Here’s What Fueled ZORA Crypto’s 40%+ Rally Today

ZORA surged as much as 44% on May 26, fueled by excitement surrounding a new token launched by former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan.

On that day, ZORA reached an intraday peak of $0.0135, pushing its market capitalization above $38 million. Trading volume also spiked dramatically, rising 256% to exceed $48 million within 24 hours.

The rally gained traction after several users on X shared news that Srinivasan had launched a token called “The Network State” — named after his 2022 book — on the Zora platform. The token went live on May 26, 2025, quickly generating significant buzz within the community.

For those unfamiliar, Zora allows users to mint content from decentralized social apps like Farcaster into ERC-20 tokens. This includes a wide range of media such as text posts, images, videos, and audio — essentially any content normally shared on social media, but recorded on-chain. After minting, these “content coins” can be traded on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap.

Creators upload their media, set a title and price, and Zora manages the minting process. Once live, the content becomes a tradable digital asset within a decentralized marketplace where community interest drives its value.

Just hours after its launch, the Network State token’s market cap fluctuated between $2.7 million and $7 million, highlighting strong early interest.

Although the token is distinct from ZORA, the association with the same platform and Balaji Srinivasan’s involvement appears to have positively influenced sentiment around ZORA as well.

In May 2022, Zora raised $50 million in a funding round led by Haun Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Kindred Ventures, valuing the platform at $600 million.

Investors seem to be banking on the broader Zora platform gaining momentum from the recent buzz. Many users on X have noted that ZORA could serve as a safer and more liquid way to gain exposure to the excitement without directly investing in the brand-new Network State token.

What is Zora?

Launched in May 2020 by three former Coinbase employees, Zora is a creator-first NFT platform aimed at decentralizing media and empowering content ownership. Initially focused on minting and trading NFTs, the platform later expanded to let users tokenize on-chain content from decentralized social apps.

In 2023, Zora rolled out its own Layer 2 network to boost scalability and cut costs for content publishing.

By 2025, Zora launched its native token, ZORA, described as “a memecoin for the Zora community.” Although it operates its own chain, the token was launched on Base, Coinbase’s Layer 2 solution, on April 23 to leverage a larger user base.

The total supply of ZORA tokens is capped at 10 billion. Distribution includes a 10% airdrop to early users, 20% allocated for community incentives, and 5% reserved for liquidity. The remainder is divided among the treasury, team, and strategic partners, all subject to vesting schedules.

In May 2022, Zora raised $50 million in a funding round that valued the platform at $600 million. The round was led by Haun Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Kindred Ventures.

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