How is the market treating you with airdrops?
It’s been great for me so far. The top three airdrops so far: JITO, STRK, and ETHFI. Luckily, the fun is not over.
In this blog post I’ll cover where we are now and revisit my Degen’s playbook to the bull market with new and previously shared airdrop protocols still worth farming.
I believe the Phase 2 of the bull run has started:
In Phase 1 we:
Cleaned up the mess from the last bull run (won multiple lawsuits & wiped out leverage).
Got BTC ETF
SOL ecosystem flourished
Got a few major airdrops.
In Phase 2 we'll see:
Further wins against regulators
Speculation on reduction of interest rates
ETH ETF speculation or approval?
Increasing positive inflows to BTC ETFs
More innovation on BTC with Runes protocol, L2s, and BTC native dApps
New type of leverage buildup with Restaking/LRTs/Ethena style protocols
Larger airdrops: Eigenlayer, LayerZero, L2 airdrops, LRT protocols etc.
I’m not the only one thinking Phase 2 is here. For Yano, Stage 2 is the understanding that we are in a bull but normie friends are still not aware of it.
“This is the calm before the storm.”
The BTC price is currently in an accumulation zone, ready to pump higher when a new catalyst emerges.
It just takes a spark – any catalyst will do – to keep the momentum going. The halving narrative might suffice. Perhaps it'll be an interest rate reduction, a prominent institutional player entering the space, or probably something unexpected.
The market WANTS to pump, and we will find reasons to continue going up.
At least, that’s what I (and most degens) are expecting.
What to Expect When You're Expecting
I recall watching a presentation discussing the potential impact of a Bitcoin ETF on crypto. Sorry but I am unable to find it now. Towards the end, there was a comparison showing Bitcoiners before and after the ETF.
The "before" image showed Bitcoiners going deep into technical aspects of Bitcoin, like Rodamor here (creator of Ordinals theory).
In contrast, the "after" picture showcased Bitcoiners retired with children.
The presenter's key argument was that Bitcoin's value would keep rising thanks to ongoing fiat inflows, leading to wealth for Bitcoin holders.
The “after” picture made me think of the “what to expect when you're expecting” movie (which I didn’t watch).
The movie's title is apt for another reason: we all expect the market to keep rising, airdrops to continue coming, and to sell at the peak in early 2025.
Right?
But the ride won’t be smooth.
The bull markets get more retarded and unpredictable than you think. Who would’ve thought that SBF was stealing users’ money to degen gamble on shitcoins?
So, we all expect the market to continue printing millionaires, and airdrops keep coming, but I am prepared to expect the unexpected.
Still, there are similar patterns that repeat every bull run.
Most importantly, every bull run we find innovative ways to print money via issuing tokens backed by sexy new hot narratives. These narratives are often made possible by fresh technical advancements in the field, such as restaking or RWA.
In bull markets opportunities are everywhere but you need to find Schelling points on where crypto mindshare is. I wrote my lesson from the past two bull runs here:
Since narratives come and go, my goal is to focus on booming ecosystems that offer 1) technical innovation, 2) money-token printing opportunities, 3) captivating stories.
I wrote in detail how to identify booming ecosystems in my previous post:
As with each passing bull market, creating tokens has become increasingly simpler.
Previously, Dogecoin required PoW hardware for token minting, but now even an uninformed influencer can make a token in just 5 minutes.
As we continue this trend, I expect we’ll reach a point where the excessive influx of tokens will surpass the available attention and monetary flow to sustain their prices. This is when the party ends.
Fortunately, the market as a whole is not here!
But there are signs of leverage risk increase in the market, such as Ethena’s sUSDe as well as LRT ETH derivative assets accepted as collateral by major DeFi protocols.
But I think the market is healthy. We can leverage up more.
I actually believe there’s a lack of new quality tokens in the market.
Few are interested in buying tokens from previous cycles. They aren’t exciting and most are overvalued. Plus, teams that succeeded in earlier cycles lack the drive to shill their tokens further. For instance, Compound's $COMP…
The team has stopped engaging on social media, and their proposed plans for a Compound chain vanished along with a deleted tweet.
So, I expect the market to continue valuing new tokens higher than previous cycle tokens.
New is better.
JITO and ETHFI FDV are higher than LIDO. Ethena’s ENA is 2.5 times more expensive than MKR.
That’s great news for airdrop farmooors: higher valuations lead to more generous airdrops.
So, having all this in mind I had shared my DeFi Degen’s Playbook to the Bull Market: Part 1 in December 2023 with 60+ protocols in 10 ecosystems.
