View the ZEX airdrop that Zeta Markets will launch in detail

Compiled by Baishui, Golden Finance; Source: Zeta Foundation, Golden Finance

Zeta Markets, a DeFi derivatives platform of Solana, announced that the ZEX airdrop will start at 18:00 on June 27, 2024, and the collection will end at 17:45 on September 25, 2024 (90 days after TGE). Any unclaimed tokens will be returned to the community through incentives and activities. Golden Finance sorted out the details of the ZEX airdrop for readers.

1. Introduction to ZEX

ZEX is the native token of Zeta Markets, a derivatives protocol on Solana. The staking mechanism will allow users to stake ZEX, unlocking governance rights and additional incentives. ZEX's token economics mechanism and token utility are designed to strategically align the interests of multiple stakeholders with the overall goals of the protocol. This alignment not only empowers the ZEX community, but also incentivizes the community to actively participate in guiding the direction of the protocol.

2. ZEX Token Economics

Total Token Supply: 1,000,000,000

ZEX Token Distribution

The largest portion of the ZEX token supply (62.5%) is reserved for the community:

• 10% will be distributed via airdrops.

• 30% will go to platform incentives, exclusively for traders.

• 22.5% will go to the community treasury, funding the Zeta multi-year creator and ambassador programs.

• The remaining 37.5% of the $ZEX token supply is reserved for contributors and investors, subject to a multi-year unlock and vest schedule.

III. Release Schedule

TGE Release Schedule

During the TGE and the following weeks, the following unlocks will occur:

• Airdrops: ZEX airdrops will be distributed in 2 rounds. Based on the Z-Score, 8% of the supply will be airdropped to traders in the TGE. After launch, the initial stakers of ZEX will be eligible for additional airdrops (2% of the supply) in the form of staked ZEX.

• Incentives: Platform incentives for traders (30% over 90 months) will begin in Epoch 1 after the airdrop snapshot. See Incentives for full details.

• Treasury: Meanwhile, the Community Treasury (22.5% unlocked over 24 months) will support multi-year growth initiatives, including liquidity provision and Zeta’s Creator and Ambassador programs.

Long-Term Release Schedule

Core protocol contributors and investors will have longer lock-ups.

• Investors: Subject to 1-year cliff and 2-year vesting.

• Contributors: Subject to 1-year cliff and 3-year vesting.

This structure ensures that both contributors and investors are aligned with Zeta’s long-term success.

Fourth, Airdrop Mechanism

A strategic allocation of 10% of the total supply of ZEX tokens will be distributed via airdrops to build a broad stakeholder base and bootstrap a healthy governance ecosystem. This will be achieved by rewarding Zeta users for past participation, while encouraging long-term commitment by reserving additional allocations for ZEX stakers.

The airdrop will be conducted in two rounds.

Round 1 - Early Users and Solana Ecosystem (8% of Total Supply)

At launch, 8% of the total supply of ZEX will be distributed to early users in recognition of their contributions to the development of the platform:

7% of the total supply of ZEX is exclusively available to traders, based on the Z-Score; market makers are not included in this distribution.

1% of the total supply of ZEX is distributed as a bonus to traders who are key community partners within the Solana ecosystem, based on the Z-Score.

This means that without active trading on Zeta, no one will receive ZEX.

Recognizing the critical role of our earliest supporters in Zeta’s success, OG (i.e. pre-Season 1) and Season 1 traders will be rewarded with a loyalty boost, with OG benefiting from a larger boost.

Round 2 - ZEX Stakers (2% of Total Supply)

After the Token Generation Event, ZEX token holders will have the opportunity to stake their tokens for a flexible period, earning gZEX in return (see the Staking section below for more information).

In addition to receiving staking rewards, early stakers will also be eligible for a second airdrop equal to 2% of the total ZEX supply, distributed pro rata based on their stake in gZEX. The airdrop will come in the form of staked ZEX, issued one period (i.e. 28 days) after the TGE.

