Some users were upset to find that they were ineligible for the distribution, despite being active on the layer 2 blockchain network.

Crypto denizens have shown mixed reactions to the Starknet’s Foundation’s initial plan for distributing its STRK token, including extreme frustration with one of the eligibility requirements.

Earlier today, the nonprofit organization, which is responsible for promoting Starknet technology, released its strategy to allocate STRK tokens to individuals who backed the layer 2 blockchain network.

While some have welcomed Starknet’s token distribution plan, others expressed outrage about the eligibility requirement that a user held at least 0.005 ETH in their wallet on Nov. 15, 2023, which amounted to about $14 at the time. 

As the native cryptocurrency for Starknet, STRK serves multiple purposes, such as facilitating transaction fee payments, staking, and allowing participation in governance votes for the zero-knowledge-based rollup, as outlined in Starknet’s documentation.

Read More: ​​Starknet’s First Token Distribution Will Be Available to Nearly 1.3 Million Addresses

Praise for Starknet’s Commitment to Ethereum Contributors

On the one hand, people have lauded the foundation for allotting STRK tokens to various contributors for the open-source development of Ethereum and expressed gratitude for simply being eligible to receive STRK tokens. 

By including ETH stakers, developers, and EIP authors in the initial airdrop, David Hoffman of Bankless called Starknet “the most Ethereum-aligned L2.” Tim Beiko, Protocol Support Lead for the Ethereum Foundation said he was “thrilled” that various contributors of Ethereum were allotted a substantial amount of STRK tokens. 

Overall, the Starknet Foundation allocated more than 25% of the more than 700 million STRK tokens in the initial distribution phase to Ethereum contributors. “It’s been encouraging to see more projects include core protocol contributors in these allocations, and now adding stakers as well,” Beiko wrote. 

Criticisms of the Distribution Plan

On the other hand, some have criticized the criteria elements of the distribution plan.

According to a press statement shared with Unchained, a Starknet user can claim STRK tokens if they had at least 0.005 ETH in their wallet on Nov. 15, 2023, among other requirements. 

Some are not happy, because they did not have 0.005 ETH on the day of the snapshot. This meant that despite what could have been substantial activity on the layer 2 blockchain network, they are not eligible to claim STRK on Feb. 20.

One user said they didn’t meet the 0.005 criteria because they added their ETH as liquidity to Ekubo, a decentralized exchange on Starknet. “I added 100 [transactions] and all my money to Ekubo as liquidity. I left $3-5 ETH because I added it all as liquidity. I was eliminated from this criterion,” said a user who goes by “Umaykut,” in the general chat of Starknet’s Discord.

Another user who goes by “Gabrielwillian,” said he was “extremely upset” by the criteria. Despite 10 months of transacting on Starknet through a single wallet, he was left out because his wallet did not have the requisite 0.005 ETH on the day of the snapshot. “This is not right, you have excluded countless real people who really dedicated time and believed in the ecosystem!” he wrote.

Taking the ‘Hard Road’

“Overall, I think they [Starknet Foundation] made a difficult decision to bias against airdrop farmers by under-allocating to active users,” wrote Charles Mercado, a data scientist for blockchain analytics firm Flipside Crypto, in a Telegram message to Unchained. 

“Given that Starknet has taken the hard road of limited EVM compatibility (using Cairo language), not working with the major wallets (Metamask, Phantom, Coinbase Wallet, etc.) to smooth adoption, and geo-fencing out US users – I’m not surprised the ‘e-beggars’ are mad. They’re always mad,” Mercado added, referring to people on the Internet who seek money from  others.

The Starknet Foundation plans to have additional rounds of STRK token distributions in the future. 

Unchained asked a representative of Starknet about the 0.005 ETH requirement and whether the announcement of its token distribution plan went according to expectations. However, Unchained did not receive a response from Starknet by press time.