Solana: these airdrops could be coming soon

After the token's recent rise in value, Solana seems to be a veritable gold mine of possibilities. One of these are airdrops.

Money makes money - we all know that. However, different rules often apply in the crypto sector. Small investors and followers of this sector can build a small fortune with little to no financial investment. For example, through airdrops. In the past, those who qualified for token giveaways from Uniswap, dYdX or Arbitrum sometimes received between $1,000 and $50,000 per airdrop.

To date, however, these events have mainly taken place in the dominant Ethereum ecosystem. Speculation about airdrops has increased accordingly. Meanwhile, the willingness of protocols to donate is declining. So opportunities are now arising elsewhere. For example, on the competing layer 1 blockchain Solana.

Airdrop season on Solana?

But why Solana in particular? Blockchain has been on the rise in recent weeks due to a strong price growth. In addition, developers and stakeholders presented new dApps and innovations at the annual Solana breakpoint conference. So on the surface, things seem to be going well for the "fastest blockchain in the world."

Under the hood, however, things look different. The ecosystem resembled a desert all last year. Triggered by the FTX disaster, the total value locked (TVL), that is, the capital tied up in the ecosystem, collapsed. The recent recovery there is also more illusion than reality. Measured in dollars, Solana's TVL has risen. However, this is only due to the increase in the value of the token.

Source: defillama.com

However, Breakpoint has shown that many protocols and teams are ready for a comeback. They now need to attract users and attract attention. The proven marketing method in this regard is airdrops.

Are these the next airdrop candidates?

Solana applications such as the Jupiter Exchange (JUP) have demonstrated how valuable these campaigns can be for both users and protocols. Since the JUP airdrop, DEX has penetrated the top 10 decentralized exchanges based on daily trading volume. A development that has probably not escaped the attention of other competitors. Many crypto enthusiasts are therefore focusing on similarly popular Solana dApps that do not yet have their own token. These are the most popular candidates:

1. Marginfi

Marginfi is a decentralized marketplace for loans, similar to Aave or Compound on Ethereum. Currently, users on the platform earn points for their activities, including borrowing, lending and referrals. Such a points system allows the application to measure user behavior and has already foreshadowed several airdrops in the past. Users receive one point per US dollar lent. Four points are awarded for borrowing crypto. Further details are here find.

2. Jito

The strike provider Jito is enjoying increasing popularity and is now Solana's third largest dApp. Users can staker Solana on Jito and get JitoSOL in return, which can be used again in the DeFi. There is also a points program in this dApp, which can decide on a later airdrop allocation. Those who switch from direct strike to liquid strike even receive a triple points boost. You can also kill two birds with one stone by lending JitoSOL to Marginfi, for example.

3. Drift Protocol

Decentralized exchanges, or DEX for short, have been good candidates for a token airdrop in the past. Drift Protocol, Solana's most popular derivatives exchange, is no different. Drift does not have a token system. However, it can be compared to dYdX, the derivatives exchange for Ethereum that launched a multi-million dollar airdrop for users in 2021. So if you like to trade a lot with different tokens anyway, you can qualify for a likely airdrop here.

Source: defillama.com

4. Tensor

Finally a platform for NFT enthusiasts. Tensor is small compared to Ethereum's large NFT marketplaces, but is well established in the Solana sector. Like Blur, the platform could launch a token in the coming months to reward early users for participating in its growth. A points program. By trading, bartering or staking NFTs, users can collect rewards and potentially collect an airdrop later.

Solana grows

These are just some of the many Solana dApps that will most likely launch a token. So the ecosystem should continue to grow in the coming months, so it is generally worth thinking outside the box and trying out the platforms. In many cases, they reward their users afterwards with no indication of airdrop via a points system. An overview of Solana's most popular applications and sectors can be found in the following overview from analytics platform Messari.

Source: messari.io