Étienne Girard
Eclipse Foundation, the team behind the high-speed, Solana-compatible Layer 2 known as Eclipse, has officially launched its native token $ES, with a significant airdrop campaign planned for its early adopters.
Often described as “Solana on Ethereum,” Eclipse merges Solana’s performance with Ethereum’s robust security model. The launch of $ES marks a pivotal moment in its roadmap as it moves toward broader community engagement and decentralized governance.
Airdrop Targets Users Based on Activity, Social Reach, and Discord Involvement
Out of the 1 billion $ES tokens minted, 10% (100 million tokens) are reserved for the airdrop, according to a spokesperson for Eclipse Foundation. The eligibility is determined by three key metrics: in-game interaction via the Turbo Tap stress-testing game, X (formerly Twitter) influence analyzed by Kaito, and user participation in Discord.
While players earned “grass” points in Turbo Tap, these won’t convert directly to tokens, the Foundation clarified. The airdrop rollout begins Wednesday and will continue over the next 30 days, with a snapshot and full allocation breakdown to be published afterward — a move designed to minimize manipulation.
In addition to the airdrop:
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5% of the supply supports liquidity provisioning for trading.
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35% is earmarked for ecosystem and protocol development.
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19% will go to contributors and team members, subject to a four-year vesting and three-year lockup.
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The remaining 31% is allocated to early backers and investors, also under a three-year lockup.
Utility of $ES: Gas Token and Governance Backbone
The Eclipse Foundation describes $ES as playing multiple core roles within the ecosystem. The token is used as gas for transactions on the Eclipse chain through its native paymaster system, and also empowers decentralized governance, enabling holders to vote on proposals such as protocol upgrades and network decisions.
Focus on Decentralization, Long-Term Incentives, and Transparency
To avoid internal favoritism, Eclipse previously announced that team members would be excluded from the airdrop. Their token share is handled separately, following standard vesting schedules as part of their compensation packages. “No team tokens are currently unlocked,” the spokesperson noted.
The 35% ecosystem allocation will fuel R&D, operational reserves, and long-term infrastructure growth under the “Eclipse Economy” vision — a decentralized system driven by developers and users, designed to extend beyond the crypto industry.
Strong Backing and Growing Ecosystem
Eclipse has raised $65 million in total funding from major names like Placeholder Capital, Hack VC, Delphi Digital, Polychain Capital, and Tribe Capital. The network’s total value locked (TVL) currently stands at approximately $30 million, according to DeFiLlama.
Founded in 2022, Eclipse launched its public mainnet in November 2024, becoming the first Layer 2 to support the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) on Ethereum. This architecture enables developers to build Solana-native apps that integrate seamlessly with Ethereum’s liquidity.
Leadership Transition and Future Outlook
Following allegations of misconduct in 2023 (which he denied), former CEO Neel Somani stepped down. The project is now led by Vijay Chetty, previously the Chief Growth Officer, signaling a new chapter of leadership as Eclipse moves deeper into its growth phase.
