Original title: The DeFi Degens Playbook to the Bull Market: Part I
Original author: Ignas
Original compilation: Luccy, BlockBeats
Editors note: DeFi researcher Ignas believes that L1 ecosystem tokens provide more opportunities in terms of native token staking, airdrops and unique NFTs. He also shared his observations and views on different ecosystems in the article, introducing some of the booming Development and upcoming ecosystems, leading protocols, tokens and NFTs, as well as his airdrop strategy.
Ignas paid special attention to ecosystems such as Starknet, Solana, Injective, Stacks, Celestia, Ethereum L2, etc., and explained in detail how to participate in the opportunities of each ecosystem, including staking, trading, lending, NFT, etc. BlockBeats compiles the original text as follows:
The first phase of a bull market is easier to predict than I thought.
From a macro perspective, we can see the Fed pivot, liquidity support from China, the launch of spot ETFs, and the Bitcoin halving.
But in the cryptocurrency space, its good old L1 rotation, just like the 2020 to 2022 bull market. This is not surprising as the true zero-to-one innovations (DeFi and NFTs) that started the last bull market are yet to come, but they are coming. In the meantime, well have fun (re)building the L1 ecosystem.
Please follow Bold Leonidas to feel the cryptocurrency atmosphere
I will cover:
· Current booming and upcoming ecosystems
· Leading protocols, tokens and NFTs in these ecosystems
· Airdrop strategy
· Bullish on ETH
I share my recommendations for certain protocols because they give you and me extra points. It’s a win-win situation, 1+ 1 = 3 – rare indeed, let’s get started.
Script by Degen
I focus on thriving ecosystems that offer 1) technological innovation, 2) currency token printing opportunities, and 3) compelling stories.
Solana is a perfect example of continuous delivery, but there are many more ecosystems.
The script is very simple:
· Utilize multiple bridges to connect ecosystems.
· Swap on top decentralized exchanges (DEX) and provide liquidity without involving tokens.
· Borrow or lend certain tokens as needed.
· Purchase PFP NFTs that are already popular, especially those favored by the community due to their Twitter profile pictures in the ecosystem. Using the NFT market will also result in airdrops.
· Find specific dApps that only target that ecosystem (not forks).
Because most protocols offer points, its easier now than in the past to know which protocol has rewards. The important thing is to assess the size of your risk exposure and get involved early.
After receiving the airdrop, I usually sell some of the tokens that will be rotated into the main ecosystem. The rest I use to provide liquidity, staking, and farming to maximize points to get more airdrops.
The hard part is choosing ecosystems wisely and not diluting your 1) money and 2) attention.
While some ecosystems are already thriving, theres still time for you to join. Additionally, there are other ecosystems that have yet to explode, giving you time to prepare. The first ecosystem on my list is not yet thriving.
Starknet
Starknet is about to issue tokens through token airdrops and token injections into an ecosystem that currently lacks liquidity.
This is a huge opportunity coming up for us to play the Solana playbook again.
Why Starknet?
Several reasons why I am bullish on Starknet:
Technological innovation: Starknet is a ZK-Rollup that uses STARK to verify transactions on Ethereum. SNARK (used by zkSync and Polygon zkEVM) requires a one-time trusted setup, potentially compromising decentralization, while ZK-STARK uses public randomness, eliminating this need and providing quantum resilience. STARK is more scalable in speed and scale than SNARK, potentially 10 times faster. Starknet uses the Cairo development language (to prevent lazy copy-paste branches from being deployed).
Token issuance opportunity: STRK airdrop will create a wealth effect and funds will flow into the ecosystem. Starknet will channel 50 million STRK to incentivize DeFi protocols, and the TVL of these protocols will grow. The protocol will airdrop new tokens to users.
Fascinating stories: “Quantum Elasticity”, “SNARK vs. STARK”, “STRK as a Gas Token” and others will emerge. However, Im not sure how the story will unfold. But the narrative is just a whitewash to rationalize issuing tokens and boosting valuations.
Since 1) user attention is focused on a small number of protocols and 2) funds flow into the ecosystem, it is easier to pick winners early.
When does it begin?
Now. The airdrop snapshot may be complete, but don’t miss the Starknet dApp token airdrop, which is in an earlier stage than the Solana ecosystem.
How to get started
Get the ArgentX wallet.
Bridge some ETH using the official StarkGate bridge. Or use Orbiter Finance, Layerswap, or other tools from the official Starknet ecosystem page for a bridge protocol airdrop. Or, try the Flexing Marketplace.
Pay attention to the user growth statistics on Starknet dApp TVL and DefiLlama.
Check out more dApps on the official Starknet ecosystem page.
How to do it
I dont want to spread my ETH too thin, so focus on the early market leaders.
Obtain NFT: I used the element market. I chose the top PFP NFTs because they perform well when new money enters the ecosystem and has nowhere to go. In Starknet, it appears to be the Starkpunks.
