Starknet Unveils STRK Allocation Plan: The Airdrop Insights

On the romantic note of Valentine's Day, February 14, 2024, Starknet unveiled its “Provisions” program, detailing the allocation of its STRK tokens among active community contributors, Ethereum developers, and others who have fostered the project's evolution.

Participants can already check their eligibility for the airdrop. STRK tokens will be available from 12:00 UTC on February 20, 2024, with a four-month period to claim them post-launch.

Airdrop Criteria and Allocation

Starknet Foundation has designated nearly 1.3 million addresses for the initial phase of “Provisions.” A total of 900 million STRK tokens are allocated for this phase, with 700 million becoming available immediately at the TGE.

Starknet's airdrop criteria emphasize the contributions of those who have significantly enhanced the development of both Starknet and the broader Ethereum ecosystem.

STRK Token Allocation in “Provisions” Program. Source: starknet.io

Starknet Users — 51.33%. Minimum thresholds include 5 transactions, activity over 3 unique months, a trading volume of $100, and a 0.005 ETH balance, assessed until November 15, 2023.

Early Starknet Community Members — 9.05%. All community members validated under the Early Community Member Program (ECMP).

Starknet Developers — 2.14%. GitHub users with a minimum of 3 commits before November 15, 2023, and at least one commit from January 1, 2018, to November 15, 2023, within the Starknet ecosystem's GitHub repository.

StarkEx Users — 9.62%. A minimum of 8 transactions, with criteria reviewed until June 1, 2022.

Ethereum Contributors. As Starknet operates within the Ethereum ecosystem, it rewards individuals who have contributed to Ethereum's development.

• All members of the Ethereum Protocol Guild as of November 15, 2023 — 0.22%;
• Ethereum developers with at least 3 GitHub commits before November 15, 2023, and at least one from January 1, 2018, to November 15, 2023, in the Ethereum ecosystem's GitHub repository — 3.34%;
• EIP (Ethereum Improvement Proposal) authors with proposals before November 15, 2023 — 0.19%;
• ETH Stakers. Users who staked tokens before the Merge event on September 15, 2022 — 21.99%.

Open Source Developers — 2.12%. GitHub users with at least 3 commits before November 15, 2023, and at least one between January 1, 2018, and November 15, 2023.

STRK Tokenomics

Amid the “Provisions” program announcement, revisiting STRK distribution helps gauge the project's community allocation and estimate STRK's potential value at TGE.

STRK, as Starknet's native token, facilitates network functionality, serving roles such as:

• Transaction fees. While Starknet users currently pay fees in ETH, post-airdrop, they will be able to choose between ETH and STRK.
• Staking. Users can lock a portion of their STRK for Proof-of-Stake consensus participation.
• Governance. STRK holders gain rights to participate and delegate votes in Starknet development polls. 

The total supply of STRK is 10 billion, created by StarkWare in May 2022 and integrated into the network on November 30 of the same year.

STRK Token Distribution. Source: medium.com

Projected STRK distribution avenues:

• Early Contributors — 20.04%. Tokens for StarkWare's team and initial backers.
• Investors — 18.17%. StarkNet raised over $282.5 million from various funds and private investors, including Vitalik Buterin.
• Grants — 12.93%. Financing grants, testing, and research aimed at Starknet's advancement.
• StarkWare — 10.76%. Tokens allocated by StarkWare for operational services within Starknet.
• Community “Provisions” Program — 9%. Tokens set aside for the airdrop.
• Community Reimbursements — 9%. Tokens for offsetting costs of transitioning to Starknet from Ethereum.
• Strategic Reserve — 10%. Reserved by Starknet Foundation for ecosystem development activities.
• Treasury — 8.1%. For future operations and initiatives by Starknet Foundation.
• Donations — 2%. Supporting universities and non-profit organizations.

Vesting rules for various categories are largely undisclosed, though some details are known.

For instance, tokens for investors and early contributors are subject to this unlock schedule (% of total STRK supply):

• Up to 13.1% (1.314 billion STRK) — April 15, 2024;
• Up to 0.4% (40 million STRK) — April 30, 2024;
• Up to 0.8% (80 million STRK) — Equal monthly vesting over 31 months, ultimately unlocking 24.68% of total STRK supply.

Community tokens will be available from 12:00 UTC on February 20, 2024. The first half is earmarked for airdrop allocation (700 million of 900 million STRK), while the second half addresses costs of transitioning from Ethereum to Starknet.

Conclusion: Predicting STRK's Value

The exact price of STRK post-TGE is speculative, yet analysis of similar projects offers a ballpark figure.

As a ZK-rollup functioning as Ethereum's second-layer blockchain, Starknet ensures secure, affordable transactions via zk-STARK technology.

Top 5 Rollups by Total Value Locked (TVL). Source: defillama.com

Manta Network, a leading ZK-rollup with an issued token, provides economic benchmarks:

• Price — $2,92;
• Circulating Supply — 251 million MANTA tokens;
• Market Cap — $732.3 million.

Assuming comparable market caps for STRK, an estimate near $723.3 million is plausible. Given a known minimum of 700 million STRK circulating at TGE, the approximate price per STRK could reach $1.03 ($723.3 million / 700 million STRK).

Comparing Starknet to the optimistic second-layer rollup, Arbitrum, with a similar 10 billion token supply and a $2.7 billion market cap, suggests a potential STRK price around $3.8.

Presently, STRK futures trade at $1.8 on decentralized exchange Aevo, with OTC prices ranging from $0.8-$1.5 per token..

Congratulations to STRK recipients, and a reminder: thorough research is key before any investment decisions. DYOR!