Lagrange Labs plans airdrop for new LA token after launching independent foundation

Cryptography startup Lagrange Labs revealed plans for its forthcoming utility token, LA, after forming an independent foundation to grow the Lagrange ecosystem.

Lagrange Labs develops Lagrange Prover Network, a decentralized network that powers zero-knowledge proof generation that’s built on restaking protocol EigenLayer. The LA token will be used by clients to pay for proof generation fees as well as for staking. The token will also help subsidize the costs of prover “subnetworks,” which check the validity of ZK proofs.

Registration for the LA’s airdrop starts on May 28 and ends June 2. One of the main eligibility criteria for Lagrange’s airdrop is to have participated in Turing Roulette, a game based on Turing test where participants had to guess whether they were interacting with AI or a real person. Additionally, individuals must complete a proof of uniqueness and proof of humanity check during airdrop registration.

“Lagrange’s tokenomics are built around a simple principle: proof demand = token demand,” the team wrote in a statement. “Whenever a proof is generated in the Lagrange Prover Network — whether for a ZK rollup, a verifiable AI model, or a modular execution layer — value is cycled through the system in a work-based model. This way the token captures value directly from activity.”

Notably, when users pay for proofs using tokens like ETH, USDC, and LA, some of that fee will go back to the network’s provers as a reward. The network will also have a fixed annual emission of 4%, which will be allocated to provers based on how many LA tokens they have staked or delegated to them to help subsidize some proving costs. Token holders can then delegate more tokens to certain prover subnetworks help align the network’s economic priorities with proving demand.

“Lagrange is the largest ZK company by proof generation partnerships and ecosystem reach, and the LA token is at the core of it all,” Lagrange Co-Founder and CEO Ismael Hishon-Rezaizadeh told The Block in an email. “Over the next year, we expect to see explosive adoption of our DeepProve ZKML library for verifiable AI inference across enterprise, AI, and crypto.”

Of the total 1 billion LA supply, 34.8% is allocated for community and other engagement efforts, 25.4% for early contributors, 18.5% for investors, 11.3% for the foundation, and 10% is allocated for the initial airdrop, according to the LA tokenomics.

Upon the token generatation event, tokens will be locked for one year after the token generation event for early contributors and investors, with subsequent unlocks over two years. Passive LA holders will not receive fees or emissions.

Langrange’s token roadmap comes after it unveiled on May 23 the Lagrange Foundation, an independent entity that will help oversee Lagrange ecosystem growth.

Lagrange Labs raised a total of $17 million in funding to date. The firm netted $13.2 million in a seed round led by Peter Thiel’s Founder Fund in May 2024, The Block previously reported.