Trading and providing liquidity on DEX: My choices are Ekubo, JediSwap, mySwap and SithSwap. Ekubo has launched points so feel free to use my referral link.
Use Avnu DEX aggregator: Jupiter, or 1inch of Starknet.
Lending: zkLend and Nostra are my current top choices. Nostra has a referral program, so use my link to get an extra 5% lifetime bonus.
Request a Starknet ID: This is Starknets ENS.
Try a decentralized email service: DMAIL (maybe no airdrop, but cool).
Protocols to be followed: ZKX full-chain Perp DEX, Satoru (GMX v2 on Starknet), and others in the banner below.
Nomis: Mint Onchain reputation score that can be used for airdrop evaluation.
Many Degens lend and deposit money through multiple protocols, but if one of the protocols is hacked, there is a risk that the loan will not be repaid.
Consider exchanging ETH on Ekubo for wBTC, lending wBTC, borrowing ETH or stablecoins. Re-lend these assets and borrow more stablecoins on zkLend. If you dont want to get into trouble, dont go too crazy.
Solana
The ecosystem is already thriving, but it’s not too late to farm some airdrops, especially if you already own SOL.
How to do it
Most of the following protocols have been mentioned on X, but heres my list:
Wormhole (Portal): Go in and out of the bridge to get airdrops. With so much money raised, the airdrop must come.
Marginfi: You can earn points by borrowing, but borrowing allows you to earn more points with the same capital.
Kamino: Perhaps Kamino has more potential than Marginfi because it offers multiple asset management strategies in addition to lending. Points are coming soon, but you can already participate and receive retroactive point distribution.
Jupiter: The first snapshot has been completed, but the team hinted that there will be multiple airdrops. Use DCA, limit orders and perps (if you know what you are doing).
Tensor: I recommend buying and staking Tensorian NFTs, but the price has increased a lot. Earn points by trading at least some NFTs.
Grass: Grass lets you sell unused internet bandwidth to companies that train artificial intelligence. A narrative that fits Solana x AI. You need to install the Google extension to farm points. Just raised $3.5 million from Polychain Capital, Bitscale and others. An invitation is required to join.
Parcl: Long/Short Real Estate Market. It is unique and I mainly use it by depositing USDC liquidity into farm points.
Flash.trade: Perps on Solana. Their NFTs will change based on your trading history and will give you airdrops. But the price increased from 3 SOL (sales price) to 10 SOL. Try Devnet for free and maybe some airdrops will come.
And don’t forget to use the Phantom Swap feature to get possible tokens!
Injective
This year, Injective $INJ price has increased by 2880%. This is crazy because TVL is only $17 million and the ecosystem is small. This is where the opportunity lies.
The protocol will airdrop tokens to 1) INJ stakers and 2) testnet users, so there is still time to receive airdrops.
How to do it
Staking INJ with Talis Protocol and Black Panther validators. They will airdrop tokens to stakers. Stake it to the official center using Keplr or Metamask wallets (I had problems with Rabby and Ledger on Injective).
Talis: The main NFT The Ninjas sells for $1,500. If it’s too expensive, you can trade other NFTs to get TALIS airdrops
Helix: If you only use one dApp on Injective, it has to be Helix. Injective’s trading and liquidity center.
Hydro: LST stands for INJ. This is the second best opportunity on INJ after Helix. Not live yet, but the token is coming soon.
Black Panther: Deposit some dollars in any vault.
Mito: Vault Strategy and Launchpad. Trying out the testnet might get an airdrop. The first Launchpad protocol will be released next week (probably HYDRO).
DojoSwap: New Uniswap v2 style AMM where you can farm POINTS to earn DOJO tokens in the future.
Stacks
One of my favorites is the upcoming Nakamoto upgrade, which will bring 5-second transactions and trust-minimized sBTC to Stacks. The ecosystem is very small, so its easy to position yourself early.
Get the Stacks wallet, I like Xverse. Obtain STX from CEX and Binance continues to lock withdrawals.
what to do
Alex Lab: Bridge, farm, trade and stake ALEX with liquid ALEX (atALEX v2) here.
Stacking DAO: stSTX liquid staking for STX.
Bitlow: DEX on the stack. Sign up for the waitlist and try the beta.
Arkadiko: Mortgage STX to mint USDA stablecoin. Bitcoin native loans will be launched. Exchange and hold some USDA.
Hermetica: A vault for earning BTC using derivatives strategies. Use stack sBTC. Currently on testnet, but I will wait for mainnet to try it out.
Zest: Bitcoin lending. Its currently in private beta, but access can be requested here.
Celestia
Simple low IQ game. I use TIA to do two things.
Stake TIA to receive airdrops. The Dimension Airdrop snapshot may have been taken, but there are more to come.
MilkyWay: TIA’s liquid staking. In addition, Osmosis liquidity can also be provided to the milkTIA/TIA pool.
