The HYPE airdrop made this guy A9—what is he farming right now?

Original | Odaily (@OdailyChina)

Author | Azuma (@azuma_eth)

As the overall market gradually recovers, enthusiasm for airdrop farming in the crypto community appears to be picking up again.

This is especially true after Variational announced its tokenomics and airdrop details, confirming that 32% of the total token supply will be allocated to the community (for details, see "Variational Announces Airdrop Details: How Much Are Your Points Really Worth?"). Since then, activity in the Perp DEX sector has clearly become more bustling. Beyond Variational, from Lighter Robinhood's standalone market with a clearly defined prize pool to Arcus, the new project from the dYdX team... users are actively seeking the next platform worth committing time and capital to, hoping to capture substantial returns.

For ordinary users unsure of how to make their choice, whale activity itself is worth paying attention to — they have accumulated massive positions in early protocols and have received airdrops large enough to change their wealth trajectory. Where these people are now directing their capital and trading volume may offer an interesting angle for observing the next round of Perp DEX competition.

The subject of this article, an0n2498.hl, is a particularly recognizable representative among these whales.

Who Is an0n2498.hl? A Nine-Figure Windfall from the HYPE Airdrop

an0n2498.hl is a whale who is relatively active on social media and has not gone to great lengths to hide his personal information. His X account is @punk2498_, and his primary on-chain address is 0x7bfee91193d9df2ac0bfe90191d40f23c773c060.

On November 29, 2024, Hyperliquid conducted its genesis airdrop.Thanks to his early active participation, an0n2498.hl received 474,719 HYPE in the genesis airdrop, worth as much as $37.74 million at the current price of $79.5.

More noteworthy than the one-time airdrop gains is an0n2498.hl's subsequent choices. Unlike other whales who profited handsomely, an0n2498.hl did not rush to cash out after the HYPE airdrop landed. Instead, he has long held HYPE and related ecosystem assets as his core positions and continued to participate in the Hyperliquid ecosystem through various staking and yield products.He has publicly confirmed on multiple occasions that he has barely sold any HYPE, which has allowed him to essentially capture the full extent of HYPE's massive past rally.

Debank data corroborates his account: an0n2498.hl is currently actively staking HYPE through various forms including hlHYPE, vkHYPE, kHYPE, kmHYPE, d2HYPE, liquidHYPE, and hbHYPE, with total staked value exceeding $30 million. This means an0n2498.hl still retains the vast majority of the HYPE position he obtained from the airdrop.

After HYPE, What Is the Big Guy's New Choice?

If HYPE was an0n2498.hl's most successful bet over the past two years, then Variational may be the next opportunity he is most looking forward to right now.

According to Variational's trading leaderboard, an0n2498.hl currently ranks second on the platform's all-time trading volume leaderboard, with cumulative trading volume of approximately $3.546 billion. Even more noteworthy is his user tier — an0n2498.hl has reached the highest "Infinity" tier and is the only "Infinity" tier user across the entire platform.

an0n2498.hl has also publicly expressed on X his extreme bullishness on VAR: "I won't sell a single VAR at TGE, and I'll add to my position through both spot and contracts. My bullishness on VAR is simply beyond words."

From HYPE to VAR, an0n2498.hl's approach seems unchanged — rather than quickly cashing out after an airdrop lands, he prefers to continue betting on protocols he believes have long-term value.

Another Perp DEX that an0n2498.hl has repeatedly mentioned is Entropy.In a pinned post on X, an0n2498.hl stated that the Entropy team is outstanding and that the project is currently relatively uncrowded, making its potential return worth watching.He also specifically noted that he is the top trader by volume on Entropy, and by a significant margin.

After being pressed by the community on his selection logic, an0n2498.hl summarized the directions he is bullish on into three groups: first, Hyperliquid and its surrounding ecosystem, including Entropy and Kinetiq; second, Variational and the surrounding ecosystem it may form in the future; and third, Ink, Nado, Quotrons, and the Kraken-related ecosystem.He believes these three groups are each different and should not be simply lumped together.

As for Lighter, an0n2498.hl's attitude is unequivocal — he doesn't like it, has never participated, and doesn't plan to participate in the future...

Worth Referencing, but Don't Follow Blindly

For users currently looking for their next farming target, an0n2498.hl's choices offer an observation sample worth noting — Variational is the object of his current focused bet, Entropy is another line he is deeply involved in, and his trade-offs among different Perp DEXs also reflect his judgment on ecosystem development and potential returns.

However, a whale's interaction history is ultimately only a reference, not homework that can be directly copied. The capital lockup, trading costs, and potential losses he can withstand may not be suitable for ordinary users; high trading volume does not equal high returns, nor does it mean an ideal airdrop reward is guaranteed in the end.

What is truly worth studying may not just be what he is farming, but why he chose these projects, and whether the risks and rewards behind these choices match one's own situation.As the airdrop frenzy heats up again, rather than blindly following whales, it is better to first understand a project's incentive mechanisms and then decide which ones are worth participating in and which ones need not be pursued.