quick take
- Wormhole, the cross-chain protocol, declared an airdrop for its W token, revealing that initially.
- 82% of the tokens will be locked and gradually distributed over a four-year period.
The cross-chain protocol Wormhole has unveiled plans for the distribution of its native token, identified as “W.” As disclosed, the token will boast a maximum supply of 10 billion, with an initial circulating supply set at 1.8 billion, as detailed in an official release. Allocation of these digital assets will be distributed among various entities, including guardian nodes, community and launch initiatives, ecosystem and incubation endeavors, core contributors, strategic network participants, and the foundation treasury.
Wormhole additionally specified that 82% of the tokens will be initially locked, gradually unlocking over a four-year timeframe. The protocol will leverage native ERC-20 and SPL token formats, as outlined in the release.
In November of the preceding year, Wormhole concluded a funding round amounting to $225 million, resulting in a valuation of $2.5 billion for the firm. Prominent supporters of the project encompass Brevan Howard, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital, and Jump Trading, among others.
Wormhole, formerly associated with Jump Trading, faced a significant setback in 2022 when hackers absconded with 120,000 ETH (equivalent to $323 million at the time), marking one of the largest exploits in the history of decentralized finance.
Wormhole’s strategy for decentralized governance
In its airdrop announcement on Wednesday, Wormhole emphasized the significance of transparency and security in the web3 ecosystem. The protocol disclosed that it has processed nearly 1 billion multichain messages for various applications and projects, including Uniswap, Circle, and Lido.
Furthermore, Wormhole outlined its intention to gradually decentralize governance to W holders over time. Following the token generation and distribution phases, on-chain governance will predominantly oversee community initiatives and treasury-related operations, as stated in the release. The protocol aims to empower the Wormhole community to address essential matters with adequate resources and backing through this governance launch.