The Next Wave of Aptos Airdrops 🪂 - Tutorial How to Position Yourself
Hey frens!
Recently we covered the Aptos blockchain on BENNY KONG:
First in September 2022 how you can position yourself to be eligible for a potential airdrop. And then in October 2022 how to actually claim your airdrop. I truly hope many of you could claim their 150 APT airdrop - which was worth over $1200 when hitting Aptos testnet participants’ wallets!
Free money for some clicks some weeks ago! Risk free, as no initial investment was needed.
What’s New Today in Aptos?
Today I want to lay out my strategy on how I positioned myself for multiple potential airdrops in the Aptos ecosystem. I’ll walk you through the usage of 7 simple Aptos protocols - so when we are lucky, we might be eligible for 7 airdrops. 🍀
Considering that the Aptos blockchain received a sum of $350 Million in total from VCs and is listed on major exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance or Kraken within days of the launch of the mainnet on October 17, 2022, my hypothesis is that there will be some further big airdrops in the Aptos ecosystem. So basically:
My assumption is that VC money will make sure to further push the Aptos blockchain and community engagement and activation will be key here. Hence: Airdrops might be highly likely.
But please note that all of these are just assumptions and should not be taken as financial advice. The tricky thing with airdrops is usually that no one (but the protocols!) know exactly which projects will do airdrops, what the conditions for an airdrop are and when the snapshot it’s being taken.
Considering that Aptos was launched at the time of writing less than one month ago, chances are high that there weren’t any snapshots taken.
What I like a lot about Aptos is that there are already a lot of fully functioning wallets and dApps and the ecosystem is constantly growing. So may it be swapping platforms, liquid staking providers or NFT marketplaces - there is a lot of choice which protocols you can interact with.
According to a current ecosystem overview (November 4, 2022) by Aptos Analytics, there are about 500 projects that are built on Aptos right now:
Aptos Ecosystem Overview, November 4, 2022
Strategic Positioning for Multiple Aptos Airdrops
So first things first: All these following airdrop possibilities require a tiny amount of Aptos! Not much, but a bit.
$10-25 might be sufficient but this depends highly on how many protocols you want to hit and what you want to do: Swapping, staking, flipping NFTs - but let’s get to this step by step.
Good thing is that you can buy Aptos tokens on all major exchanges, but it’s not possible to interact with these protocols for free. So please keep this in mind: You have to invest into the Aptos ecosystem in order to interact with it.
And please allow me to reiterate this once again:
In general, airdrops and eligibility rules are not announced until after the cutoff date for eligibility. Everything we are doing here is a best guess approach - based on previous airdrops in other ecosystems, such as Ethereum, Avalanche or lately the first Aptos airdrop. Usually airdrops will not be announced ahead - they just happen.
My strategy is to interact with as many protocols as possible. That’s why I decided to start my “airdrop journey” by actually transferring some assets from the Ethereum ecosystem into the Aptos ecosystem directly, and then swap some assets into the Aptos tokens. This sounds a bit complicated, but I’m simplifying the steps for you with this letter.
Furthermore, I recommend to try this as well as it gives you a great perspective on DeFi. Since swapping crypto assets into other assets always costs a bit of fees, you also need a bit of ETH for gas fees, a stablecoin (eg USDC, USDT) as well as APT to get going - but I’ll walk you through these steps.
In case this sounds too much work: Alternatively you can jump over the next protocols 1-3 and start your journey using the 4th protocol.
1 - Pontem Network
Pontem Network is building a Liquidswap, the first AMM on Aptos. The project offers a Aptos Product Suite that includes Wallet, a Swapping as well as Liquidity product and more - and looks like one of the robust projects in the ecosystem.
Pontem Network partnered with LayerZero, the premier provider of omnichain solutions. LayerZero provides Pontem Network with the bridging technology for transferring ETH, WETH, USDC, and USDT between Aptos and 6 EVM chains: Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon.
I used Pontem Network to bridge my USDC funds (Ethereum ecosystem) to zUSDC (Aptos), in order to interact further with this zUSDC in the Aptos ecosystem. And all of this thanks to LayerZero!
Pontem Network already a lot of EVM and Aptos compatible wallets integrated.
