As prices rise, DeFi farmers brag about the gaming dYdX airdrop

• Clever DeFi farmers are claiming to be sitting on six-figure stashes after gaming the protocol’s last airdrop, as dYdX’s governance token rises on rumors that Chinese traders may be flocking to the derivatives DEX
• Many airdrop recipients have earned large gains, with DYDX tokens presently selling at $21 and a market value of over $1 billion
• Others were not so fortunate, with several users alleging that the US Securities and Exchange Commission had protected them from the airdrop

Clever DeFi farmers are claiming to be sitting on six-figure stashes after gaming the protocol’s last airdrop, as dYdX’s governance token rises on rumors that Chinese traders may be flocking to the derivatives DEX. According to sources, China’s crypto traders are flocking on the decentralized margin trading protocol as Beijing tries to further crackdown on digital assets, DYDX has risen 85 percent in two days. On September 8, users received an airdrop of the exchange’s governance token. Because the quantity of tokens individuals got was based on previous trading activity on the exchange, word of the airdrop sparked a frenzy of activity as farmers raced to the platform to take advantage of the free tokens.

Many airdrop recipients have earned large gains, with DYDX tokens presently selling at $21 and a market value of over $1 billion. Some users took to Twitter to brag about their airdrop profits, detailing how they tried to trick the system by moving the same assets on the network between various wallets under their control in order to qualify for hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes. Daniel Que, a Twitter user, stated that their airdrop is now worth $420K, stressing that he would have been unable to participate if he was still resident in the United States. Moving to Taiwan (without obtaining a Green Card) was a wise decision, he added. 

Others were not so fortunate, with several users alleging that the US Securities and Exchange Commission had protected them from the airdrop. This year, DYdX has experienced tremendous fundamental growth, with derivatives volume increasing 2,583 percent in the three months since June 30. For the first time on Sept. 27, the margin trading DEX’s daily volume surpassed that of the top US spot exchange Coinbase. According to L2beat, the platform’s total value locked (TVL) has recently reached an all-time high of $503 million, making it the second-largest layer-two network behind Arbitrum. Currently, the exchange accounts for 20% of all second-layer TVL.

Ritika Sharma

With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.