The Ethereum second layer network ZKsync Era has experienced a significant decline in daily revenue since its airdrop distribution. According to The Block, the daily revenue of the ZKsync protocol has dropped from a peak of $746000 before the airdrop to only $6800.

This phenomenon reflects the widespread trend in the current cryptocurrency industry, where most users participate in network interactions based on airdrop expectations, and when airdrops are distributed, it will trigger a collective withdrawal of users and liquidity. Data shows that the daily trading volume of ZKsync Era has plummeted from a peak of 1.8 million transactions to only 200000 transactions. Meanwhile, the price of ZK token has fallen by 64.06% year to date.

The GML2 index tracking Layer 2 tokens has also decreased by 66% since its peak in March, indicating that the entire industry is facing the same challenges. The continuous decline pattern after airdrops has raised doubts about the effectiveness of token distribution strategies in the current market environment.

Although the design purpose of airdrops is to give back to early adopters and activate network effects, most cases indicate that this model can only trigger short-term speculation and cannot drive long-term organic growth.

For investors and developers, the ZKsync Era case serves as a warning about whether airdrop driven growth strategies have long-term benefits and the importance of establishing genuine, long-term value propositions. At the time of writing this article, ZK still maintains a $2 billion FDV (fully diluted valuation), but most of the tokens will be unlocked in the coming years.