AltLayer, a prominent scaling protocol in the Ethereum ecosystem, initiated its much-anticipated ALT airdrop on Thursday, offering eligible community members tokens valued at over $100 million. Early AltLayer users and select ecosystem participants can now claim ALT, which has surged by 18% today, reaching a current price of approximately $0.327, according to CoinGecko.
The ALT token, initially priced above $0.27 just after 5 am ET, has made a strong market entrance. With a total of 300 million ALT tokens available in this initial drop, the AltLayer airdrop now stands at nearly $100 million. Airdrops play a crucial role in crypto, rewarding early users and contributors while promoting decentralized governance by distributing tokens widely.
The crypto industry has witnessed a surge in airdrop activities, reflecting improved cryptocurrency prices and renewed optimism. Recent notable airdrops include Solana’s Jito Protocol, Pyth Network, Arbitrum gaming network Xai, and the upcoming Jupter (JUP) airdrop on Solana, benefiting almost a million wallets.
AltLayer, a decentralized protocol facilitating Ethereum developers in deploying rollups and scaling options, stands out by being compatible with existing networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon. Alongside its open protocol, AltLayer offers a unique “rollups-as-a-service” feature, allowing custom-built scaling integrations.
Approximately 500,000 wallets are eligible for the airdrop, encompassing AltLayer NFT owners, participants in pre-launch testing, and engagement campaigns. Users leveraging EigenLayer’s restaking features are also eligible to claim ALT.
Celestia (TIA) holders, who stake the token, will be eligible for the airdrop in the future. AltLayer cited “technical differences in the claiming mechanism” for the delay in Celestia users’ airdrop claims but assured users that it is forthcoming.
Participants have until February 25 to claim ALT through the airdrop. Unclaimed tokens after this date will be directed to the AltLayer treasury. However, the airdrop is not available in specific territories, including the United States, Canada, China, and other countries detailed in the blog post.
