Before we get started, this is not a recommendation or endorsement to buy any token(s) mentioned.
This week, we move on to one of the most anticipated Solana airdrops–Wormhole. Having covered airdrop strategies for Jupiter, marginfi, Parcl, and Kamino, Wormhole remains one of the largest Solana airdrops anticipated for 2024 due to the extensive use of its bridging Portal since 2021.
Wormhole is a generic message passing protocol that enables communication between blockchains. It is a leading interoperability platform that powers bridges and multichain DeFi applications across 30 blockchain networks (L1s and L2s). The Wormhole platform has powered the cross-chain transfer of over $35B in value.
Here are three common applications Wormhole can be used to build:
- Cross-Chain Exchange: A developer can build an exchange that allows deposits from any Wormhole-connected chain, increasing the liquidity users can access
- Cross-Chain Governance: If a group of NFT collections on different networks wants holders to vote on a combined proposal, they can pick a “voting” chain and use Wormhole to communicate votes cast on different chains to the voting chain
- Cross-Chain Game: A game can be built and played on a higher throughput network like Solana, while its rewards are issued as NFTs on a different network, such as Ethereum Mainnet
Wormhole is known for its original bridge Portal connecting Solana and Ethereum Mainnet, since launching during a Solana hackathon in 2021. Today, Portal is the flagship cross-chain bridging application built with a product called Wormhole Connect. What differentiates Portals from bridging aggregators like Bungee is Portal connects non-EVM networks such as Sui and Aptos.
Aside from Portal, Wormhole is instrumental in Circle’s new Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) to enable application builders and users to use Native USDC for their cross-chain token transfers.
Wormhole Connect makes this possible once integrated into existing decentralized applications in just 3 lines of code. With CCTP live, the ease of moving liquidity via one of the most popular stablecoins in the world (USDC) becomes even more effortless, further cementing Wormhole’s usage across multichain DeFi networks.
Despite being one of the most popular protocols today, responsible for over 900 million cross-chain messages, Wormhole has yet to release a token. Releasing a token may be necessary to further scale Wormhole as a credibly trustless protocol.
In August 2023, the Wormhole Foundation was announced outlining the following mission…
As stewards of Wormhole, the world’s first generalized cross-chain messaging protocol, our commitment is not just about delivering products or technologies; it’s about empowering people — passionate, innovative individuals and teams who are committed to crafting the next chapter of the internet.
Reading the tea leaves, we can assume Wormhole is very likely to launch a token in the near future and so there’s an opportunity to likely earn a future airdrop. Similar to its competitors LayerZero, Socket, and Axelar, decentralization is a big concern for Wormhole, which will be partially addressed by launching such a native governance token.
Today, I’ll cover how I can bridge cross-chain using Portal to hopefully earn a future airdrop from…
DeFi Dad is one of the earliest power users of DeFi, having worked with early Ethereum startups going back to 2018, including Zapper.