SEI
A few reasons why I’m betting on SEI prosperity:
Technology Innovation: In the modular vs. monolithic blockchain space, Solana leads the monolithic game, but SEI (and Fantom) are my two alternative bets. SEI will launch v2 with optimistic parallelization, SeiDB (storage optimization) and EVM support.
Token issuance opportunities: The ecosystem does not exist, but dApps are being built. If SEI prices continue to rise, dApp token airdrops will become even more lucrative.
How to do
Stake some SEI in a local hub.
Get NFTs on Pallet Exchange. I would choose The Colony NFT since most of the SEI community uses them as PFP.
Kryptonite: Stake SEI within 7 days for liquid staking.
Trading on Levana: LVN Token Has Exited, First Snapshot Is Token But You Never Know.
Astroport. Disclaimer: Most of the tokens on SEI on Astroport are meme coins, but you can try them at your own risk.
Yaka Finance: In a few weeks, a new native DEX will be launched on the SEI. Follow them for updates. Currently on testnet.
Fantom is also on my list, but I would like to see SEIs new LST and new dApps deployed on it. The fun begins when the Fantom 2.0 Sonic upgrade launches early next year.
Ethereum L2
Celestia, the first Ethereum L2, raised $60 million in funding. Airdrop 5% of the token supply. Provides native yields for ETH and stables. To conduct a Manta airdrop, bridge ETH or USDC to Manta Pacific. You will receive box fragments containing future Manta rewards. Recommendation is required to join.
Blast: Totally dislike their execution. But deposited some ETH just in case. Recommendation is required to join.
Ethereum: Heavy Staking + LRT
My absolute favorite narrative. Fortunately, Eigenlayer is still in its Phase 2 testnet and the real fun will begin when multiple Active Validation Services (AVS) are launched. So we have time to prepare LRT tokens and Eigenlayer points.
In fact, I plan to rotate most of my alt-L1 gains back to Ethereum before re-staking on mainnet if two conditions are met:
· ETH continues to underperform
· Most of the protocols mentioned in this article airdrop tokens, which means there will be fewer opportunities available
I believe Ethereum will catch up to the market if:
· Spot BTC is active, and ETH ETF speculation is heating up;
· Grayscale ETH discount narrows to single digits. You can pay attention to the discounts here
· Eignelayer launches re-staking
· Cancun upgrades are coming or are in progress. It will enable original danks sharding, lower transaction costs, better scalability and higher security.
Just like in past bull markets, ETH is currently lagging behind. I hope my intuition is correct and when the major dapps of the Alt-L1 ecosystem launch their tokens, ETH will catch up. By then, I think degens will return to ETH.
How to do
Kelp DAO: Re-stake stETH and . or ETHx to earn Eigenlayer Points and KelpDAO Miles.
Swell: Re-stake swETH through the Swell app and receive a 30 Pearl minting bonus and a 30 Pearl re-staking bonus for every 1 swETH deposited on EigenLayer. Pearl Future will bring you SWELL airdrops.
In addition, you can get 10 pearls for every swETH through my recommendation.
Ethernet. Stake native ETH and get eETH LRT to get EtherFi + Eigenlayer points. There is no Eigenlayer deposit limit for eETH because the ETH itself will be re-deposited into EigenPods, thus reducing your risk to LST.
Bonus tip: Wrap eETH as weETH and use it to mint the Gravita Protocol stablecoin $GRAI to earn 2 x EtherFi points and mint Gravita tokens for the upcoming Gravita airdrop.
In addition, through my recommendation, you can get 1k more EtherFi points for every ETH.
New kid in town. Renzo offers native remortgage, which means there are no deposit limits. Points are coming.
Im betting on all of these deals because Im not sure which one will become the dominant light rail.
at last
Bitcoin Inscription is the 10th ecosystem Im paying attention to, but my focus on all 10 ecosystems has reached its limit. As a result, I missed out on many great opportunities within BTCFi.
Ive bet on ORDI, MUBI, Bitmaps, and some BRC 20, but I still feel like Im lacking an edge in the rapidly growing BRC 20 market, which is dominated by Chinese and Asian players and a handful of insiders.
Overall, Im currently L1 maxi because L1 ecosystem tokens offer more opportunities in terms of native token staking, airdrops, and unique NFTs.
When these ecosystems catch up to Ethereum DeFi/NFT, I will re-evaluate which ones are still worthy of attention. They need to showcase a unique collection of dApps that are not available on Ethereum. Solana seems to be well on its way in this diversification direction.
Kujira is an example of an ecosystem that has been rebuilt, but now it needs to provide additional value to attract more users.
In my ideal scenario, alt-L1s would rebuild and launch most of the above coins, and I would be able to rotate back to ETH before the Eigenlayer reacquisition fun begins.
Disclaimer: I would like to clarify that I hold most of the tokens primarily for degen purposes related to airdrops and speculative strategies. Please note that this is not financial advice. It is important to understand that several of the protocols mentioned here may be vulnerable to hacker attacks, which could result in potential financial losses.
