Ethereum Layer-2 network Starknet’s token saw a significant drop in value following a substantial token sale by infrastructure firm Nethermind and airdrop hunters, losing over half of its worth. According to CoinGecko data, the price of Starknet’s (STRK) token fell by approximately 60%, trading below $1.90, down from its February 20 peak of $4.41 when it was distributed to some users of the blockchain ecosystem via airdrop.
Airdrop Hunters Continue to Sell STRK
After being listed on exchanges, STRK’s price surged to $7.70 on Binance but has since fallen below $1.90, indicating a 75.4% decrease. Blockchain data analytics platform Lookonchain highlighted in a February 22 post that the price of STRK has been declining since its market release.
Lookonchain reported that Nethermind sold 3.41 million STRK tokens worth $6.7 million and warned that sales might continue as the firm still holds tokens valued at $12 million.
Hours earlier, Lookonchain found another STRK airdrop hunter consolidating wallets, moving 1.2 million STRK worth $2.4 million from about 1,800 separate wallets to a single address. Following this, on February 21, Lookonchain reported a similar case where approximately 1.4 million STRK, valued at nearly $3 million, was sent to a single address from around 1,400 wallets.
Debate Continues Over Airdrop Event
Yearn finance developer Banteg claimed that over 700,000 of the 1.3 million wallets eligible for Starknet’s STRK airdrop were linked to GitHub accounts controlled by airdrop hunters before the event. The STRK airdrop event weakened as Starknet users who made transactions worth thousands of dollars claimed they were ineligible for distributions because the criteria required them to hold at least 0.005 Ethereum, valued at approximately $10, during a snapshot on November 15, 2023.
Another group objected to STRK’s unlocking program aimed at rewarding Starknet investors and contributors with 1.3 billion STRK, 13% of the supply, approximately two months after launch. The STRK airdrop event saw significant participation when it launched with 45 million STRK tokens secured within the first hour and a half of allocations starting.
According to Voyager data, about $790 million worth of 430 million STRK tokens, approximately 92% of the total available for distribution, have been claimed so far. Despite the price drop, Starknet’s total value locked rose to $73.5 million, a roughly 30% increase in 24 hours, according to blockchain data analytics platform DefiLlama.