It has been four months since the original post. I expected those 10 ecosystems to outperform the market.
Thus, it's time for an update on ecosystems/protocols that are still worth farming. Additionally, I will include new protocols that were not mentioned in my previous post.
Revisiting Degen's Playbook to the Bull Market
Note that this is not Part 2 Playbook. The market is entering Phase 2, but nothing is too much different than 4 months ago. A few things changed:
BTC rules, ETH sucks: luckily Ethereum has restaking, otherwise I would consider selling most of my ETH
The memecoin craze got weirder
Protocol teams, with their never-ending point schemes, might unintentionally prolong this bullish cycle by delaying token generation (and dumping) events
So, my degen playbook is still the same: deposit assets, click buttons, and claim airdrops.
Note: I am not into memecoin trading. I’m already up by 100x since I stopped buying crypto with fiat in 2020. Now, I am chasing a 10x and focusing on booming ecosystems with multiple airdrops is a safer way to make it. If you are looking for a 100x I shared a few strategies to increase your chances in my previous post.
First, I'll share new airdrop strategies and later I’ll review the ecosystems that are still worth focusing on (with new protocols to farm).
New Airdrop Farms
Elixir - network for orderbook liquidity raised $8M at $800M valuation from Crypto Hayes, Sui, Amber etc. Elixir allows to supply liquidity to orderbook exchanges and earn rewards, including Vertex, Bluefin and others.
Point (potion) system is live to earn Mystic Chest by depositing ETH and minting elxETH. Your ETH will be locked until mainnet launch in August.
→ Join with my invitation here.Phaver: Best front-end for Lens. With Farcaster usage & airdrops exploding, the tide is coming to Lens. Phaver is massively under-farmed. You earn Phaver points for multiple actions like posting, connecting NFTs etc. Phaver raised $7M from Polygon, Nomad Capital, etc. Check here.
Zircuit: Another L2 with all the buzzwords: “AI-enabled, modular zk rollup” and with annoying Blast style invitation-only marketing campaign. Sucks, but!..
It’s backed by Pantera & Dragonfly, and it’s integrated by major LRT protocols so you can farm LRT + Zircuit airdrop at once. Deposit your LRT ETH for 2x points. You can withdraw anytime you want.
Join here with my code: tt2e5vMode network: Another Blast/Zircuit/Manta copy L2 but it’s an Optimistic rollup. Again, I farm it because it supports EtherFi weETH and Renzo ezETH so 2x the farm.
Token is launching this month but with $175M in TVL it’s not too overfarmed. So, feel free to join with my invite code here.Ethena: No intro needed, but if you are sitting on stablecoins there’s probably no better airdrop farm to join. Get in with my referral here.
I will share new airdrop protocols, as well as previously shared airdrops from the DeFi Degen’s playbook that are still worth joining in this bullish market.
1. Eigenlayer + Liquid Restaked Tokens + Actively Validated Services
The Eigenlayer mainnet is set to launch as early as April, potentially accompanied by a token. Additionally, I expect that LRT protocols will also launch their tokens around the same time.
EigenLayer’s TVL growth is phenomenal. Since my Degen playbook in December, TVL grew from $262M to $12B - 4480%! It’s only second to Lido and overtook Aave.
Liquid restaking, with just 13 protocols accrued $8.4B, meaning that most EIGEN airdrop hunters prefer doing farming via LRT protocols.
What’s more, everyone forgets EigenLayer’s AVS airdrops to restakers. There are 14+ in the pipeline. Just this week a new AVS “Gasp” cross-chain swap announced $5M seed raise at $80M valuation. VCs funding AVSes is a great sign.
If you want to learn AVSes protocol break-down, check my previous post.
I expected the number of LRT protocols to keep growing, but there’s solidification of the market. Just 7 above $100m TVL.
So, if you sit on native ETH, LRT is the best place to be.
What to do?
EtherFi: Even after token launch ETHFI TVL increased and the Season 2 ends in June 30. Strategies to consider:
(Simple) Deposit eETH to EtherFi ‘Liquid’ strategy to get 20% APY, 2x Etherfi and 1x Eigenlayer points
(Advanced) Up to 10x leverage farm Eigen and 20x EtherFi points on Fluid.
Renzo: Fastest growing LRT with $2.3B in TVL. Binance Labs announced investment, and Thor Hartvigsen calculations point at Renzo being “the best place to park your ETH at the moment.” Token launch date not public yet.
Choose any DeFi strategy that fits you on multiple L2s and protocols here.
You get no extra points, but I would appreciate it if you used my ref link to mint ezETH.
