Sei, a new blockchain focused on trading, went live Tuesday, with its SEI token quickly becoming a hot commodity. Trading volume for SEI has topped $1.6 billion in the past 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap, with major crypto trading venues like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken all listing SEI in tandem with the network’s debut. Despite some complaints about delays in the token’s airdrop, the project’s official X account posted that the “airdrop rewards will be claimable following an initial warmup period while the Sei ecosystem gets prepared.”
Sei is built using the Cosmos SDK, a software development kit that can be used to easily construct new blockchains that are interoperable with other networks in the Cosmos ecosystem. In April, Sei Labs, the main contributor behind the Sei blockchain, raised $30 million of funding, for a valuation of $800 million. Sei is designed with a special focus on speed, low fees, and other features specially tuned to support certain kinds of trading apps. Sei co-founder Jeff Feng said in an interview that the focus will be on social platforms, gaming, and carbon credits.
The SEI airdrop was configured to allow users of popular blockchains like Ethereum, Solana, and Binance Smart Chain to claim an allotment of SEI tokens upon “bridging” assets over to the new network. However, some users have had difficulty accessing Sei’s official Discord server and claiming their allotment of tokens. Sei Labs has stated that the criteria for eligibility for the airdrop will be available when it happens.
40% of the circulating supply for SEI has been set aside for its team and private investors, 48% of the supply of the token is set to go toward ecosystem reserves, 9% of the supply will go towards the SEI Foundation, and 3% of the supply will go towards Binance launchpool incentives.