What needs to be done:
Have some ETH (eg ETH worth of 10$ (for Gas fees) and USDC (the amount of $ you want to bridge into the Aptos Ecosystem) in your MetaMask Wallet
Have some APT (eg 1 APT) in a Aptos Wallet, such as Martian Wallet
Visit Pontem Network’s bridge: https://bridge.liquidswap.com
Connect your MetaMask Wallet and select the USDC amount you want to transfer - that is your source
Connect your Martian Wallet and select zUSDC as the token you want to transfer assets from LayerZero to Aptos - this is your destination
Done - congratulations!
Transfer assets from the Ethereum Ecosystem to Apos via Pontem Network.
Note: As this might be your first time bridging an unregistered token to Aptos, you will need to claim it through the bridge widget. The claiming transaction replaces the usual token registration, and LayerZero covers the Aptos gas fee needed for this.
Just follow the prompts and signing processes, and in case you are uncertain, cancel the process and start for instance with a low bridging volume (eg 10 USDC instead of a higher volume) to register your token first.
And as you here and you have some zUSDC in your wallet: Pontem Network provides you also with other products that you could try out - and could be potential requirements for an airdrop:
Swap assets on their DEX, eg zUSDC into APT: https://liquidswap.com/#/
Provide liquidity using Pontem Network’s pools, eg zUSDC into APT: https://liquidswap.com/#/add-liquidity
After providing liquidity you get a LP Token Pair eg Liquid LP USDC-APT, what you simply redeem using their Redeem LP feature: https://liquidswap.com/#/burn-liquidity
Swap assets on Pontem Network easily.
Great stuff! In case Pontem Network will decide to ever do an airdrop, you have used the entire product suite! And in case LayerZero considers having a token at some point and doing an airdrop, you have used their protocol as well and might be eligible.
2 - Hippo Labs
Hippo Labs is an aggregation layer of Aptos that allows you to swap tokens with the best rates. I like the clean and simple UI (and the good rates). Hippo Labs is one of my favourite dApps on Aptos so far!
So in case Hippo Labs decide at one point that they need a token (that is needed to pay for fees), an airdrop might be possible - and you already interacted with the protocol. This one is super straight forward, so let’s look into what you have to do:
What needs to be done:
Visit https://hippo.space/
Connect your Aptos Wallet
Swap zUSDC into APT
Congrats - done!
Usually the best rates are already pre-selected for you, but in case you prefer some dedicated swapping routes (eg via Aptoswap), you are free to select your routes. Furthermore you also have the freedom to tweak the slippage tolerance and other attributes in the transactions setting, but the default settings are usually fine.
Hippo Labs let you swap tokens easily - and with the best rates.
3 - Aux Exchange
Aux Exchange is an universal DeFi exchange on Aptos, that provides you with swapping, trading and liquidity features. Yield farming is coming soon. And also here:
In case Aux Exchange decides at one point that they need a token (that is needed to pay for fees), an airdrop might be possible - and you already interacted with the protocol.
What needs to be done:
Head over to https://mainnet.aux.exchange/
Connect your Aptos Wallet
Swap zUSDC into APT
Congrats - done!
Swapping feature on Aux Exchange.
In my experience Aux Exchange is a tiny bit more expensive to use than Hippo Labs or to put it differently: The selected swapping routes from Hippo Labs are usually a bit on the cheaper side, but on the other hand Aux Exchange offers more features - and the clear DeFi market leader in the Aptos ecosystem:
Total Value Locked on Aptos - dominated by Aux Exchange (Nov 5, 2022)
Considering the Total Value Locked (TVL) on Aptos, Aux Exchange’s market dominance is a whopping 44% - so I think it’s a good idea to interact with the protocol.
4 - Aptos Names
Congrats that you made it so far! You interact successfully with three important DeFi protocols in the Aptos ecosystem so far and might be eligible for 3 potential airdrops - just by swapping some crypto assets within a few clicks! Okay, the bridging part was a bit exciting for anybody that hasn’t done such things before, but now you know! And that’s super valuable: You learnt something!
And even when there is no Pontom Network airdrop (what no one knows anyways - at the time of writing), you are smarter than before, and that’s what all of this should be about!
For anybody that skipped the first 3 protocols and decided to load some Aptos in their wallet to interact now with the ecosystem - welcome back! Good to have you with us. Let’s go and learn how to hit 4 further protocols!
Aptos Names is the top naming service on Aptos - and due to the nature of the product (domain names), many consider an airdrop likely, as on Ethereum there was the big ENS airdrop back in November 2021. So picking up an Aptos domain might be a good idea - and maybe you can even manage to secure a good address that can be flipped later on.
