set up the Argent wallet, then you can easily send funds to the zkSync address of the Argent wallet, participate in DeFi on L1 on protocols like Aave, Lido, Yearn,... with very low transaction fees.

Donate on Gitcoin. Similar to Optimism, zkSync has integrated with Gitcoin, you can use Argent wallet to donate to projects on Gitcoin.

tofuNFT, trade & swap NFT on tofuNFT, a marketplace focused on GameFi and collectibles focusing on Layer 2 technology. You can also easily mint NFT via zkSync Wallet.

Last but not least, transfer money, trade with other zkSync wallets.

zkSync will have a Mainnet 2.0 update with EVM compatibility in the near future; it is highly likely that this L2 will be noticed more, so you should take advantage of it as soon as possible.

StarkWare

Although the StarkWare team has stated that the project does not have a token and has no plans to launch one, anything can happen; all crypto projects can issue tokens.

As a result, we should not ignore StarkWare.

StarkWare's Layer 2 extension solution, StarkNet, and zkSync are currently the two most powerful ZK Rollup projects.

These are the projects that are expected to break the blockchain's "impossible triangle," the team also wants to create a decentralized, community-driven ecosystem.

To interact with dapps on StarkNet, it’s critically important to have an Argent X wallet. After installing the Extension and creating a wallet, you just need to set the Goeril Testnet network as default, when accessing dapps, it will automatically connect.

On StarkNet, as with other blockchains, there are a few notable names to interact with.

StarkSwap

One of the first AMMs built on StarkNet, Starkswap is in the public testnet stage, you can participate in testing a swap, adding liquidity with only a little gas fee.

JediSwap

Another notable permissionless AMM on StarkNet is JediSwap, the dapp built by the Mesh Finance team. JediSwap is also in the testnet stage, so don't hesitate to experience the features and feedback for the project team on Discord.

briq

In terms of NFT, you can mint NFT on briq, the project is also in the testnet stage, allowing users to freely build things with the palettes, mint as NFT,...

Mint Square

Mint Square is an NFT Platform on Ethereum Layer 2 ZK Rollups. You can easily discover, mint, buy and sell NFT collections on zkSync and StarkNet.

Many notable upcoming projects include zkLend, ZKX protocol, ZKPad... launching soon, keep an eye on these projects and try them as soon as possible.

Why is now the best time for Layer 2 to launch tokens?

It's no coincidence that the OP token is being released at this time, and other L2 blockchains like Arbitrum are also getting ready to launch tokens.

This is also, in my opinion, a very reasonable time to do so.

• Ethereum recently announced that the implementation of The Merge ETH 2.0 will be postponed; now is the perfect time for L2 projects to take advantage of the delay to further develop the ecosystem.
• At the bear market, the number of users who stay and use the product will be those who have a high level of loyalty and truly care about and use the product.
• Many Layer 1 Blockchains are currently saturated or even slack. After pursuing GameFi, BNB Chain is saturated, Solana has major network issues, Avalanche only has one subnet, Fantom is also saturated after Andre Cronje left,... This is the moment. Layer 2 will emerge and attract attention with its tokens, attracting users away from Layer 1.

→ With all of this in mind, a token launch now or in the coming months is ideal for L2s, as they can both attract maximum attention and take advantage of the downtrend market.

A few notes while searching for airdrops on Layer 2

Finding airdrops or retroactives on L2 is the same as finding them anywhere else.

There are a few things you should keep in mind:

• You do not need to bridge too many funds to Layer 2, because the funds you transfer will stay in L2 for a long time for the airdrop.
• Always mentally prepare, sometimes you get the airdrops, sometimes not.
• Keep interacting with protocols usually.
• Bridge funds with various bridge types.
• Utilize all possible features in a protocol.
• Positive feedback to the team via Discord.
• This can be a time-consuming task, so you should be patient when participating.

Summary

The tips listed above can assist you in receiving the airdrop/retroactive on Layer 2. I'll keep this article updated with new projects so you don't miss out. If you require detailed instructions for any project or step, please leave a comment below and the Coin98 Insights team will assist you!

Good luck and don't forget to join the discussion with the admins and many other members in the Coin98 Insights community.