Decentralized exchange (DEX) Zeta Markets operating on Solana, specializing in derivatives trading, has launched its native token and opened an airdrop claim including 100 million ZEX.
According to a statement, the airdrop is designed to both reward early adopters and encourage long-term participation in the protocol.
Zeta Markets founder Tristan Frizza said in April that the token’s code would be “Z,” but later changed it to ZEX.
Tristan Frizza – Founder of Zeta Markets
The airdrop includes 10% of the total 1 billion ZEX supply, 8% of which is reserved for Zeta traders in Phase 1. Early stakers are eligible to receive the remaining 2% in Phase 2 of the airdrop, which will be distributed 28 days after the token generation event corresponding to the number of tokens locked and the selected staking duration. The team says eligible users have 90 days to claim their airdrop allocation.
The initial airdrop is based on users’ “Z-Score,” a scoring system on the platform related to trading activity, snapshotted on June 7. There is also a community airdrop, exclusively for members of Zeta ecosystem partners who participated in Zeta’s community airdrop competition.
Frizza said in the statement:
“At Zeta Markets, our goal is to create the ultimate exchange, combining speed and convenience on par with centralized platforms with the transparency and security of DeFi. The launch of ZEX marks an important step in this journey, placing decision-making power in the hands of the community while driving long-term growth in the protocol by strategically aligning stakeholder interests different”.
Avichal Garg, Managing Partner at Zeta-backer Electric Capital added:
“While no airdrop is perfect, few community token distributions are as deeply researched or thoughtfully designed as the Zeta Markets token generation event. This event illustrates a well-structured approach to rewarding loyal users and sets a new standard for how to communicate with the community.”
Tokens What is ZEX?
ZEX grants governance, staking, and incentives on Zeta. The token uses a vote escrow model – a system pioneered by Curve Finance on Ethereum, in which holders lock their tokens for a certain period of time to gain additional voting rights, encouraging long-term commitment to the project. judgment.
According to the team, ZEX also serves as the native gas token and incentive mechanism for Zeta X, Zeta’s “DeFi Layer 2” on Solana. Zeta X is designed to achieve centralized exchange-like on-chain performance and the mainnet is expected in Q1 2025.
More than 30% of the ZEX supply is allocated to ongoing trading incentives, distributed to Zeta traders at the end of each epoch, every 28 days. The team said the “Genesis Epoch” will run until July 25, with 8 million ZEX trading rewards.
Founded in 2021, Zeta is one of the largest derivatives exchanges on Solana, with a total value locked of $16.8 million, according to DeFiLlama data. They claim to have generated a cumulative trading volume of over $10 billion with over 125,000 monthly active users and aim to become the leading decentralized exchange for perpetual contracts on the Solana blockchain.
Source: DeFiLlama
In May, Zeta Markets announced it had raised a $5 million strategic funding round led by Electric Capital. Digital Asset Capital Management, Selini Capital and Airtree Ventures also participated in the round along with angel investors Anatoly Ykovenko of Solana, Mert Mumtaz of Helius, Richard Wu of Tensor, Genia Mikhalchenko of Pyth, JMR Luna of Wintermute and Nom of Bonk.
That funding comes nearly 3.5 years after raising $8.5 million in a round led by Jump Capital in December 2021, bringing Zeta’s total funding to $13.5 million.
Frizza previously said that Zeta venture capitalists own approximately 17.5% of the total ZEX supply, adding that their token has a vesting period* of 3 years after launch and the expiration date begins. Unlocked after 1 year.
*Vesting: The process of holding, locking and issuing tokens, to create leverage to enter the market.
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