Five crypto airdrops to watch for in 2026

Airdrops are in a strange spot at the end of 2025.

The roaring comeback of initial coin offerings, or ICOs, coupled with the rise in airdrop-raiding Sybil attackers, mean giving out tokens isn’t as popular as it used to be.

Yet, at the same time, several multi-billion dollar crypto projects have hinted that colossal token distributions could be just around the corner.

Here are five airdrops on DL News’ radar for 2026.

OpenSea

OpenSea confirmed its associated nonprofit, the OpenSea Foundation, will launch a token as early as February.

But it wasn’t until Devin Finzer, the platform’s CEO, shared more details in October that the excitement really set in.

The SEA token is set to launch in the first quarter of 2026, with 50% of supply going to the community, and more than half awarded via an initial airdrop claim, according to Finzer.

The token will be integrated with the OpenSea platform, and give holders the ability to stake SEA behind their favourite tokens and NFT collections, although what purpose this will serve isn’t clear.

As for tokenomics, Finzer said OpenSea plans to use 50% of the platform’s revenue to buy back the SEA token on the open market, mimicking a similar initiative pioneered by perpetual futures exchange Hyperliquid.

Polymarket

Prediction market Polymarket has also confirmed a token is coming.

In October, Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber said the launch will include an airdrop, and that the firm planned to make it a focus after its US relaunch.

It’s not yet clear what function the Polymarket token will serve.

Modabber didn’t reveal any specific details, but praised Hyperliquid for its token launch.

“Teams like Hyperliquid who really thought it through will be around forever as a result,” he said at the time.

Hyperliquid launched its HYPE token in November 2024. It distributed 31% of the supply to users, an unusually high percentage compared to other crypto airdrops.

Lighter

There are multiple perpetual futures exchanges running points programmes, which will almost certainly end in token airdrops.

Lighter, currently the biggest decentralised perpetual futures exchange by 30-day volume, is arguably most highly-anticipated.

Its points programme is scheduled to run until the end of 2025, leading many to believe that a token airdrop could come early next year.

Bettors on Polymarket are hoping it will happen even sooner. They currently give a 90% chance of the airdrop happening before the end of 2025.

In addition to Lighter, exchanges EdgeX, Aster, and Paradex, among others, are all also running points programmes at various stages, and could airdrop tokens in 2026.

MetaMask

Crypto users have long speculated that the MetaMask crypto wallet will get its own token.

In September, Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin confirmed to The Block that the long-awaited MASK is coming “sooner than you would expect.”

Later that month, the MetaMask X account posted a picture that also appears to confirm a token is coming.

Details on what the MASK token will do, and how it will be launched, are sparse.

MetaMask launched a rewards programme in October, which awards points to those who swap tokens through the MetaMask wallet, among other activities.

These points will convert into Linea tokens, fee discounts — and
future airdrops, per the MetaMask website.

Base

A potential Base token used to be a fairly far-fetched idea — even by crypto standards.

But that charged decisively in September when Base creator Jesse Pollak announced that the team behind Coinbase’s layer 2 blockchain is exploring a token.

What a Base token could look like is anyone’s guess at this point.

If it happens, it will make Coinbase the first major publicly-traded company to launch an associated crypto token.

Pollak’s big reveal came around the same time that Lubin announced MetaMask’s token plans.

Whether this signals the crossing of some regulatory hurdle behind these scenes, or just pure coincidence, isn’t clear.

But we might just find out in 2026.

Tim Craig is DL News’ Edinburgh-based DeFi Correspondent. Reach out with tips at [email protected].