Sharp Comment: The 2026 Airdrop Project is from solid to hype

Author: Mark

Translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

I’m not an airdrop guru.

I don’t have a secret quantitative team.

I’m also not in those private Discord groups with “insider confirmation.”

But I have an advantage:

I am a top-tier “information consumer.”

I spend my life absorbing information: reading documents, watching content, understanding social norms and human psychology.

I am an ultimate application user.

In this guide, you’ll get all this information—unfiltered, unbiased, and completely free.

So instead of writing another article titled “50 Top Airdrops You Must Participate in Now,”

I’ve decided to do something more meaningful:

I’ll share the airdrops that truly matter to me:

Quality products with real user support

High-potential projects (personal opinion)

Ranked by participation difficulty and potential returns

No wasting time on those nearly impossible airdrops

No fluff, no water—this is my genuine sharing.

First, a quick background overview

This list is based on my personal comprehensive judgment:

Spending long hours on Crypto Twitter

Being online consistently

Observing market sentiment

And trusting my intuition

Some projects may fail, some may explode.

But there are no “ridiculously early” projects here.

If you’re interested, welcome to join 🤝

This list mainly covers Solana projects, some Hyperliquid projects, and a few big ones that can’t be ignored.

Tier 1 - Top Tier (S Level)

This is the only potential airdrop project in 2026 that could truly make people “financially free.”

Other projects might have opportunities, but they definitely won’t reach this level. Please proceed with caution.

The project is: Polymarket (@polymarket)

It almost meets all my standards:

Rumored to launch its own chain

Millions of users

Hot topic

Excellent product-market fit (PMF)

Confirmed airdrop (CMO has publicly stated)

This is my highest standard. Of course, obtaining this airdrop requires some effort, and if there is indeed an airdrop (which is likely), the scale could be very substantial. Even getting a small portion might be the best airdrop of the year. Refer to Arbitrum’s case—you get the idea.

Tier 2 - Obvious A-Level Projects

These are projects generally regarded highly, with quality products, a real user base, and strong growth potential.

Titan Exchange ( @titan_exchange)

Titan is everywhere in the Solana ecosystem:

Almost integrated with every platform

Collaborating with nearly all projects

Excellent product, dedicated team

I use it daily for DEX trading volume operations, and collect badges when possible because I genuinely believe these badges will be useful in the future.

Backpack ( @backpack)

Although I haven’t personally participated in this project’s airdrop, it cannot be ignored:

TGE (Token Generation Event) is coming soon, so it’s already quite late

The team has been deeply involved for years, with strong capabilities

Clearly an important player in the Solana ecosystem

The MadLads team has been working here for years; I don’t think this project will be an exception. That’s all.

Still belongs to Tier 2 - Hyperliquid Ecosystem

I deliberately group these projects together because they belong to the same category in my mind. This is the only Hyperliquid project I focus on in 2026:

Hyperunit (@unitxyz): The most likely project on Hyperliquid to conduct a large-scale airdrop.

Felix (@felixprotocol): One of the top projects by TVL (Total Value Locked). I was more optimistic about it before, but it still has high potential.

Project X (@prjx_hl): Similar to Meteora on Hyperliquid. Excellent UI design, strong team. I really like this project.

I haven’t explored much on Hyperliquid, so if I didn’t mention your favorite, don’t blame me haha. I’ve digested enough content; these are the projects I find interesting.

Tier 3 - Competitive Farms (but still worth watching)

Airdrop competition for these projects is fierce, but they still have good potential. If you’re a beginner, it’s advisable to lower expectations (unless you have sufficient funds).

Hylo ( @hylo_so): One of the most competitive projects in the Solana ecosystem right now, but that also indicates its attractiveness.

Great product, dedicated team, S1 season is ongoing.

A lot of whales are involved, so competition is intense. I personally think the top 1000 wallets are worth fighting for; beyond that, the returns may not be as significant.

My farming method usually involves LP (liquidity provision) or holding YT (Yield Tokens). My two favorite options are:

hyUSD ONE pool (on Loopscale)

YT-xSOL (on Exponent or RateX, very high points but also high risk, do your own research)

Loopscale ( @loopscale): Similar to Hylo, so a quick note:

Competition is also very fierce (over-farmed, lol).

Decent lending products, high TVL, a stable Solana farm project.

If you’re not a whale, don’t expect too much from the airdrop. But even so, there’s still potential, especially for beginners or small LPs.

OnRe Finance ( @onrefinance): This project is a bit complex.

The team has issued tokens before, but who hasn’t at this stage?

The project has potential, but currently affected by many “farmers.” Each pool fills up very quickly. If you want to rank, it’s recommended to use large funds.

OnRe is integrated into most of the Solana DeFi ecosystem. Their website also has a great tool to display all pools’ points and APYs: DeFi Opportunities | OnRe

Tier 4 - Timeless Perps (Perpetual Contracts)

Perpetual contracts are not my strong suit. I don’t indulge in them, don’t trade aggressively, and I’m not an expert in perpetuals.

But I can’t ignore them. Perpetual contracts have an incredible product-market fit (PMF), and they always seem to bring opportunities for airdrops. I expect this trend to continue into 2026, with more platforms launching related services.

Here are some projects I often see on Twitter:

Variational ( @variational_io)

Pacifica ( @pacifica_fi)

Extended ( @extendedapp)

I can’t strongly recommend these projects, so they are listed here as a separate category, just because this field is hot. If interested, do your own research (DYOR) and choose the projects you like.

Tier 5 - Projects Based on Intuition

Bulk Trade (@bulktrade)

“Solana’s perpetual contracts don’t work!”

However, that might not be the case, haha. I just said I don’t play perpetuals, but I really like Solana. This time, I have a gut feeling that this project has potential.

Crazy marketing

Still in very early stages

Testnet not even launched yet

If perpetual contracts succeed on Solana, it will definitely be this one

This is a purely intuitive bet, not “truth.” This is the project I am willing to “fight to the death” for in 2026.

My unscientific grading list:

Highest conviction:

Polymarket

Backpack

Hyperunit

Project X

Bulk Trade

Still great:

Hylo

Loopscale

Felix

Titan

Perpetuals:

Variational

Pacifica

Extended

Steady choices:

OnRe

Early/Intuitive bets:

Bulk Trade (also belongs here)

A few final thoughts: How and why I choose these airdrops (brief summary)

Airdrops are not “cold.”

The real “cold” is laziness, not learning, and blind following.

So stop being foolish and pay attention.

You are being “harvested” by KOLs (opinion leaders), and you have become their “leeks.” If you’re a beginner, I recommend selling all airdrops on the first day; holding usually only brings pain (most of the time).

So how do I choose these airdrops?

No “secret recipe.”

Ultimately, it’s about knowing what to focus on, staying long-term online, and trusting your own intuition.

I ask myself:

“Does this project really need a token?”

Most of the time, the answer is no. But if there’s even a slight possibility that it does, I dive deeper.

At the same time, I consider a few factors:

Hype: Is the project gaining attention?

Timing: Is it at a suitable stage?

Funding: Is there stable financial backing?

Usually, if a project is gaining hype, has a reliable product, and a relatively dedicated and trustworthy team, that’s the first step in deciding whether to invest effort.

My main strategy in 2026:

Find my convictions

Double down on these convictions

Trust my intuition

I’m not trying to participate in all airdrops, and I definitely won’t blindly follow every so-called “KOL.” You shouldn’t either, including the content of this article.

Make your own decisions, form your own logic, and develop your own plan.

I hope this article helps you. I’m not an “expert,” just an ordinary person who cares about the “small players.”