STRK Token Claims Surge to 420M in a Day as Starknet Blockchain Transactions Reach Record High

cryptonews.com:

Starknet, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling protocol, commenced the distribution of its native network token, the STRK token, on February 20, witnessing a substantial uptake with millions of tokens claimed upon the launch of the provisions portal.

The newly released STRK tokens experienced robust demand, with 71% of available tokens claimed within the first 24 hours of the mammoth airdrop going live. Tokenflow data reveal that over 490,000 individual users claimed 420 million tokens. 

Although the price initially slumped from a debut high of $5 to $1.77, positive funding rates in the futures market indicate bullish sentiment among investors.

As it entered the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, STRK traded above $7 on Binance and exceeded $5 on KuCoin. CoinMarketCap data indicated STRK trading between $3 and $4, with a market capitalization exceeding $2.1 billion.

Over 1.3 million wallets, including those of Ethereum solo and liquid stakers, Starknet developers and users, and projects outside the Web3 ecosystem, can claim Starknet’s native token. During the peak of the airdrop claim frenzy, Starknet recorded a record high of 1.06 million daily transactions, achieving a notable speed of  45.2 transactions per second . This surpassed the transaction volumes of other layer-2 networks, such as Arbitrum and Optimism.

STRK serves as the native token of Starknet, a layer-2 network utilizing zero-knowledge cryptography to scale the Ethereum blockchain by processing transactions off-chain, thereby reducing fees and enhancing transaction speeds. The level of token demand observed parallels the uptake seen during  Jupiter’s massive airdrop in January  and  Arbitrum’s first-day takeup in March last year .

Trading volume for STRK reached