Boundless price crashes 46% after Binance listing as airdrop recipients sell

ZKC, the native token of Zero-Knowledge Compute Network Boundless, crashed 46% within hours following its launch on exchanges including Binance and Bybit.

Binance Alpha, a spotlight section within the main Binance exchange, was the first to feature Boundless (ZKC), with trading starting on Sep. 15 at 12:30 UTC. Just a few hours later, the token secured a full spot listing on the main Binance platform.

Other major exchanges that also added support for the token on the same day include Gate, KuCoin and Bybit.

The debut on exchanges coincided with the official launch of the Boundless mainnet on Base, transitioning its protocol for verifiable compute from beta into full production.

Following its token generation event (TGE), Boundless established a total genesis supply of 1 billion ZKC, with roughly 200.9 million tokens (20.09%) entering circulation by the time of its Binance listing. 

As per its tokenomics, the token operates on an inflationary model, beginning with a 7% issuance rate in the first year that will gradually taper to around 3% annually from year eight onwards.

Around 5–6% of the total supply has been earmarked for airdrops, fully unlocked at TGE as per the official document. This includes the 1.5% of the supply, or 15 million ZKC tokens allocated through Binance’s HODLer airdrop program and additional community-focused distributions.

Boundless (ZKC) crypto debuted at an initial price of $1.65, briefly rallying to $1.78 within the first hour before plunging nearly 46% as of press time. The sharp drop likely stemmed from profit-taking by early investors and airdrop recipients who sold their allocations following the exchange listings. 

Additional selling pressure may have been fueled by concerns over the token’s inflationary model, which steadily increases circulating supply over time. This dilution reduces scarcity and can weigh on demand unless offset by strong adoption and greater participation in staking, where holders lock up tokens to earn rewards and mitigate inflationary effects.

Boundless is a Zero-Knowledge Compute Network built on Base, designed to function as a decentralized marketplace for zk-proof generation and verification. It allows developers and applications to outsource zero-knowledge computations in a secure, scalable, and cost-efficient way.

The network uses a Proof-of-Verifiable-Work (PoVW) model where provers stake ZKC tokens as collateral to deliver proofs, ensuring reliability and economic security. Successful provers are rewarded with newly issued ZKC tokens, while failures result in penalties that help in the creation of a self-sustaining proving economy..

The project is backed by major investors, including Bain Capital Crypto, Blockchain Capital, Delphi Ventures, and Galaxy, which supported its early funding rounds.