Author: Jack Inabinet, Bankless; Translator: Deng Tong, Golden Finance
When it comes to crypto’s hottest airdrop opportunities, hunters can find themselves stuck in an endless cycle, forced to constantly seed wallets with new tokens, constantly interact with apps, and patiently wait (sometimes forever) for their favorite farms to bear fruit…
For years, regulatory uncertainty has prevented many crypto companies from launching their own native tokens; ironically, these circumstances have provided ideal growing conditions for cultivating the most lucrative airdrops of all time!
Under the leadership of newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has put the brakes on many of its high-profile cryptocurrency enforcement actions. While staff decisions in many of the cases have not yet been finalized, collectively they indicate that the U.S. financial regulator is working to provide a set of rules for digital asset issuance.
Today, we’ll take a deep dive into five of crypto’s most ripe airdrop opportunities, which may finally emerge in a new era of regulatory certainty.
OG Ethereum wallet MetaMask has been a leading “airdrop contender” since the term was first coined!
While uncertainty over crypto regulation has impacted MetaMask’s ability to conduct airdrops in the U.S., fortunately, a recent agreement between MetaMask developer Consensys and SEC staff seeks to dismiss the SEC’s lawsuit alleging that MetaMask is an unregistered securities exchange pending Commission approval. This development could signal an easing of regulatory tensions, which could pave the way for MetaMask airdrops.
MetaMask may charge fees for using built-in account management features such as “Swap” and “Bridge,” but these tools are still the best way to increase your chances of qualifying for a potential MetaMask airdrop.
While new pump.fun pump.fun token deployments have slowed in recent weeks amid crypto market apathy, this memecoin launchpad remains one of the most profitable crypto apps in existence!
The pump.fun team appears intent on generating more revenue, with a recently leaked URL suggesting the platform will soon launch its own automated market maker (AMM), which could enable it to earn the bonded token swap fees currently earned by Raydium.
To provide more clarity on the application of regulation to crypto assets, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance recently announced that memecoins with “limited or no use or functionality” are not considered securities under federal law. This decision essentially legitimizes pump.fun’s business model and could enable the platform to airdrop related tokens to early users in the future.
Marginfi, based on the Solana blockchain, emerged as a little-known peer-to-peer lending application in early 2023, but rose to prominence in the second half of that year as Solana’s top deposit opportunity as the airdrop craze swept the crypto industry!
The platform’s initial (and most popular) product was its overcollateralized money market protocol, which allows anyone to lend or borrow assets on Solana; marginfi has since expanded its product lineup to include one-click leverage loops, an internal liquidity staking token, collateral support for native staking SOL, and a memecoin leveraged trading platform.
While marginfi remains a notable airdrop opponent among Solana DeFi applications, the platform has prominently launched a points program for more than a year, indicating that it is actively counting early user interactions and may reward them with liquidity tokens in the future.
Bungee Exchange is a bridge aggregator that supports token transfers and exchanges between multiple popular EVM-compatible chains. The protocol aggregates multiple quotes from different bridge providers for its users, enabling them to choose the route that best suits their fee and time preferences.
While few of the top crypto bridge applications have minted or airdropped native tokens at the time of writing, regulatory relief promised by President Trump’s SEC could open the door to future Bungee-related airdrops.
OpenSea has repeatedly teased upcoming platform updates with grand announcements — which often sparked airdrop speculation — but those hopes have been dashed time and again.
The recently launched OpenSea V2 introduced an XP points program, following the lead of rival NFT marketplace Blur. While OpenSea has not promised that XP will be converted into liquid tokens, the rewards system appears poised to play a key role in any future airdrop distributions.
OpenSea is currently rewarding users who trade NFTs with a platform loyalty reward multiplier. While ongoing interaction with previous OpenSea deployments will not award XP, interaction with OpenSea prior to the V2 launch may be considered through retroactive point allocations.
The Artificial Superintelligence Alliance has postponed its token merger, while Apple's entry into generative AI received a lukewarm investor response. AI crypto tokens, which saw gains earlier this year, have dropped by 7.8% in the last 24 hours. Will AI tokens continue to bleed red?
CatherineTap-to-earn games on Telegram, like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat, offer a gateway to crypto for mainstream users, with millions already engaged. While Notcoin faces uncertainty due to its lack of a whitepaper, Hamster Kombat's rapid growth and innovative features position it as a formidable contender for long-term success in the crypto gaming space.
JoyChinese leader has replied to Turing Award winner Professor Yao Qizhi, with insiders stating that he is preparing an AI and blockchain venture capital fund.
AlexChairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), Huang Tien-mu, attended a special session at the Legislative Yuan today and for the first time clearly disclosed the timeline for the formulation of a special law for virtual assets. He stated that the FSC will gradually regulate virtual assets in four phases, ultimately moving towards the establishment of a special law for virtual asset management. The draft of this law is expected to be completed by the end of December this year and submitted to the Executive Yuan by June next year.
MiyukiBitcoin mining company Bitfarms announced on June 10 that its board of directors has approved a Shareholder Rights Plan to fend off a hostile takeover by its competitor Riot Platforms.
WeiliangSources indicate that Biden's campaign team is in discussions to accept cryptocurrency donations through Coinbase Commerce.
AlexRipple announced yesterday (12th) the upcoming launch of the XRPL EVM Sidechain, using Axelar as the sole bridge for the sidechain. Additionally, they introduced a new stablecoin, RLUSD.
MiyukiKMT legislator Wang Hongwei raised concerns during a Legislative Yuan session about the Ministry of Justice's cooperation with Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. She accused Binance of being notorious for money laundering and international crime, calling for an end to the partnership. In response, Binance emphasized that it has never been penalized for fraud and actively collaborates with global law enforcement agencies.
WeiliangTerraform Labs has agreed to a $4.47 billion settlement with the SEC. However, the funds will go to the SEC, not the affected individuals, sparking public outcry from the crypto community and industry leaders.
KikyoTapSwap, a popular crypto mining game on Telegram, faces credibility concerns due to abrupt changes like removing Solana branding and introducing questionable tasks redirecting to unrelated Telegram channels. These issues, combined with technical glitches and unclear blockchain plans, have sparked skepticism about TapSwap's legitimacy among users and analysts alike.
Anais