The eagerly awaited Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution, Starknet, is reportedly drawing the attention of airdrop hunters, sparking concerns about the legitimacy of the upcoming STRK token airdrop. Recent reports suggest that a significant number of individuals engaged in renaming or deleting their accounts after a blockchain snapshot was taken based on the Starknet airdrop, scheduled for the upcoming Monday.
Starknet’s Airdrop Anticipation Fuels Unusual Activity
According to a February 15 report by banteg, a Yearn Finance developer, 1,854 individuals have allegedly undertaken account modifications following the blockchain snapshot. The Starknet Foundation plans to allocate 700 million STRK tokens from 1.8 billion to approximately 1.3 million eligible wallet addresses on February 20, with 50% designated for protocol users.
However, GitHub data cited by banteg raises suspicions, revealing that 1,175 of the alleged 1,854 renamed accounts share identical historical GitHub IDs. Excluding such accounts from the airdrop snapshot could potentially reduce the number of eligible wallets by 701,544. In response to concerns, banteg assured the community that efforts would be made to prevent any misuse of the airdrop, particularly by squatters seeking to capitalize on the situation.
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Airdrop Hunters and Their Strategies
Airdrop hunters, individuals aiming to profit by farming tokens from airdrops, employ various strategies to maximize their gains. Notably, professional airdrop hunters often use scripts to consolidate numerous addresses into a select few. This method was exemplified last March when airdrop hunters consolidated $3.3 million worth of tokens from the Arbitrum (ARB) airdrop into just two wallets they controlled.
The Starknet project, launched in December 2022, has gained traction with a total value locked (TVL) of $55 million. Nostra, a decentralized finance protocol, accounts for approximately 30% of the TVL volume within Starknet. Eligibility for the airdrop extends to Ethereum solo and liquid stakes, Starknet developers and users, as well as projects and developers outside the Web3 ecosystem. However, the airdrop excludes U.S. and U.K. persons or entities, and citizens of countries sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Read more: Polygon, zkSync, and Starknet Battle For This Reason
Conclusion
As the Starknet airdrop approaches, the influx of airdrop hunters and the reported account modifications have raised questions about the integrity of the distribution process. The Starknet Foundation and the community remain vigilant to ensure a fair and legitimate airdrop, with measures in place to address any potential misuse of the system.
