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ZKSync revives thanks to liquidity incentive

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After the airdrop shock that caused users and liquidity to plummet, ZKSync is showing signs of recovery. Is this the turning point that will help ZKSync break out in the ZK rollup race?

The ZKSync layer 2 network is showing signs of recovery after the post-airdrop recession. The value of locked assets (TVL) on the platform soared nearly 90 percent, from $97 million to $184 million in just the first week of January 2025.

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TVL by ZKSync. Source: DeFilama

The main driver of this growth came from a new liquidity incentive program called “Ignite”, which has a total prize value of up to 300 million ZK tokens, or $60 million.

The “Ignite” program is designed to engage users and boost liquidity on ZKSync Era, a layer 2 network that uses ZK-Rollup technology to scale Ethereum. Ignite will include multiple seasons, each lasting several months with ZK token rewards for participating users providing liquidity.

Season 1, which takes place from 06/01/31/03/2025, distributes 100 million ZK tokens ($20 million) to users who provide liquidity on selected DeFi platforms, including:

  • Decentralized Exchanges (DEX):SyncSwap, Uniswap, PancakeSwap.
  • Perpetual trading platform: Team station.
  • Lending platform:Ghost.

The remaining 200 million ZK tokens will be allocated in subsequent seasons, with details to be announced in due course.

 

Previously, ZKSync experienced a difficult period after the token airdrop in June 2024. Although expected by the community, the distribution of 3.6 billion ZK tokens to eligible addresses inadvertently created a shock to the ecosystem.

While some users were happy to receive the token, others expressed disappointment and outrage at not being eligible for the airdrop even though they met the criteria set by the project.

Some users criticized ZKSync for the disparity in token allocation rates, arguing that real contributors to the ecosystem receive fewer tokens than those who only own NFTs or participate in airdrops from other projects. ZKSync is also accused of favoring professional “airdrop hunters” over real users.

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The community is outraged by the disparity in the airdrop of ZK. X Source

Against this background, many users quickly withdrew funds and left the network after receiving the tokens, causing a severe drop in trading activity and TVL.

Specifically, the 7-day moving average of the number of active addresses fell sharply from more than 200,000 in July 2024 to just 30,000 at the end of December 2024. This trend is also taking place on other ZK-rollup chains such as Linea, Scroll and Starknet.

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The number of transactions on ZK-Rollup chains. Source: The Block

Currently, Linea is leading in the number of active user addresses among ZK-rollup solutions. ZKSync with the program “Ignite” is trying to attract users back and assert its position in the layer 2 race.

The success of this program will be an important factor determining the future development of ZKSync.