Many projects are aiming to improve the scalability of Ethereum, mainly through the use of layer 2 chains. One of these projects is StarkNet, created by StarkWare.

But what is StarkWare, and how can you participate in the upcoming StarkNet token airdrop?

What is Starkware ?

StarkWare is a company founded in 2018 by the creators of ZK-STARK and founding scientists of Zcash. Its mission is to improve the scalability and privacy of blockchains with its two products: StarkNet and StarkEx.

ZK-STARK is a cryptographic proof technology that allows a party to prove to another party that it has certain information without revealing the actual information. For example, Alice is able to prove undeniably to Bob that she has control over a certain bank account containing enough money to pay for a loan without sharing the actual details of her account or its contents.

This is the technology on which StarkNet is based.

What is Starknet ?

StarkNet is a decentralized ZK-rollup that operates as an Ethereum layer 2 chain. A ZK-rollup is a layer 2 chain that uses zero-knowledge technology to operate, such as ZK-STARK. How does StarkNet work?

All transactions on StarkNet are periodically batched (or rolled up) and given a ZK-STARK proof that is then validated on Ethereum. Essentially, thousands of transactions are sent, verified, and batched off-chain on StarkNet, which saves gas and is far more scalable.

Once the ZK-STARK proof is generated for a batch, Ethereum can validate the proof to make sure the batch of transactions is valid and then proceed to update all wallets included with their new balances.

This process saves Ethereum from having to verify the validity of every single transaction on-chain, which takes a great deal of computing power and leads to high gas fees and a clogged network.

StarkNet Alpha launched in November 2021, which is an experimental and unaudited early version. On July 13, 2022, StarkWare released its plans to decentralize StarkNet further to make it a public good just like Ethereum or the Internet. They included plans for the StarkNet Token, which you can read about further below.

Once StarkNet reaches maturity, it will be an obvious destination on which Web3 apps will build to avoid excessive gas fees while keeping the security of Ethereum. Vitalik Buterin, the creator of Ethereum, stated that ZK-rollups like StarkNet could help Ethereum achieve up to 100,000 transactions per second.

What is StarkEx?

StarkEx works much like StarkNet, but it is centralized and tailored specifically for applications that wish to make use of ZK-STARK technology to provide a smoother and cheaper experience for their users.

Both dYdX and Immutable X use StarkEx, which means transactions sent using these platforms are processed and batched off-chain by StarkEx and then validated on-chain, exactly like StarkNet.

Since its launch in June 2020, StarkEx has at the time of writing $696 million in total value locked, $635 billion in cumulative trading, and 60.5 million NFTs minted.

StarkEx is not meant as a public good, but rather as a service for applications and projects. StarkNet is StarkWare’s next step in bringing ZK-STARK technology to the public through an open layer 2 chain usable by anyone.

StarkNet Token, and how to participate in the airdrop

On July 13, 2022, StarkWare announced the native, ERC-20 StarkNet Token, slated for release in September 2022. The initial supply will be 10 billion, with the potential for the protocol to mint more as decided by the community in the future. The initial allocation will be:

The tokens allocated to core contributors and investors are subject to a one-year cliff and a four-year linear release.

According to StarkWare, the token will have three uses:

1. Governance

2. Payment of transaction fees on StarkNet

3. Staking to participate in StarkNet’s consensus mechanism

And the StarkNet airdrop? Nine percent of the initial StarkNet Token allocation goes to “community provisions”, which includes those who have performed work for StarkNet or StarkEx and also general StarkEx users prior to June 1, 2022.

This could include users of dYdX, Immutable X, and other StarkEx-based platforms. No exact specifics have been announced yet, but if you interacted with those applications prior to June 1st, you may be eligible for the airdrop once the token is released.

Airdrops like this help incentivise people to interact with new DeFi protocols and learn about the future of finance, just be careful only to use small amounts of money / tokens!

Today, it is your turn! We invite our community members to join the Devnet and contribute to the scaling of Aptos Ecosystem.

Click here to enter the world of Arco Protocol!

The Devnet allows testing the main functionalities of the protocol, in a fictitious and safe space, with trial funds, so you can understand the dynamics of our protocol without incurring any risk! Also all users who participate and qualified in the test will be rewarded🎁

The aim is to analyze the protocol from its simplest version, to its final version, before the Mainnet launch. Therefore, the protocol features, and the supported token, will be upgraded step by step, giving the team the time to evaluate each crypto pair’s safety parameters adequately.

🏆Prize pool

A total of 2,000,000 $ARC tokens and will be distributed amongst the participants. The winners will be announced a week after launching on the mainnet launch in the early November, and notified via Disocrd.

NOTE: Winners must respond within (2) two weeks from initial outreach to claim their prize, else the prize will be forfeited. The prize will be airdropped to the participant’s assigned wallet address.

🏁Quick Start Guide

To enter, simply click on the link of our Devnet Incentive tweet and complete the following steps:

1. Follow us on Twitter

2. Like & Retweet our Devnet Incentive Program tweet on Twitter, also, tag some of your friends or say something nice! (more tags=more chances of winning)

3. Join our Discord Server

4. Be active on Discord (Higher rank = more chances of getting OG roles)

📌 Four ways to win $ARC:

1️⃣ Testnet participants

Participants can win 300–500 $ARC by simply playing around with our Dapp. Make sure to perform all actions (Lend, borrow, repay, withdraw, and claim) on the Arco Protocol Devnet using one wallet address.

2️⃣ Bug Bounty:

Detect bugs, post the full description and the screenshot on the form (form can be found in discord) Each submission can earn 1000–5000 $ARC after being confirmed by the team.

There is no limit to how many bugs or how much feedback you can leave and we appreciate any and all submissions — this is an important phase for the project and hence we are happy to commit to unlimited $ARC rewards during the course of the program.

Noted that for cases when more than one person submits the same bug/feedback, the reward will only be given out to the first person who submitted it.

3️⃣ Content creation:

Members who create Youtube/Tiktok video (no less than 1 minute) to teach how to use ARCO Protocol will have chances to be selected as the project ambassador. You’ll also be able to earn points by quote tweeting ARCO tweet or creating a brand-new tweet to promote ARCO.

4️⃣ Discord OG:

We will assign a total of 300 discord OG roles to discord members. Each OG will be eligible for claiming 1000 $ARC tokens. In order to get the OG role, you need to stay active on Discord and make contributions to the whole community (Including but not limited to help other members, create memes, help mods, report scammers, and etc). (Tip: higher rank and more invite = bigger chances of getting OG roles!)

About ARCO

Arco Protocol is the first cross-chain lending protocol that allows retail investors and institutions to use liquid staking assests as the collateral to borrow funds. Communities can earn rewards by lending or borrowing on the dapp or directly staking and farming tokens.