The ZKSwap V3 testnet airdrop distributed 50,000 ZKS tokens to testers in December 2021. To qualify, users had to:
Note This was a real user testing program, not a simple token giveaway.
Many people confuse ZKSwap and ZKBase as the same project - but theyâre not. ZKSwap is a Layer 2 decentralized exchange built on ZK-Rollup tech. ZKBase is the parent ecosystem that includes ZKSwap, ZKSquare, and other infrastructure. And while ZKBase has its own ZKB token, the big airdrop everyone talks about was for ZKSwapâs V3 testnet - and it used ZKS tokens, not ZKB.
The goal? Get real users to test the new version of ZKSwap before it went live. They needed people to break things, find bugs, and write detailed feedback. Not just click a button and walk away.
Hereâs how it worked:
#V3TestnetFeedback# and include your wallet address.Thatâs it. No KYC. No deposit. No wallet seeding. Just real usage and honest feedback.
There were two tiers:
And hereâs the catch: if you used multiple wallets from the same IP address, only the one with the highest reward qualified got paid. No gaming the system.
Rewards were distributed by December 23, 2021. No delays. No excuses. The team paid out exactly as promised.
ZKBaseâs native token is ZKB. It has a max supply of 600 million. As of 2025, around 197 million ZKB are in circulation. But hereâs the key: there was no ZKB airdrop tied to ZKSwap V3.
The ZKS token is what powered ZKSwap. It was used for governance, fee discounts, and staking rewards on the DEX. ZKB was meant for broader ecosystem use - payments, infrastructure, future products. Theyâre two different tokens with two different purposes.
Confusing ZKS with ZKB is like thinking the Ethereum token (ETH) is the same as the Chainlink token (LINK). Theyâre on the same network, but theyâre not the same thing.
ZKSwap needed to prove their V3 upgrade was stable. They needed:
Instead of paying developers to test it, they turned to the community. And it worked. The feedback from those 260 participants helped fix critical bugs before mainnet launch.
This wasnât a marketing stunt. It was engineering. And itâs one of the cleanest examples of a community-driven testnet incentive program in DeFi.
Also, always check the official website. ZKSwapâs blog had step-by-step guides for connecting MetaMask to Rinkeby, getting test ETH, and using the testnet. If you canât find official documentation - itâs probably a scam.
Donât fall for fake websites or Discord groups claiming you can still claim ZKS or ZKB from the V3 drop. Those are phishing traps. The original airdrop is long over.
If you want to get involved now, focus on:
Today, ZKS is still active on the ZKSwap mainnet. Itâs used for:
But if you didnât participate in 2021, you canât claim those tokens now. Theyâre not being redistributed.
Thatâs the difference between a real crypto project and a pump-and-dump scheme.
Today, ZKBase continues to expand its ecosystem. ZKSwap remains one of the most efficient ZK-Rollup DEXs. ZKB is still in circulation. But the airdrop? Thatâs history.
If youâre looking for opportunities now, donât chase ghosts. Watch for new testnet launches. Follow official channels. And always - always - verify the source before you click anything.
No. ZKBase did not conduct an airdrop for its ZKB token in 2021. The airdrop that year was for ZKSwapâs V3 testnet and used ZKS tokens, not ZKB. ZKB is the native token of the ZKBase ecosystem, but no public airdrop for ZKB has been documented.
No. The ZKSwap V3 testnet airdrop ended in December 2021. Rewards were distributed by December 23, 2021. Any website or social media post claiming you can still claim these tokens is a scam.
ZKS is the token used by ZKSwap for trading fees, governance, and staking on its decentralized exchange. ZKB is the native token of the ZKBase ecosystem, used for broader infrastructure, payments via ZKSquare, and future products. Theyâre separate tokens with different roles.
No. The ZKSwap V3 testnet airdrop required no KYC. You only needed a MetaMask wallet, a testnet review, and a Twitter post. Legitimate DeFi airdrops rarely require personal documents - if they do, treat them with extreme caution.
Always go to the official website - zkswap.finance for ZKSwap and zkbase.org for ZKBase. Follow their verified Twitter and blog. Never trust Discord links, Telegram bots, or Google Ads. Real airdrops are announced through official channels only.
Greer Dauphin
2 12 25 / 19:11 PMlol i thought i was late to the party but turns out i was never invited đ honestly this is one of the few airdrops that actually felt fair. no KYC, no bs, just use it and tell em what broke. wish more projects did this instead of just spamming discord with 'claim now!!!'
Bhoomika Agarwal
4 12 25 / 12:37 PMIndia still waiting for its share of the pie while Americans get rich off testnets? đ€Ą ZKSwap? More like ZKScam if you ask me. Why do they even bother with testnets when they couldâve just airdropped to Indian devs? We build the tech, they take the tokens.
