StarkWare, the startup behind the Ethereum scaling network Starknet, announced Thursday that it will revise its STRK token allocation schedule for contributors and investors following backlash from the crypto community.
The company will spread out its allocations over the course of years rather than conducting a sizable planned STRK unlock this April. The price of STRK jumped following the announcement, according to CoinGecko, rising from $1.86 to $2.03 in a matter of minutes before settling to just under $2 as of this writing. The token is up 9% on the day.
StarkWare had initially planned to unlock 1.3 billion STRK tokens for investors and early contributors on April 15, following this Tuesday's token launch. The short cliff had been controversial among Starknet users and across the broader crypto community, amid fears that such a sizable unlock (about 13% of the total STRK supply) could impact the token's price.
Under the revised plan, StarkWare will unlock 64 million tokens monthly for the first year starting April 15, and then 127 million tokens monthly for the 24 months thereafter.
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Important update:
After listening to feedback from ecosystem friends and collaborators, we are changing the lockup schedule for StarkWare’s early contributors and investors to make it more gradual.
We value this community and want to earn its trust by building great tech that…
This spreads out the token unlocks, with 580 million tokens set to unlock for contributors and investors by the end of 2024, with another 1.4 billion STRK unlocked in 2025 and a further 1.5 billion STRK set to unlock for those people in 2026.
In a tweet, StarkWare co-founder and CEO Eli Ben-Sasson wrote that his company "listened to concerns re: long-term alignment of StarkWare w/ Starknet ecosystem," "proposed a more gradual release schedule," "[believes] trust is earned with actions, not just words," and "[thanks] investors for their support on this."
After announcing key details regarding its hotly anticipated STRK token airdrop this morning, Ethereum software firm Starkware found itself on the back foot after crypto users raised ethical questions about how quickly after the launch the network’s investors and contributors will be able to sell off massive STRK positions.
But in an exclusive interview with Decrypt, Starkware’s CEO pushed back against detractors, doubled down on the Starknet airdrop roadmap, and explained why he believes it wil...
Ben-Sasson had previously brushed off criticism over the token unlock schedule after the token launch plans were revealed last week.
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“The unlocking for the team and early investors… is one aspect in which we may be non-standard,” Ben-Sasson told Decrypt last week. “But we build different and we view things a little bit differently.”
We 1. listened to concerns re. long-term alignment of @StarkWareLtd w/ Starknet ecosystem. 2. proposed a more gradual release schedule 3. believe trust is earned with actions, not just words 4. thank investors for their support on this@StarkWareLtd ❤️ @Starknethttps://t.co/WZsiZsn3yM
Starknet's token launched this Tuesday with a massive airdrop to nearly 1.3 million eligible wallets, but the price fell sharply thereafter. It's currently down 55% from the peak price of $4.41 achieved on Tuesday, though it has rebounded from a low of $1.70 on Wednesday.
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional details after publication.
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