Guide to Hunting Airdrops & Retroactive on ZkSync Era (Latest)

If you missed out on the Arbitrum Airdrop opportunity, don't worry! There are still many attractive Airdrop projects coming up with much larger amounts.

For instance, zkSync has raised 458 million USD, far surpassing Arbitrum (which raised 120 million USD).

Additionally, on March 24, zkSync recently launched zkSync Era (previously zkSync Lite), so I will guide you through the steps to participate in Airdrops on this latest version.

Read more: Detailed Guide to Hunting Airdrops with MetaMask Wallet (Latest 2023)

3 Reasons Not to Miss Airdrops on ZkSync

First reason: Great technology, experienced team

zkSync is a Layer-2 scaling solution developed by Matter Labs, aiming to reduce costs, accelerate transaction processing, and enhance security on Ethereum using ZK Rollups technology.

ZK Rollups employ Zero Knowledge Proofs, enabling aggregation of a large number of transactions on Ethereum and verification on Layer 2. Simply put, zkSync allows faster transactions at significantly lower fees compared to Ethereum.

The project was announced by Matter Labs in 2020, although research and development began in 2018. Matter Labs was co-founded by Alexander Vlasov and Alex Gluchowski.

Both founders have extensive blockchain development experience. Notably, Gluchowski has nearly 20 years of experience and has served as CTO for several major projects before focusing on zkSync.

Reason 2: zkSync successfully raised an additional 200 million USD in Series C funding, bringing the total raised to 458 million USD.

In contrast, Arbitrum has only raised a total of 120 million USD. zkSync's funding rounds have been led by top market funds such as a16z, Dragonfly Capital, Coinbase Venture, and Parafi.

Matter Labs has raised 458 million USD for zkSync's expansion mission

Compared to the current large-scale investments in Layer 1 such as Aptos, Sui, and figures like 350 million USD, 300 million USD, zkSync is significantly larger.

Remember, Aptos Airdropped 150 APT tokens per wallet. Depending on the selling price, users could receive rewards ranging from 1500 to 3000 USD per wallet.

Reason 3: zkSync Era - EVM-compatible version opens a new era

zkSync currently leads in ZK Rollups solutions, having recently launched zkSync Era (version 2.0) with faster transaction speeds and lower fees than the previous version.

Furthermore, this version has introduced a new EVM-compatible solution, making it the first zk-EVM solution to operate against competitors like StarkNet and Polygon's zkEVM.

So when will zkSync launch its token?

Regarding the token launch, Matter Labs CEO stated, "It's not the right time to launch the network's token."

He estimates that within the next year, the sorting mechanism will become more centralized, at which point the network will be ready to create a token for decentralized purposes.

In other words, we'll have about 6 months to 1 year to experience zkSync Era mainnet until the ecosystem is as mature as Arbitrum and launches its token.

However, nothing is certain. My current motto is to participate in Airdrops as soon as possible to not miss any major Airdrop opportunities.

Guide to Hunting Airdrops & Retroactive on ZkSync Era

Step 1: Preparation

First, you need the MetaMask wallet. If you don't know how to install MetaMask, you can find the guide here.

If you've already participated in Airdrops on the zkSync Lite version, you can continue using the wallets from the previous version, as zkSync Lite might be one of the criteria for receiving Airdrops.

Then, add zkSync Era Mainnet & zkSync Era Testnet networks to MetaMask.

Transfer assets to zkSync Lite wallet (old version)

To participate in zkSync Airdrops, you need to send about $20 worth of ETH to your zkSync wallet. If you've already done this, you can skip this step.

Here's how to do it:

Access the zkSync Wallet page here. Then select Ethereum Wallet → MetaMask to connect.
Click Top up and choose the method to transfer assets to the zkSync network.

After selecting zkSync as the Bridge transfer method, continue selecting ETH and the amount to send to Layer 2, then click Top up.
Send about $20 worth of ETH from Ethereum Mainnet to zkSync.

That's it, you've completed this step.

Activate zkSync wallet

Access: https://wallet.zksync.io/transaction/transfer/
Click on Authorize to Sign account activation to authorize account activation.

Send a fee to activate the account (Account Activation single-time fee). This fee only applies to the first transaction.

That's it, you've completed this step.

