ZAMA token auction postponed to January 21, pre-market FDV has reached 1.5 billion

ZAMA Token Auction Registration Is Now Open, but the originally scheduled auction time has been changed. According to the latest news, Zama co-founder Rand Hindi announced that the ZAMA token auction has been postponed to January 21-24 (originally January 12-15), with token claim date set for February 2. Meanwhile, ZAMA has begun trading on Binance’s pre-market, and market reactions have been enthusiastic. What considerations are behind this delay?

Market Signals Behind the Time Change

Details of the Auction Date Adjustment

According to the latest information, ZAMA’s public auction schedule is as follows:

This delay has shifted the entire timeline, giving the market more time to build anticipation. Interestingly, ZAMA has already started trading on Binance’s pre-market, indicating that the market has begun pricing in before the official auction.

Pre-market Performance Surprises

ZAMA’s performance in Binance futures pre-market trading has been quite remarkable. Market data shows the current pre-market price around $0.14. With a total supply of 11 billion tokens, the approximate FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) has reached about $1.5 billion. Binance’s contract platform has launched ZAMAUSDT perpetual pre-market trading with leverage up to 5x.

This price level has attracted widespread attention, especially among participants who previously obtained Zama OG NFTs.

The “Big Win” Moment for OG NFT Holders

Early Participants’ Gains

Market feedback indicates that holders of Zama OG NFTs have realized substantial gains at the current pre-market price. A single OG NFT corresponds to gains of approximately $6,000, representing nearly 30x returns compared to early entry costs. This serves as a significant incentive for early supporters.

Such high returns also reflect market expectations for Zama—investors are generally optimistic about its full homomorphic encryption (FHE) technology and its application prospects in privacy.

Rational Approach to the Dutch Auction Mechanism

The Unique Nature of the Auction Method

Zama employs a Dutch auction mechanism, selling 10% of its total supply on Ethereum. This auction method has distinctive features:

• Participants bid and specify quantities without seeing others’ bids
• The project team starts from the highest bid and fills orders downward until the funding goal is met
• All successful bidders settle at the final cutoff price
• This approach can lead to “herd mentality” and price inflation during high enthusiasm

Key Points Participants Should Watch

Based on market observations, there are several aspects to be mindful of:

• Pre-market prices may influence participant expectations, potentially triggering FOMO
• No cap on FDV means the final auction price depends on bids
• Current pre-market open interest (OI) is only about 2.5 million, indicating relatively shallow market depth and potential for large price swings
• Participants should carefully assess their risk tolerance before engaging

Project Background Overview

Zama is a cryptography company focused on full homomorphic encryption (FHE) technology. FHE allows data to be processed without decryption, enabling developers to create privacy-preserving smart contracts on public, permissionless blockchains, visible only to authorized users.

Public information indicates Zama has raised approximately $150 million, with its mainnet launching by the end of 2025. This token auction is a key part of its Token Generation Event (TGE).

Summary

The postponement of the ZAMA token auction and the hot pre-market activity reflect ongoing market interest in privacy technology tracks. OG NFT holders have already gained significant profits, while future participants should evaluate carefully within the Dutch auction framework. Understanding the unique features of this auction method is crucial to avoid blindly chasing high prices. The subsequent FDV level will be an important indicator of the auction’s value, and continuous attention during the auction period is recommended.