The much-anticipated Zora airdrop was expected to be a landmark event for the Web3 creator economy. Instead, it has become a case study on how not to launch a crypto token. The airdrop’s execution, coupled with its “only for fun” branding, sparked widespread criticism and raised questions about fairness, transparency, and the future of the Zora crypto ecosystem.
1. Pre-Airdrop Landscape
Unlike many crypto projects that launched alongside their native tokens, Zora initially operated without a governance or utility token, focusing instead on protocol development and user experience optimization. Zora has come a long way from a vision to an NFT protocol with a strong reputation in the Web3 space and a loyal community over 4 years.
Before the Zora airdrop, expectations were sky-high. Backed by major investors and integrated with Coinbase’s Base network, the Zora crypto project was positioned as a potential game-changer for creators and collectors alike. However, beneath the surface, early warning signs hinted at trouble ahead.
1.1. Zora’s Origins
Zora launched in 2020 as an innovative NFT marketplace protocol, quickly attracting attention from leading venture capitalists. Over time, Zora expanded its vision, moving beyond NFTs to focus on on-chain social experiences and the broader creator economy. By 2025, Zora had raised over $60 million from the likes of Coinbase Ventures, Paradigm, and Haun Ventures, with a staggering $6 billion valuation at its peak.
With the NFT market cooling and competition intensifying, Zora pivoted to new narratives: introducing features like “Coins” (which allowed social content to be minted as ERC-20 tokens) and launching its own Layer 2 network (Zora Network). These moves kept Zora crypto in the spotlight, even as daily user activity and transaction volumes began to decline.
1.2. The Hype of the $ZORA Token
For years, the Zora community awaited a native token. The prospect of a $ZORA airdrop was seen as a reward for early adopters and a way to further decentralize the protocol. As rumors swirled and Base (Coinbase’s Layer 2) began to surpass Solana in on-chain activity, anticipation reached a fever pitch.
$ZORA will be live on April 23, 2025. pic.twitter.com/yZdjlnDohH
— zora (@zora) April 20, 2025
Zora’s official announcement in April 2025 confirmed that 1 billion ZORA tokens would be distributed to over 2.4 million addresses, with snapshots taken to reward long-term users. This $ZORA airdrop announcement was seen as a long-awaited recognition of these early supporters. The community expected a fair distribution that would reflect their contributions and loyalty to the platform.
2. Zora Airdrop: Backfires on Early Users
The Zora crypto airdrop was meant to reward loyal users and energize the ecosystem. However, early supporters, who had interacted with Zora for years, found themselves sidelined by a distribution model that favored recent speculators and left most participants with meager rewards.
2.1. Zora Airdrop Mechanism
On April 23, 2025, Zora opened its airdrop, distributing 1 billion $ZORA tokens to 2,415,024 addresses. The distribution was based on two snapshot periods:
- 1st snapshot: January 1, 2020, to March 3, 2025 (rewarding long-term users)
- 2nd snapshot: March 3, 2025, to April 20, 2025 (including activity on the new Coins protocol)
Token allocations were calculated based on user activity: minting, trading, referrals, and more. Simultaneously, ZORA was listed on Binance Alpha, and eligible users received an airdrop of 4,276 ZORA tokens.
However, the most surprising revelation was the $ZORA token allocation, detailed as follows:
- 5% – Liquidity provisioning
- 10% – Community airdrop
- 20% – Community incentive
- 20% – Project treasury (locked for 6 months, vesting over 4 years)
- 18.9% – Zora team (locked for 6 months, vesting over 3 years)
- 26.1% – Strategic contributors, early investors (locked for 6 months, vesting over 3 years)
This means that a staggering 65% of $ZORA’s total supply is controlled by the project team and early investors. Meanwhile, users who supported the Zora network over the past four years are left to compete with Binance Alpha users for just 10% of the token allocation!
2.2. ZORA token “for fun only”?
To make matters worse, according to the official announcement, the $ZORA token was described as “for fun only”, meaning it carries no real utility, offers no governance rights, no revenue sharing, and no tangible benefits.
This positioning raised uncomfortable questions:
- “If the token has no utility, why reserve 65% of the supply for the team, treasury, and early backers?”
- “Why should the community believe in the long-term value of Zora crypto?”
For many, the Zora airdrop felt like a bait-and-switch, a reward in name only, with little substance or real value.
3. Community Backlash: Fairness in Question
The Zora airdrop’s flawed execution unleashed a wave of backlash. Crypto investors, on-chain reputation protocols, and prominent industry voices all weighed in, questioning the ethics and intentions behind the $ZORA token launch.
