Over the past week, Starknet, an Ethereum layer 2 blockchain, has witnessed a significant drop in its active user base, coinciding with increasing dissatisfaction regarding the planned supply airdrops. According to data from Starkscan, active users surged from under 20,000 on February 9 to nearly 220,500 on February 14, marking a near three-month high, as users and airdrop participants inundated the network in hopes of receiving allocations.
However, following the announcement of details regarding the airdrop scheduled for February 20, the number of active users plummeted to levels similar to those before the announcement. On February 19, the network recorded over 84,000 active accounts. Concerns have arisen within the Starknet community regarding the criteria for the airdrop, particularly the exclusion of users with less than 0.005 Ether in their accounts as of November 15, 2023, worth approximately $10 at that time, from the token distribution.
Various users on Starknet's Discord platform expressed frustration, stating that despite engaging in substantial transactions and providing liquidity to the network, they were ineligible for token distributions due to falling below the minimum balance requirement. Responding to the backlash, Starknet emphasized in a February 19 statement that crafting resolutions involves meticulous research, design, and testing.
Another contentious aspect highlighted by the community is the token unlock schedule, which entails granting 1.3 billion STRK tokens, equivalent to approximately 10% of the total supply, to Starknet investors and early contributors on April 15, just two months after the platform's launch. This distribution contrasts with the allocation of around 700 million STRK tokens, also representing about 10% of the total supply, scheduled for February 20.
Despite the decline in active users, Starknet's total value locked remains considerable, currently standing at $54.18 million. This figure represents a decrease of approximately 5.7% from the network's all-time high of $57.5 million recorded on February 14, as reported by DefiLlama.
