On Monday, Ether.Fi introduced its highly anticipated ETHFI governance token through an airdrop, seen as a significant step in ensuring the decentralization of the platform's liquid staking protocol. The token traded in the range of $3 to $3.50 during the day, quickly amassing a market capitalization exceeding $362 million. This airdrop initiative aims to reward various community members, including participants from the Binance Launchpad rounds, solo stakers on Ether.Fi, and holders of eETH – the main token of Ether.Fi allowing users to earn rewards by staking Ethereum and re-staking via EigenLayer.

This announcement comes at a time of heightened interest in liquid staking, which allows holders to stake their coins while keeping the assets liquid. According to CoinGecko, ETHFI's fully diluted value stands at $3.4 billion. It ranks below Shido, the Dogecoin-backed meme coin WIF, but above competitors like Lido and dYdX in terms of market capitalization. Ether.Fi plans to allocate the total supply of ETHFI tokens to one billion, with 6% designated for the First Season and 2% for participants in the Binance Launchpad round.

In a recent development on March 13, 2024, approximately 120,000 ETH, valued at around $420.72 million, were transferred from an address associated with Justin Sun to Ether.Fi. Sun's investment allows his wallet to claim 3.45 million ETHFI from the first phase of airdrops, totaling 60 million ETHFI. According to the Ether.Fi team, Sun's tokens have been vested in time brackets to ensure fairness, sustainable growth, and long-term community stability.

Regarding the distribution strategy, 23.26% of the total supply will go to core contributors, while 27.24% will be allocated to the DAO treasury. Additionally, 32.5% of tokens will be subject to a vesting period of two years, as outlined in the protocol document.

Ether.Fi co-founder and Chief Growth Officer Rok Kopp praised the seamless distribution of the airdrop, stating that recipients were able to claim their airdrop without any issues. Kopp's remarks underscore the successful execution of the airdrop, which not only targeted Ether.Fi's supporters but also actively engaged the platform in the realms of liquid staking and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Recent reports indicate that users have locked approximately $2.876 billion worth of crypto assets in Ether.Fi's smart contract, according to DefiLlama data. This substantial figure reflects the trust within the DeFi community and the growing interest in Ether.Fi's offerings, signaling positive prospects for the protocol's future in the ever-evolving landscape of blockchain technologies and digital finance.