Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Zeta Markets has launched its native ZEX token and opened airdrop claims. The airdrop comprises 100 million ZEX tokens, which is 10% of the token’s 1 billion total supply.
Zeta Markets’ Token Launch and Airdrop
- Zeta Markets, a Solana-based derivatives trading platform, has launched its native ZEX token and initiated an airdrop.
- The airdrop consists of 100 million ZEX tokens, which is 10% of the total 1 billion ZEX supply.
- 8% of the airdrop is reserved for Zeta traders in Phase 1, while the remaining 2% is allocated for early stakers in Phase 2.
- Eligible users have 90 days to claim their airdrop allocations, which are based on their “Z-Score” – a points system on the platform related to trading activity, taken in a snapshot on June 7.
- There is also a community allocation reserved for members of Zeta’s ecosystem partners who participated in the community airdrop competition.
About the ZEX Token
- The ZEX token powers governance, staking, and incentives on the Zeta platform.
- It uses a vote-escrow model, where token holders can lock their tokens for a set period to gain more voting power, encouraging long-term commitment to the project.
- ZEX also serves as the native gas token and incentive mechanism for Zeta X, Zeta’s “DeFi Layer 2” on Solana, which is expected to launch its mainnet in Q1 2025.
- An additional 30% of the ZEX supply is allocated to ongoing trading incentives, distributed to Zeta traders at the end of each 28-day epoch.
Zeta Markets’ Background and Funding
- Founded in 2021, Zeta Markets is one of the largest derivatives exchanges on the Solana blockchain, with $17.2 million in total value locked.
- The platform claims to have generated over $10 billion in cumulative trading volume with more than 125,000 monthly active users and aims to become the leading decentralized exchange for perpetual contracts on Solana.
- In May 2024, Zeta Markets raised a $5 million strategic funding round led by Electric Capital, with participation from other prominent investors.
- This funding came nearly three and a half years after the company raised $8.5 million in a round led by Jump Capital in December 2021, bringing Zeta’s total funding to $13.5 million.
- Zeta’s venture capital investors own approximately 17.5% of the ZEX token’s total supply, with their tokens vested over a three-year period following the launch, with a one-year cliff.