3.1. Outrage on Social Media and On-Chain
Early users, some of whom had supported the Zora project for four years, were dismayed to receive rewards worth less than $40 on average, not even enough to cover transaction fees. Meanwhile, recent speculators and Binance Alpha users walked away with far larger allocations.
That frustration quickly spilled over onto social platforms like X and on-chain reputation networks such as Ethos. Zora’s credibility score plummeted as users left negative reviews, some declaring, “On-chain records are immutable; malicious projects must be recorded in history.”
The anger stemmed from multiple sources:
- Tiny rewards for loyal users
- High token allocation among insiders
- “For fun” that seemed to mock the community
The disappointment was compounded by the lack of transparency. Zora never fully explained the criteria for distribution, leaving users in the dark about why their rewards were so small.
3.2. Criticism from Industry Experts
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT was blunt:
“Why does the token need to exist at all if it serves absolutely zero purpose? If you want it “for fun”, do a fair launch, don’t reserve 65% for the team and investors.”
Kevin Mills, research head at Triton, called the model unethical:
“They let users spend real money for a worthless asset, while insiders control the majority of supply. This is exactly the problem with Zora crypto.”
Other critics pointed out the contradiction of maintaining a treasury and paying contributors with a token that supposedly “has no value or utility”. The Zora airdrop quickly turned into a public relations disaster.
4. Zora Airdrop Progress After 48 Hours
According to data from Dune, within just 48 hours of the Zora airdrop, over 514 million tokens had been claimed out of the 1 billion airdropped. Surprisingly, the top 50 addresses claimed over 190 million tokens (about 37% of all claimed $ZORA), averaging around $9,200 per address at the time.
Meanwhile, over 320,000 users participated in claiming the Zora airdrop, but each user received an average of about 1,571 tokens, worth around $37 at the time. This means that big players walked away with large rewards, while everyday users received very little.
So far, around 51.4% of the Zora airdrop fund has been claimed, but only 13.35% of eligible users have actually completed the claiming process. This shows that most people haven’t even bothered to claim, possibly due to the low rewards or a loss of trust in the process.
5. Post-Airdrop Market Reactions
The aftermath of the Zora airdrop saw the project’s reputation take a hit, user engagement decline, and the $ZORA token’s price plummet. What was meant to be a celebration of the creator economy became a cautionary tale.
Market Performance: From Hype to Collapse
After listing, $ZORA briefly surged to $0.0466 before crashing to $0.0172 within a day, a 63% drop. The price stabilized around $0.0235, but the damage was done. The rapid decline reflected both the lack of utility and the community’s loss of faith.
User Engagement & Ecosystem Health
Zora’s on-chain activity had already been declining before the airdrop. Afterward, the trend accelerated:
- Daily contract creation on Zora Network fell from a peak of 144,000 to around 13,000.
- Daily transaction volume dropped from 3.3 million to 428,000.
- Active addresses plummeted from 259,000 at peak to just 50,900.
Despite over 3.5 million smart contracts created and 87.4 million cumulative transactions, the ecosystem’s vibrancy was clearly waning. The project’s on-chain reputation suffered, with negative reviews and “downvotes” overwhelmed. The Zora airdrop’s mishandling left a lasting scar.
6. Lessons Learned
The Zora airdrop was supposed to celebrate the project’s achievements and reward its loyal community. Instead, it exposed deep flaws in token distribution, communication, and project governance. The backlash against $ZORA highlights several key lessons for the crypto industry:
- Transparency matters: Users expect clear, public criteria for airdrops and tokenomics.
- Community comes first: Projects that sideline early supporters risk losing their most valuable asset — trust.
- Utility is crucial: Tokens with no purpose or value are unlikely to inspire lasting engagement.
- Legal maneuvering isn’t enough: Labeling a token “for fun” may avoid regulatory scrutiny, but it won’t fool or satisfy the community.
Conclusion
Zora’s journey is far from over. The protocol still boasts a robust technical foundation and a history of innovation. But to regain the community’s trust, the team must address the concerns raised by the airdrop, reconsider its tokenomics, and recommit to transparency and fairness.
The Zora crypto saga serves as a warning and an opportunity. For projects across Web3, it’s a reminder that true decentralization isn’t just about technology; it’s about empowering people. Only by putting the community at the center can the promise of crypto be fully realized.
The Zora airdrop is just one chapter in a bigger Web3 narrative. Don’t miss what’s next, follow FMCPAY now for more crypto news and expert crypto insights.