Althea Gwen
5 12 25 / 22:00 PMso... we're still talking about a 2021 airdrop? đ„± i mean... cool story bro. but can we move on? i got 17 other crypto dramas to scroll through before my coffee gets cold âïž
Steve Savage
6 12 25 / 08:59 AMthis is actually one of the cleanest examples of community-driven development i've seen in DeFi. not just 'give us your wallet and we'll send you free tokens' but 'here's a tool, break it, tell us how, and we'll pay you properly.' thatâs respect. thatâs how you build trust. most projects today are just fishing for wallets with shiny bait.
Joe B.
6 12 25 / 10:54 AMLetâs be real - the entire ZKSwap V3 airdrop was a brilliantly engineered PR stunt disguised as community engagement. The 50k ZKS pool was a fraction of their burn rate, and the real ROI was the 260 high-quality bug reports, UX feedback loops, and organic Twitter exposure. They didnât pay testers - they bought validation. And letâs not forget the IP address restriction: that wasnât anti-gaming, that was anti-Indian bot farms. You think they didnât know what was coming? Of course they did. This was a controlled experiment.
Katherine Alva
7 12 25 / 14:38 PMi love how this post just... states facts without screaming. no hype, no FOMO, just: here's what happened, here's why it mattered, here's what to watch for next time. đ± so refreshing in this space. thank you for not turning it into a crypto infomercial.
Ann Ellsworth
7 12 25 / 17:54 PMLet me just say - if you didnât submit a 300+ word review with properly formatted markdown, a screenshot of your transaction history, and a link to your GitHub profile (which, by the way, shouldâve been verified via Gitcoin Passport), then you werenât eligible. Anyone who thinks this was âfairâ clearly didnât read the fine print. The real winners were those who understood the meta-game: documentation as currency.
Ankit Varshney
9 12 25 / 13:43 PMthis is exactly how it should be done. no drama, no promises, just work and get paid. i wish more teams would follow this model. real users, real feedback, real rewards. no need for influencers or paid shills.
Sharmishtha Sohoni
10 12 25 / 08:50 AMZKS â ZKB. Got it.
Durgesh Mehta
10 12 25 / 11:18 AMi remember doing that testnet back then just to help out honestly didn't expect anything back but when i got my 100 ZKS i was like wow this is actually real thanks team
Jess Bothun-Berg
11 12 25 / 02:08 AMWait. Wait. Wait. You mean to tell me⊠you didnât have to stake 10 ETH, link your Coinbase account, and sign a NDA in triplicate to get 100 ZKS? Thatâs⊠thatâs not possible. This isnât crypto. This is a government program. Iâm reporting this to the SEC. Someoneâs lying. Or worse - theyâre being ethical.
Rod Filoteo
12 12 25 / 11:12 AMthis whole thing was a front. ZKBase is just a shell company for the Chinese gov to launder crypto through testnets. they used the airdrop to collect wallet fingerprints and now theyâre tracking every single address that touched ZKS. you think your privacy was safe? you were the product. and now your walletâs on a blacklist. donât say i didnât warn you.
Layla Hu
14 12 25 / 09:22 AMi appreciate the clarity. so many people confuse tokens and ecosystems - this clears it up without the noise. thank you.
Nora Colombie
15 12 25 / 08:19 AMYou people are so naive. Of course the airdrop was fake. ZKBase doesnât even exist anymore - it was bought by a shell in the Caymans in 2022. The âZKSâ you got? Worthless. The âZKBâ youâre chasing? A meme. The real value was always in the data they harvested from your MetaMask. You didnât earn tokens - you sold your privacy. And now youâre proud of it? Pathetic.
Mark Stoehr
15 12 25 / 19:51 PMzks zkb same thing lol who cares just buy the dip
Shari Heglin
17 12 25 / 19:14 PMI find it curious that you characterize this as âcommunity-drivenâ when the participation criteria were deliberately exclusionary - requiring familiarity with Rinkeby, Twitter engagement, and forum writing skills. This was not an open call. It was a meritocratic gatekeeping exercise disguised as decentralization. The token distribution was not egalitarian; it was curated.
Reggie Herbert
18 12 25 / 04:36 AMZKSwap V3? Yeah, I remember that. The UI was a mess. I traded for 3 hours and my wallet crashed twice. Got my 100 ZKS anyway. Still have them. Still use ZKSwap. Still donât trust any project that doesnât let you test before they launch. Simple as that.
Tatiana Rodriguez
19 12 25 / 03:39 AMI just want to say - this post made me cry a little. Not because I got rich, but because I felt seen. In a world where every airdrop feels like a casino and every project is screaming âGIVE ME YOUR WALLET AND IâLL MAKE YOU RICH,â ZKSwap didnât just ask for your money - they asked for your voice. And they listened. I wrote that 300-word review after staying up till 3am because I genuinely wanted to help them fix the liquidity pool bug. And they paid me. Not in hype. Not in promises. In real tokens. Thatâs rare. Thatâs beautiful. Thatâs what crypto was supposed to be. I miss that version of it. And I hope it comes back.