This approach is designed to reward and incentivize community members who are aligned with the project over the long term and are committed to helping guide the protocol and its development.

Note: The second airdrop may involve a lock-up mechanism. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.

V. TOKEN UTILITY

• Staking: Staking will be a key feature of the token from launch. Users will be able to stake ZEX for up to 4 years, unlocking governance rights and additional incentives.

• Governance: ZEX governs the Zeta protocol, with Pioneers voting on the custody token economy on Solana. Over time, it will empower community members to propose, discuss, and vote on future developments of the protocol.

• Incentives: A large portion of the ZEX token supply is reserved as a reward mechanism for traders to incentivize liquidity and trading activity.

VI. Staking

Governance

Zeta’s governance framework builds on the innovative voting escrow model pioneered by Curve on Ethereum, introducing 2 new concepts. First, stakers are rewarded exponentially during their lockup period — so more power is allocated to those who lock up longer. Second, we introduce the ability for stakeholders to gradually vest and unlock their tokens — providing users with more liquidity and limiting the supply shock to the ecosystem caused by large-scale unlocking.

To achieve this, our token economics will have two components:

• ZEX: Transferable SPL tokens (Solana Library, Solana’s fungible token standard), distributed to users through airdrops and incentives for using the protocol.

• gZEX: The staked version of ZEX, non-transferable. gZEX represents a long-term commitment from users and therefore provides corresponding governance rights and enhanced incentives.

Calculating ZEX

Users will be able to stake ZEX to obtain gZEX for a predetermined period of time (up to 4 years). The amount of gZEX received for staking ZEX will be determined by the number of ZEX tokens locked and the staking period, according to the following formula:

gZEX Locking

Managing gZEX

gZEX has two different states - Locked and Vested - allowing users to manage the lifecycle of the governance token and its benefits:

• Locked State: In this state, your gZEX balance and associated benefits remain unchanged.

• Vested State: In this state, your gZEX is gradually unlocked, converted into withdrawable liquid $ZEX.

Boosting

Boosting is another important benefit of staking ZEX. By holding gZEX, traders will be able to earn additional incentives that amplify their rewards based on their total gZEX holdings. The goal of boosting is to distribute greater incentives to traders who also show a long-term commitment to the protocol and participate in governance through staking.

The user's share of these additional rewards will be determined based on the user's promotion score, calculated as follows:

Where the above score refers to the user's score in the entire incentive program - for example, their Z score.

VII. Incentives

The platform incentive program will be launched immediately after the airdrop snapshot and will serve two key goals. First, it will be a mechanism to gradually distribute token supply and governance rights to users. Second, it will play a key role in the growth strategy, incentivizing traders and market makers to achieve the best trading conditions on the exchange.

This approach rewards those who directly enhance the liquidity and activity of the protocol and ensures alignment between token holders and the success of the protocol.

The proposed incentive allocation is 30% of the total supply of ZEX, with the release rate designed to gradually decline. This gradual reduction is intended to align with the protocol's transition to self-sufficiency and a wider supply distribution.

Trader Incentives

Traders will receive rewards in proportion to the Z-Score they achieve in each period. The Z-Score program will operate in a similar manner to the implementation of Season 1 and Season 2, but Z-Scores will no longer accumulate across seasons. Instead, the Z-score will reset at the beginning of each new epoch.

The ZEX tokens distributed to users at the end of an epoch will be calculated based on their individual Z-score relative to the total Z-score obtained by all epoch participants. The primary driver of the Z-Score is trading activity. In addition, gZEX holders will also benefit from additional incentives in the form of Boosting.

Market Maker Incentives

For each epoch, professional market makers will be rewarded for their role in creating optimal trading conditions on the exchange. The Market Maker Program is designed to incentivize various liquidity metrics, thereby enhancing the trading experience of users. For more details, please see: Maker Incentives Program.