I get an airdrop. You get an airdrop, everyone gets an airdrop. Layer 2 season is officially here. With the recent airdrop from Optimism, the word on the street is that other competing Layer 2s will most likely have an airdrop. People that missed out on the Optimism airdrop are now looking for another chance at potential Layer 2s that might offer an airdrop. With all this newfound enthusiasm, all eyes are on layer 2s and their native protocols. Many airdrops in the past year have yielded some crazy gains for investors such as (dYdX and ENS). With the potential gains that these airdrops are capable of, investors will be looking to move their capital into Layer 2s and their dApps trying to gain eligibility for airdrops. Let’s go over some of the top layer 2s at the moment and if a potential airdrop is on the way.
Arbitrum is a Layer 2 on the Ethereum main net and is currently the most dominant layer 2. It holds the highest TVL (1.2 billion) with well-known protocols such as (DPX, TreasureDao, and GMX). Arbitrum is a Layer 2 built with Optimistic Rollup (OR) technology and is EVM compatible. Arbitrum was created by “Offchain Labs”, and launched mainnet on August 31 2021. Arbitrum hasn’t announced a token yet, but with the recent Optimism airdrop, I can't help but bet that Arbitrum, the current king of L2s is working on something behind the scenes. The recent announcement of Arbitrum Oddyssey will allow users to complete certain task for specific protocols on Arbitrum during a 8 week span. After completion of each task, users will receive a special NFT. Perhaps this will be one of the criteria in receiving a future airdrop. An airdrop announced from Arbitrum can bring in thousands of new users with fresh capital, further solidifying Arbitrum as the layer 2 to adopt.
Next, we have Optimism; similar to Arbitrum, Optimism is an Optimistic Rollup (OR) layer 2. Built by the Optimism Foundation, Optimism currently holds a TVL of ($311M) at the time of writing. With extremely low fees and fast transactions, many are bridging over in hopes of receiving eligibility for potential future protocol airdrops for using Optimism’s native protocols . The “OP” airdrop has created extra incentives for users to participate in the ecosystem. Velo protocol has recently launched and has airdropped to their users that were also participants of the Optimism airdrop. The best bet is to keep an eye out for any project that hasn’t launched a token yet. Participating in these protocols by using them gives you a high chance for being eligible in the future.
ZkSync is a layer 2 operating as a Zero Knowledge Proof rollup. Created by Matterlabs, Zksync’s Zk-rollups are extremely robust technology that has the ability scale and to possibly onboard millions of users in the future. ZkSync’s “Validity Proof” system makes it impossible to have invalid transactions which is key to reducing the value an attacker could extract. With its affordable transaction fees, secured decentralization, fast withdrawals, and trustless transactions, is a layer 2 solution to keep an eye on. Zksync is currently live but has one protocol (Zigzag - dex swap protocol) running on mainnet while multiple protocols is on its tesnet. Trying out (Zigzag), donating to projects on Gitcoin or trying out test net protocols might snag you a spot on the snapshot list for a potential airdrop in the future.
Starkware or Zk-Starks (Zero-Knowledge Scalable Transparent Arguments of Knowledge) known as “STARK” is the fundamental technology of Starkware. “STARK” is a cryptographic proof generated authentified before sending it on main chain. Currently there are two sides of a coin, Stark-ex and Starknet. StarkEx is the Validium L2 scaling engine on Ethereum mainnet specifically designed for dApps such as ImmutableX, DeversiFi, dYdX, and Sorare. Starknet is an entire ecosystem full of Defi niches. Right now, the Stargate Alpha bridge is live on mainnet. Users can bridge their funds from Ethereum mainnet to Starkware’s L2. There is currently a waiting list to bridge over as the bridge is at full capacity. Starkware hasn’t announced a token yet, but I believe this will be 1 of many criterias to be eligble for a future token airdrop from Starkware. Keep an eye out for potential protocols and projects launching on StarkNet.
Layer 2s are the future. Fast, trustless, scalable transactions on the layer 2 while having the benefits of security and decentralization of Ethereum main net. L2s are the prime candidates for new capital and mainstream adoption. We are still in the early phases of L2 technology and being apart of the ecosystem can net some juicy alpha, potential airdrops, and returns in this horrific bear market. We’ve seen this with Optimism, dYdX, ImmutableX, and many others. Many lives were changed from the gains of airdrops. So, what do you have to lose? Bridge over a little bit of funds and test out what these various Layer 2s have to offer. The risk is low and having the chance of being eligible for future airdrops with a few clicks of a button is a no brainer.
Note: None of this financial advice. It is purely for entertainment purposes only.