Step 2: Use zkSync Era Bridge

zkSync Bridge is built by the Matter Labs team, so I recommend everyone to focus on this Bridge.

Access: https://portal.zksync.io/bridge & connect your wallet to Ethereum.
Transfer ETH or USDC from Ethereum to zkSync (prepare ETH in advance for fees).
The minimum volume I recommend everyone to achieve is $10000.

Step 3: Explore Testnet projects on zkSync Era

Interact with ZkSync Era's Goerli Testnet

First, you need to access the following link to get testnet tokens: https://goerli.portal.zksync.io/faucet

Tweet to receive $ETH $LINK, $WBTC, $USDC, and $DAI tokens (these tokens are used to experience Testnet projects)

Go to 'Balance' to check your balance

Click 'Transfer' to transfer to other wallets (perform a few times)

Use the Bridge feature to withdraw ZkSync Goerli assets to Ethereum Goerli

At this point, you only need to choose 2-3 Testnet projects below to proceed, no need to do them all.

Note: Because most Testnet projects are unstable (lack liquidity and cannot be swapped), if the operation fails, you can note it down to perform later or switch to another project.

Mute.io (token already launched)

Access the following link: https://app.mute.io/
Connect your wallet, then trade, swap, or add liquidity.
SpaceFi (token already launched)

Access the link: https://www.spacefi.io/
Connect your wallet.
Swap to STAR token under Swap.
Add liquidity, then stake STAR under Farm to receive Airdrops.
Phezzan Protocol

This is the first DEX on zkSync 2.0 testnet. The project has confirmed that it will issue tokens and offer retroactive rewards after token launch.

Access the link: https://testnet.phezzan.xyz/
Connect your wallet and deposit testnet tokens.
Trade long/short on the platform.
Add liquidity on the platform.
Mint Square NFT

Access the link: https://mintsquare.io/starknet
Connect your wallet.
Mint NFT (upload image and add some detailed information).
Primex Finance

This protocol has confirmed rewards for users using the testnet.

Access the link: https://app.primex.finance/
Connect your wallet.
Successively trade, add liquidity, and lend on the platform.
MES Protocol

Access the link: https://app.mesprotocol.com/
Connect your wallet.
Experience long/short trading on the platform.
Use the platform's Bridge.
Step 4: Explore Mainnet projects

SynSwap (Native DEX on zkSync)

At this time, I recommend everyone to use this DEX because the project has not yet launched its token, and there is a high chance of receiving dual Airdrops.

Access the link: https://syncswap.xyz/
Connect your wallet.
Swap under trade and add liquidity under pool.
Bridge ZigZag Exchange (token already launched)

Perform some trading orders: https://trade.zigzag.exchange

Bridge tokens from Ethereum Mainnet to ZkSync Mainnet: https://trade.zigzag.exchange/bridge
Select Normal for Withdraw speed to reduce fees.

Bridge Orbiter Finance - bridge solution on ZkSync

Bridge tokens from Ethereum Mainnet to ZkSync Mainnet and vice versa: https://orbiter.finance

Explore more Onchaintrade: https://beta.onchain.trade/trade/
Mint domain on zkSync Name Service

Access: https://app.zkns.domains/
Search for a domain name and mint it.
You can use the minted domain for trading on Mintsquare.
Step 5: Complete community tasks & Donate on Gitcoin

Complete Community Tasks on Crew3

Access: zksync.crew3.xyz/questboard
Connect MetaMask + Discord wallets
Successively complete mission boxes

Donate on Gitcoin

Gitcoin is a project that rewards developers for contributing to open-source software.

They will receive a fair amount for their work.

This helps strengthen the open-source developer community even more.

Currently, you can donate through the 3 main networks: Ethereum, Polygon, and Layer 2 zkSync. Recently, Optimism's Airdrop event has made Gitcoin more "hot" than ever.

Specifically, each wallet will receive 555.92 OP if donated to a project on Gitcoin.

Steps for donating on Gitcoin are as follows:

Access https://gitcoin.co/grants
Select View All Grants
Choose a project by clicking Add to Cart to add it to the cart

Choose payment with ZKSync wallet, donate 1-5$

That's it, you've completed this step.

Criteria to avoid missing Airdrops