The New Strategy: HIP-3 and Engagement
While the first airdrop largely rewarded raw trading volume on Hyperliquid native perpetuals exchange, the consensus for “Season 2” points toward a different set of criteria. The focus has shifted toward meaningful interaction with the platform’s core infrastructure and its expanding ecosystem.
First and foremost, the highly anticipated airdrop is not yet confirmed. Polymarket places the chances at 24% of seeing a HYPE token airdrop in 2025.
At the heart of this potential evolution lies HIP-3 (Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 3), an upgrade that allows anyone to create and deploy their own perpetual futures markets in a permissionless manner.
This represents a major shift, aiming to transform Hyperliquid into a “universal exchange” for assets beyond crypto. Interacting with projects building on or integrating with HIP-3 is now considered the most decisive factor for airdrop eligibility.
How to Position Yourself for the Airdrop
The path to a potential HYPE allocation now involves a multi-faceted strategy focused on deep ecosystem participation:
- Explore the ecosystem: A rich landscape of more than 29 projects is building on Hyperliquid. Airdrop hunters are using community ranking lists to identify the most promising protocols. “S-Tier” projects such as Kinetiq (a vault protocol that lowers the barrier to HIP-3 staking) and Unit are receiving particular attention.
- Embrace “double farming”: Many of these ecosystem projects have introduced their own point systems. By using these platforms, you’re positioning yourself not only for the HYPE airdrop but also for the native tokens of these individual projects, a strategy known as “double farming.”
- Focus on HyperCore: Although Hyperliquid has different layers, activity on HyperCore—the custom engine for on-chain order books—is considered the most valued. This means prioritizing trading on perpetual and spot markets rather than other DeFi applications on the network.
Hyperliquid Needs to Relaunch: An Airdrop in 2025 or 2026?
The opportunity is not without challenges. Hyperliquid faces intense competition from rivals like Aster, which has recently eroded its market share in the perpetual DEX space. Additionally, a significant token unlock for core contributors is scheduled for November 29, 2025, which could introduce selling pressure on the HYPE token.
But for now, Hyperliquid remains the best airdrop of 2024. Can they repeat and deliver the best airdrop in 2025? The answer will come in the coming months. According to Alex_hunter’s research, the airdrop might be planned for January 1, 2026.
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