But keep in mind that domains do need to be renewed on an annual basis, which might make the flipping approach a bit more expansive, when compared to Unstoppable Domains, where you buy once and you are good for life.
Currently Aptos domains cost between 5-80 $APT (depending on letter count)
What needs to be done:
Head over to Aptos Names: https://www.aptosnames.com/
Search for your required Aptos name
Connect your Martian Wallet
Buy!
Done - congratulations!
Search for Aptos names
5 - Tortuga Finance
Tortuga Finance is a liquid staking provider and one of the only places you can delegate APT to validators. Stake APT and receive tAPT to use all across the Aptos ecosystem. So you stay liquid, while staying staked. Meaning:
Although you stake your APT for a juicy 7% APY, you get tAPT in return, and use these tAPT for swap into our assets, such as other tokens or NFTs.
Get 7% APY on your APT!
There might be a governance token for Tortuga in the future - so I recommend interacting with the protocol to position yourself for a possible airdrop.
What needs to be done:
Head over to Aptos Names: https://app.tortuga.finance/
Connect your wallet
Decided how much APT you want to stake
Stake!
Done - congratulations!
Tortuga Finance lets you easily stake and unstake your tokens:
Stake APT with Tortuga …
… and unstake your tAPT easily with Tortuga. Or you hit dApps such as Hippo Labs to swap your tokens.
For the time being, I’m staying staked to get 7% on my APT. However, I actually used some tAPT to buy some Aptos NFTs, what will be the next protocols I’m introducing you to.
6 - Topaz
Topaz is a NFT marketplace built on Aptos and considers itself the premiere on Aptos. Also here, no airdrops have been announced, but you never know. So if you are into NFT, just buy some random (cheap) NFTs and list them immediately. Or maybe you find something that you like and you want to speculate on for a future price appreciation. Or you just just want to hold on to it.
The Aptos ecosystem is very new and who knows, maybe the protocol will be as popular as Cardona, Solana or Avalanche someday. Then some of the first NFT collections might have seen a spike in popularity as well. Might.
Airdrops for NFT Marketplaces are usually based on volume:
The more volume traded, the bigger the airdrop. Often even new marketplaces were rewarding users for their interaction on competing platforms, as we for instance saw with the Looksrare or Blur airdrop, that was based on the interaction of users with OpenSea. Meaning: Even if Topaz will not have an airdrop, maybe in the future a Topaz competitor will reward you with their token for their new platform based on your NFT business on Topaz.
Please keep in mind that I’m not saying aping into Aptos NFTs, I’m just saying have a look - and maybe buy/hold/flip something.
What needs to be done:
Visit the Topaz Marketplace: https://www.topaz.so/
Connect your wallet
Maybe update your profile
Buy, sell, hold NFTs
Done - congratulations!
7 - BlueMove
BlueMove is another NFT marketplace on Aptos - and according to the project the leading NFT marketplace on Aptos. What stands out to me is that BlueMove supports Sui NFTs. So when the Sui blockchain is on mainnet, you can find both Aptos and Sui NFTs.
With more users entering the Aptos ecosystem, NFTs could benefit from this big time. Same remarks as for Topaz:
I’m not saying aping into Aptos NFTs, I’m just saying have a look - and maybe buy/hold/flip some NFTs.
What needs to be done:
Visit the Topaz Marketplace: https://bluemove.net/
Connect your wallet
Maybe update your profile
Buy, sell, hold NFTs
Done - congratulations!
And there you have it! The original APT airdrop was just a drip in the ocean compared to the wave of projects that are about to launch. I hope you liked this little write up on the 7 different possibilities to position yourself for further Aptos airdrops! 🚀
Now fingers crossed and good luck to us that we will hit 1 or 2 airdrops, cash out some great rewards - or just humbly pull out our little investment into the Aptos ecosystem. So getting our money back, plus a lot more when we are lucky. But as also mentioned earlier: There are no guarantees that even one of these airdrops will even happen. That’s why:
It’s a good thing to learn something from this exercise and I truly hope most of you are here for this as well. Of course, a little compensation for time spent is great - and that’s why I’m putting this blog posts together: That you can learn, but also earn :)
I’d appreciate it if you can consider subscribing to my web3 newsletter to not miss great opportunities such as this one in the future - that’s your way of leaving me a little tip for my work. And when you would share this post with family or friends that might find that content helpful - we are best friends! <3
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