Swell: Confirmed launching the token in mid-late April, rswETH withdrawals coming soon after, and Swell will launch their own L2 with native restaking yield. If you want a quick come-and-go, Swell might be a good bet.
Mint rswETH and get 10 more Pearls per rswETH with my referral.
Consider waiting for Swell L2 pre-deposits opening soon
Puffer: 3rd largest LRT, but its TVL is declining. This is because Puffer does not currently support native ETH restaking (unlike Renzo and EtherFi). So, new stETH depositors are unable to earn Eigen points on Puffer. Still, it’s backed by Binance Labs so some exposure is valid.
Join Crunchy Carrot Quest and get 2x points for depositing to Curve/Convex pools here.
Kelp: Did something that might’ve annoyed Eigenlayer team: launched liquid EIGEN points as KEP token. Check the KEP price here.
Kelp launched “Road to One Billion” TVL rewarding with up to 100 extra Eigen points for every ETH (~17 USD per ETH at $0.17 per KEP)
Use my referral link and we both get 10% boost in KelpDAO points.
Important bit: Eigenlayer & LRT tokens can launch soon, so to leverage your points consider Pendle YT tokens. YTs value drops to 0 at expiry, but thanks to Pendle my EtherFI airdrop was the largest ever.
You can check Pendle LRT calculations by Thor Hartvigsen here and check live calculations by Stephen | DeFi Dojo here.
2. Stacks
Still one of my favorite plays due to:
Bitcoin L2 narrative
Nakamoto upgrade will bring 5s transactions launching in April (finally trading will be fun on Stacks)
Ecosystem is STILL small with few farmers so easy to position yourself early. In USD terms TVL grew from just $35M to $176M USD in 4 months, but it’s due to STX price increase. In STX, TVL doubled.
Good. Still early.
If you are totally lazy but want exposure there are two best opportunities in Stacks:
Stacking DAO: stSTX liquid staking for STX. Points live Use my referral, if you can 🙇♂️
Bonus: Deposit stSTX/STX LP for 2x the airdrop to Bitlow: DEX on Stacks. Stacking DAO will give extra points on top of Bitlow airdrop.
Lisa: Another liquid stacking just launched. Apply for waitlist here. Stake and farm on Alex Lab soon. Bind my referral code to get 1% boost in points. Code: AX4UF
Other farms to consider:
Arkadiko: Collateralize STX to mint USDA stablecoin. Will launch Bitcoin native loans. Swap and hold some USDA.
Hermetica: Vaults to earn on BTC using derivative strategies. Uses Stacks sBTC. Currently on testnet, but I will wait for mainnet to try out.
Zest: Bitcoin lending. Currently on Private beta, but can request for access here.
Velar: AMM. Just did ICO on Gate and Bybit. Point system is live for an airdrop.
3. Starknet
I know many of you are disappointed for not getting an airdrop and left the ecosystem for good. I get it.
But I still like Starknet due to unique Cairo dev language (preventing easy forks and less protocols → easy to focus where to farm), STARK vs SNARK tech for scaling and STRK token utility for staking and gas.
Plus, a second STRK airdrop is coming and Starknet TVL ($314M) is still low compared to the FDV of STRK ($19B) so I can smell a juicer airdrop coming.
Yet, I’m disappointed by lackluster zkLend airdrop: I got just a few hundred USD for lending/borrowing 5 figures of assets. Few even know that airdrop was launched so check it here.
I hope these three protocols will be more rewarding to users:
Nostra: No 1. dApp by TVL ($200M out of total $314M in Starknet). Nostra runs a point system so use my link here to get an additional 5% lifetime bonus.
Ekubo: No 1. DEX. Besides running point system, the LP rewards are 50% for most major assets, so you get airdrop points + yield. Feel free to use my referral link to start.
Note: Ekubo LP withdrawal fees are outrageous (up to 1%) so choose wide-range for LPying assets.
Avnu: Jupiter of Starknet. To get more points I make small but frequent transactions. Star to swap with my referral here.
4. Solana
Most of Solana’s main dApps are dropping tokens (notably KMNO, PRCL, TNSR, and DRFT?) but farms are not ending. There’s a new trend to launch token and immediately Season 2 point campaigns to prevent TVL drain. And it works, because only half the tokens are airdrop in the first batch.
Here are the farms I focus right now:
Kamino: Season 1 ended and Season 2 underway. Token expected in April!
