Consider providing liquidity in the Lighter LLP vault to earn yield from trading activity ahead of its expected token airdrop in late Q4. For multi-layered returns, farm USDAI on Pendle to earn stablecoin yield plus points toward a future ICO and an airdrop expected early next year. To farm new perpetual exchanges like Variational, open small short positions on overvalued tokens to collect funding payments while earning airdrop points. A bullish conviction was placed on Mantle (MNT) due to its strong ties to the Bybit exchange, positioning it as a key ecosystem token. For a lower-risk holding, GLP is considered a quality asset for steady appreciation by earning real yield from the GMX platform.

Lighter (referred to as "LIDAR" in transcript)

• The speaker has invested approximately $250,000 into the Lighter Liquidity Provider (LLP) vault. This vault provides liquidity to the Lighter perpetual DEX, earning fees from trading and liquidations.
• The investment grew from $248,000 to $254,800 in about 10 days, with most gains occurring during a period of high market volatility and liquidations.
• The speaker believes this is a good strategy because it allows you to "farm the farmers." As airdrop farmers trade aggressively on the platform to earn points, the LLP vault profits by taking the other side of their trades.
• Lighter is described as one of the fastest-growing perpetual DEXs, with its open interest growing from 5% to 10% relative to its competitor, Hyperliquid.
• An airdrop and Token Generation Event (TGE) are expected in late Q4 of the current year. The speaker is very bullish and believes this airdrop will "absolutely cook."
• Important Note: Being a liquidity provider in the LLP vault earns yield but does not grant points for the upcoming airdrop. The airdrop points are for traders on the platform.

Takeaways

• Indirect Exposure to Airdrop Hype: Providing liquidity in the Lighter LLP vault is a way to profit from the platform's growth and the activity of airdrop farmers without needing to be a profitable trader yourself.
• Volatility Play: The LLP vault's returns are highest when the market is volatile and liquidations are frequent. It can perform well when other parts of the market are down.
• Risk: The speaker notes that the vault's performance has variance, and it's possible to have poor returns on any given day or week. However, the monthly performance has been "fairly green."

Stablecoin & Airdrop Farming (General Strategy)

• The speaker's core strategy is to keep at least 50% of his portfolio in stablecoins, especially because he believes "we're not early anymore" in the current market cycle.
• He uses stablecoin farms to generate significant yield (mentioning 15-20% as an achievable baseline) and uses these profits to fund more speculative airdrop farming activities.
• He believes the biggest "edge" in the current crypto market is in stablecoin farming and identifying new airdrop opportunities, particularly in the Perpetual DEX (Perp DEX) sector.
• This strategy provides a "smooth equity line" and protects downside risk while still capturing upside through future airdrops (Lighter, USDAI, Polymarket were mentioned as future equity).

Takeaways

• Portfolio Allocation: Consider allocating a significant portion of your crypto portfolio to high-yield stablecoin strategies to generate cash flow and reduce volatility.
• Fund Speculation with Profits: Use the yield generated from stablecoin farming to fund higher-risk, higher-reward plays like airdrop farming, rather than risking your principal capital.
• Focus on a Niche: The speaker has found his edge in farming Perp DEX airdrops. Finding a specific niche within crypto to focus your research and capital can be a successful approach.

USDAI Farm (via Pendle)

• The speaker has allocated $500,000 to this farm on the Pendle platform.
  • $300,000 is farming an ICO allocation, earning ~20% yield on the underlying stablecoin while also accumulating points for the right to participate in the ICO.
  • $200,000 is farming the airdrop portion, earning ~24% yield on the underlying stablecoin while accumulating points for a future airdrop, expected early next year.
• The project is described as a "yield generating state point backed by GPUs."
• Demand for this farm is extremely high, with deposit caps of $50 million filling up in as little as three minutes.
• Risk Mentioned: The team plans to raise the deposit caps to $500 million, which the speaker notes will dilute the yields for existing farmers.

Takeaways

• Multi-Layered Yield: The USDAI farm on Pendle offers several layers of return: a high base yield on stablecoins, points toward a future airdrop, and allocation for a future ICO.
• High-Demand Opportunity: The speed at which deposit caps are filled indicates strong market interest. Getting into such farms often requires being prepared and acting quickly when caps are raised.
• Do Your Own Research: The speaker explicitly states this is "not risk-free" and that investors need to do their own research on the underlying project.

Perpetual DEX (Perp DEX) Farming Strategy

• The speaker believes Perp DEXes are a "killer use case" for crypto and that farming their airdrops is a top strategy.
• Since most retail traders lose money, he proposes a strategy for non-traders to farm points:
  1. Identify overvalued, manipulated tokens with positive funding rates (where short positions get paid by long positions). He uses Story Protocol as an example.
  2. Open a small short position on a new Perp DEX you want to farm (he is using Variational for this).
  3. Hold the position long-term to accumulate airdrop points while collecting funding payments.
  4. If the price pumps against you, you can add to the short position with small size ("short hire").
  5. Eventually, the overvalued token should trade lower, resulting in a profitable trade on top of the airdrop points and funding.
• This strategy also acts as a natural hedge for a long-biased portfolio. If the market goes down, your shorts make money. If the market goes up, your main portfolio and the value of your future airdrops increase.
• He is currently applying this strategy on Variational, a new, closed-beta Perp DEX.

Takeaways

• Airdrop Farm without Being a Pro Trader: This shorting strategy allows you to generate on-chain activity required for airdrops without needing to be a profitable directional trader.
• Get Paid to Hedge: By shorting overvalued coins with positive funding, you are essentially being paid to hedge your portfolio against a market downturn.
• Identify New Platforms: The speaker emphasizes being early. He is now farming Variational after having success being early to Hyperliquid and Lighter. Researching and using new, promising platforms is key.

Other Mentioned Assets

• Mantle (MNT)

  • Sentiment: Bullish.
  • Context: The speaker is bullish due to its close relationship with the Bybit exchange, suggesting it could effectively become Bybit's native ecosystem token.

• GLP (GMX Liquidity Provider Token)

  • Sentiment: Bullish.
  • Context: Described as "one of the best assets in crypto" and something that "just goes up over time." He considers it a "boomer" and "risk averse" holding, suitable for steady, lower-risk appreciation.

• Arbitrum (ARB)

  • Sentiment: Bearish (on price action of farmed tokens).
  • Context: The speaker receives ARB as a reward from a $250,000 position on the Euler lending protocol. His strategy is to "farm and dump," immediately selling the ARB rewards for USDC to lock in the yield. He believes the fair value of most farm tokens is much lower.

• Aevo (referred to as "Aster" in transcript)

  • Sentiment: Neutral, used as an example.
  • Context: Mentioned as a competing Perp DEX that saw a massive price pump. The speaker uses this to argue that the potential valuation ("ceiling") for Lighter is now much higher.