ZERC DeRace Airdrop: Complete Guide to the zkRace Token Swap and Distribution

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On May 13, 2024, something quiet but significant happened in the GameFi world. If you held DeRace (DERC) tokens before 16:00 UTC that day, you didn’t just get a new token-you got a full upgrade. The old DeRace project, built on NFT horse racing and play-to-earn mechanics, officially became zkRace (ZERC). No manual steps. No lost coins. Just a seamless swap that moved millions in value from one blockchain contract to another.

This wasn’t a marketing stunt. It was a technical overhaul. The team behind DeRace didn’t just rebrand. They rebuilt. They switched to the Base blockchain, upgraded the smart contracts, and made sure every single DERC holder got exactly 1 ZERC in return. No exceptions. No delays. And for those who didn’t hold DERC before the snapshot? There was no airdrop. Not then, and not since.

What Was the DeRace Token Swap?

DeRace started as a fun, niche metaverse where players bred digital racehorses, built hippodromes, and raced them for rewards. It used NFTs to make each horse unique, and DERC as its in-game currency. But the platform had limits-slow transactions, high fees, and a clunky user experience. So the team decided to move everything to Base, a Layer 2 Ethereum chain known for low costs and fast speeds.

The swap was simple: 1 DERC = 1 ZERC. That’s it. No multiplier. No bonus tokens. Just a direct 1:1 exchange. The snapshot, taken on May 13, 2024, at 16:00 UTC, locked in who got what. If your wallet had 500 DERC at that exact moment, you got 500 ZERC. No need to claim anything. No forms. No KYC. The exchanges did it for you.

KuCoin and Gate.io were the two main platforms handling the swap. KuCoin completed the migration on May 28, 2024, and started trading ZERC/USDT at 10:00 UTC. By the next day, users could withdraw their new ZERC tokens. Gate.io followed the same timeline. After that, DERC was delisted. No more deposits. No more trading. The old token was officially retired.

How Did the Airdrop Actually Work?

Let’s clear up a common mistake: this wasn’t an airdrop in the traditional sense. There was no free token drop for new users. No social media contests. No Discord giveaways. What happened was a token migration-a forced upgrade for existing holders.

Think of it like upgrading your phone. You didn’t get a free new model. You just got your old one replaced with a better version. If you owned DERC, you got ZERC. If you didn’t own DERC, you got nothing. That’s why there’s no public list of recipients. The distribution was automatic, based on blockchain snapshots, not human decisions.

There were no eligibility rules like “hold for 30 days” or “refer three friends.” The only requirement was holding DERC at the snapshot. Even if you bought DERC five minutes before the snapshot, you got ZERC. If you sold it one second before, you got nothing. It was purely a technical snapshot, not a loyalty program.

ZERC Tokenomics: Supply, Price, and Trading

As of December 2025, zkRace has a fixed supply of 120,000,000 ZERC tokens-and all of them are in circulation. That’s unusual. Most projects lock up a big chunk for team or treasury. Here, the entire supply was distributed during the swap. No more tokens will ever be created.

The current price of ZERC is $0.0258, or roughly 0.0000002295 BTC. That gives it a market cap of $3,094,440. Daily trading volume sits around $122,795, mostly on KuCoin and Gate.io. The price has been stable over the last 90 days, with a 24-hour range between $0.0257 and $0.0262. That’s tight. No wild swings. No pump-and-dump behavior.

The token contract is live on Base, with the address 0xa3a2...f049815. You can verify transactions on any Base blockchain explorer. The project was audited by Hacken, a well-known security firm in crypto, which adds a layer of trust. No major exploits or bugs have been reported since the swap.

What Can You Do With ZERC Today?

ZERC isn’t just a trading token. It’s the lifeblood of the zkRace metaverse. Every action inside the game requires ZERC:

• Entering a race costs ZERC
• Breeding two NFT horses costs ZERC
• Building or upgrading a hippodrome costs ZERC
• Staking horses for passive rewards pays out in ZERC
• Referring new players earns you ZERC
• Reporting bugs in the game rewards you with ZERC

There’s no other currency in the ecosystem. You can’t use ETH, USDT, or BNB. It’s all ZERC. That makes it essential-not optional. If you want to play, you need ZERC. If you want to earn, you need ZERC.

The game itself still runs the same way it always did: NFT horses with unique traits, randomized race outcomes, and breeding mechanics that create rare offspring. The only difference now? Faster transactions, lower fees, and a more secure blockchain.

Is There Still an Airdrop for New Users?

No. The original token swap is over. There are no active airdrops for new users as of December 2025. The project hasn’t announced any new distribution events since May 2024. Any website or social media post claiming to offer free ZERC tokens is a scam.

Some communities speculate about future airdrops tied to new features-like seasonal races or NFT drops-but nothing has been confirmed. The team has been quiet on social media. Their focus seems to be on improving the game, not handing out free tokens.

If you’re looking to get ZERC now, you have two real options:

1. Buy it on KuCoin or Gate.io using USDT or BTC
2. Play the game and earn it through racing, breeding, or referrals

There are no shortcuts. No free claims. No airdrop portals. If someone asks you to send crypto to “unlock” your ZERC, walk away. That’s how phishing scams work.

How Does zkRace Compare to Other GameFi Projects?

zkRace sits in a crowded space. There are dozens of NFT racing games-some with better graphics, bigger marketing budgets, and more hype. But zkRace has two things most don’t:

• Real utility: ZERC isn’t just a token. It’s the only way to play. No fluff.
• Fixed supply: 120 million tokens, all circulating. No inflation. No hidden reserves.

Compare that to other GameFi projects where 40% of tokens are locked for team members, or where the token price crashes because the game isn’t fun. zkRace doesn’t have those problems. The token price hasn’t crashed because the game still works-and people still use it.

It’s not the biggest GameFi project. It’s not the flashiest. But it’s one of the few that actually delivered on its promise: a working, usable metaverse with real token utility.

What’s Next for zkRace?

The team hasn’t released a public roadmap. No whitepaper updates. No Twitter threads detailing future features. But the game is still active. Deposits are open on exchanges. The NFT marketplace still sees trading. Races happen daily.

Based on what’s happened so far, the next steps are likely:

• Adding more horse traits and genetic variations for breeding
• Introducing spectator mode for races (watch others race for rewards)
• Expanding to mobile platforms
• Partnering with other NFT collections for cross-game events

None of this is confirmed. But the project has shown it delivers when it makes promises. If they add new features, they’ll likely tie them to ZERC usage-just like they did with the original swap.

For now, zkRace is a quiet, stable project. No noise. No hype. Just a working game with a solid token. If you’re looking for a GameFi project that doesn’t rely on speculation, this might be one of the few left.

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• zkRace airdrop
• ZERC token
• DeRace token swap
• ZERC price
• zkRace tokenomics