My favorite is 5x SOL multiply degen vault (yet low liquidation risk). You get 25% on SOL and 3x farm points. Start here.Sanctum: New LST, or an LST aggregator. JTO airdrop was good, and Sanctum might be better. Raised $6.1M by Dragonfly, Sequoia, Solana Labs etc. With $100M in TVL, it’s still early. I deposited into INF (basket of LSTs with 9.3% APY). Start here.
Marginfi: Teasing token launch, but I’m tired of their never-ending point campaign. Plus, they’re launching native stablecoin YBX. Honestly, Aave and Curve launched stablecoins to attract TVL but failed to gain traction so I’m not expecting much from their stablecoin either. Still, need to farm a bit. Can use my ref link to start.
Backpack: There’s an exchange and wallet. KYC for exchange is required, preventing sybilooors and potentially giving higher airdrop. Raised a $17m round led by Placeholder VC & Wormhole. Try it here.
Tensor: I still hold and stake Tensorian NFTs, but the price has dumped. Surprisingly, Solana NFT volumes are growing although MagicEden is eating into Tensor market share.
Still, Tensor team is shipping new features (Price lock) and token launch might ignite a resurgence of FOMO. Use my referral to get 5% more points.Grass: I use my old phones to passively earn points. If you have limited capital, Grass is a cost-effective farming option for you.
It fits Solana x AI narrative. And they’ll launch their own L2. You’ll need to install Google extension to farm points. Just raised $3.5M from Polychain Capital, Bitscale and others. Requires invitation to join. Use mine here.Parcl: Long/short real estate market. I just sit in USDC liquidity to farm points. Get lifetime 5% boost on points by entering my code “degenresearcher” in “referrals” section.
Flash.trade: Perps for crypto, commodities, and forex currencies. They have NFT that changes based on your trading history, you receive part of protocol fees, and they airdrop is most probably coming. Get 5% fee discount with my referral.
Drift: Margin trading, lending and borrowing. Get 5% off with my referral.
5. SUI
Why SUI?
I joined SUI late, and my position is not big. But the experience was much better than I expected. The TVL continues to grow and dwarfs SEI, INJ, or Aptos. But main dApps still don’t have tokens.
I like that it’s built with Move development language as it prevents easy copy-paste Ethereum forks.
Consider these actions on SUI
Three LSTs are available on SUI (probably the easiest play)
Stake some SUI for haSUI on Headal here.
Note: Can swap SUI to haSUI on Cetus protocol for better rate.
Stake some SUI for afSUI LST on Aftermath here.
Note: Provide afSUI liquidity in farms for up to 100% APY.
Lend haSUI or/and afSUI and borrow stablecoins or SUI on Navi protocol (has a token but APYs are up to 30%) and Scallop (Phase 2 airdrop points live)
Lend $SUIto borrow $BUCK stablecoin on Bucket - Maker of Sui.
6. Bitcoin ecosystem
Bitcoin Ordinals is the second bullish thing in crypto. Just behind restaking.
I’ve been early buying Bitcoin NFTs that not only appreciated in value but also rewarded in multiple airdrops, most notably RSIC, and Runestone. Actually, I got so many airdrops that I don’t even know what they do.
Now, the Runes protocol is launching at bitcoin halving block which will bring degen trading opportunities to Bitcoin.
There’s a growing number of protocols, so I suggest checking this thread and study before the fun starts.
Plus, a great educational thread of threads by peddy here.
If you are new to Ordinals, I have written a beginner's explanation and some protocols for you to try:
7. SEI
I exited most of SEI ecosystem. There’s a lack of growth and few dApps as of now. SEI will launch the EVM with SEI V2, but I expect it to be flooded by low effort Ethereum forks.
Still, one farm I am bullish is: Silo liquid staking for SEI. Just stake some SEI and wait for the airdrop.
Stake here on Silo.
8. Injective
I recently exited Injective ecosystem completely.
The ecosystem is saturated with low-quality dApps (even their front ends are riddled with typos), lacks a passionate community, and to make matters worse, the meager airdrops received by INJ stakers and dApp users were only worth a few hundred USD. I have been farming with nearly a six-figure dollar amount deposited for months.
There seems to be a lack of innovation within Injective. My suspicion is that after the final token unlock, investors will aim to cash out. Perhaps an exit pump is on the horizon.
Overall, my expectation for the market is: crypto goes up after accumulation is done, and airdrops keep coming.
Then something structurally different will happen to the market (it always does) and the Degen Playbook will change. So, subscribe for Part 2 when it happens.
Thanks, Ignas, very useful. Are you not farming Blast or Merlin? Or are you expecting similar results to Manta airdrop?
That's long but i am filled eith info, Thank you!