With the reputation of zkSync, Layerzero, and Blast collapsing in the second quarter of 2024, people began to look for new ways to make money. Smart money naturally won't forget that there is still 48% of the community allocation of Aptos that has not been distributed.

This is not just my wishful thinking; on-chain data shows that since March, the number of active users on Aptos has been increasing, reaching a historical high in June, and the data doesn't seem to be slowing down:

Token Terminal data shows that on June 8, the daily active user count reached a record of 1.3 million, marking the first time Aptos had over 1 million users in a single day.

1. Why does Aptos always gain traction when the market cools down?

1. Aptos has one of the lowest distribution ratios among historical airdrop projects, with individual wallets profiting significantly;

• In the first round, Aptos only airdropped 3% of its tokens, and even this 3% allocation allowed individual wallets to receive 1000–3000 USD in airdrops. It's worth noting that these wallets only completed a few tasks on Galxe, voted a few times on Gitcoin, and interacted with a few NFTs.

2. Aptos has prepared a 51% token allocation for the community, with 48% yet to be distributed. Based on current prices, there is a wealth of over 4 billion USD available for us to explore. Such a large total wealth can support millions of users for conversion.

3. Recently, industry OGs have been praising Aptos on social media, believing that Aptos will surpass Solana to become the second-largest public chain;

• BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes is not just a "talker." Without going far, just look at the stablecoin project Ethena that launched this year and became popular; its inspiration comes from Arthur Hayes' "Satoshi Dollar" concept.

This indirectly indicates that institutions are also paying attention to Aptos and are preparing to explore new opportunities on Aptos.

https://www.chaincatcher.com/article/2129240

2. Is Aptos really preparing for a second airdrop?

Whether Aptos will issue an airdrop is not based on wishful thinking. Will it happen, how will it happen, and where will it happen? Although the official doesn't tell us those who are not in the know, we can infer from the following:

Inference 1: Aptos has released four tasks on Galxe

In the first and second quarters, Aptos released four tasks on Galxe (ending in April). The tasks were simple; just obtain an OAT, which may have been a market test.

Generally, if there are no operational plans, projects will not release tasks on task platforms. This indicates that Aptos has plans for a second round of airdrops, and the testing phase may have passed, and they are now working on specific plans.

https://x.com/Aptos/status/1767594987594944587

Inference 2: Official Aptos data

From the official Aptos data, we can see that the token distribution is as follows:

• In the 51% community token allocation, the community portion of 410,217,359.767 APT is held by the Aptos Foundation, and 100,000,000 is held by Aptos Labs.
• The official states that these tokens will be used to promote the growth of Aptos ecosystem projects, so many people refer to the "community allocation" as the "ecosystem fund."

This indicates that the remaining 48% will be allocated to ecosystem users based on Aptos. We can also capture this from the actions of Amnis, Aptos' largest staking platform.

Inference 3: Aries incentive program, rewarding APT

Aries, the largest lending platform in the Aptos ecosystem, announced in mid-January that it would distribute APT rewards. https://x.com/AriesMarkets/status/1745668145015410850

This indicates that Aptos may have reached some consensus with ecosystem projects, and the second round of Aptos airdrops may focus on distributing to ecosystem projects.

In addition to the above, there are other pieces of evidence suggesting that Aptos will have an airdrop, such as developers on the Aptos ecosystem:

• The founder of the Thala project mentioned an "Aptos Airdrop Season."
• Many NFT project founders announced that they would airdrop tokens to NFT holders;

For example, in December last year, the UNI GUI meme project airdropped tokens to users holding OG NFTs, such as Aptos Monkey, Aptos Ape, Flames, Pontem Dark Ages… The Wapal NFT market project airdropped 5,000 gift boxes to users.

Moreover, many projects on Aptos have yet to launch tokens, and they are expected to welcome an "Aptos Airdrop Season" similar to the Solana ecosystem.

So the direction is clear: in the coming period, if we want to benefit from Aptos, we must participate in projects on Aptos. Only users who actively engage in ecosystem projects will receive airdrops.

Which projects should we focus on interacting with?

Dog Brother checked the projects in the Aptos ecosystem and found five projects that have a unique relationship with Aptos, supporting the development of the Aptos ecosystem since its inception, with strong backgrounds, technology, communities, and funding:

• Aries Markets
• Liquidswap
• Amnis Finance
• Merkle Trade
• Kana Labs

These projects will issue airdrops in the third and fourth quarters. Interacting with these projects can not only yield their own token airdrops but also earn Aptos rewards, achieving multiple benefits.

Aptos Gold Mining Manual Chapter 1: Aries Markets Airdrop Guide

(1) Introduction to Aries Markets

Aries Markets is one of the few DAPPs that have qualified for the Aptos Foundation's incentive activities, currently boasting a TVL of over 250M, making it the largest lending protocol on Aptos, accounting for nearly 50% of the Aptos ecosystem's TVL, the largest protocol across all categories.

The platform's borrowing volume has exceeded 100 million USD, highlighting the activity within the ecosystem and establishing Aries Markets' current core position in the ecosystem.

Since January this year, Aries has been running an APT incentive program, offering additional rewards for both lending and borrowing. Currently, the stablecoin APY lending interest on Aries is around 20%-30%, and the stablecoin loan rates have even reached negative rates at times, making it a great place for everyday deposits and loans. The incentive program is still ongoing and has partnered multiple times with OKX and Pancake.

(2) Status of Aries Markets

Since Aries has not yet issued a token, many people may not see the potential of the token in the future. A comparison with similar projects on other public chains makes it clear:

Atlendis: An unsecured lending protocol on Polygon that allows users to earn APY profits by depositing funds into liquidity pools or becoming borrowers to optimize capital efficiency.

Jupiter: A DEX aggregator protocol on Solana that allows users to search and execute swap trades with good fees by integrating AMM (automated market maker) liquidity pools.

Users participating in these two projects have generally received airdrops of their native tokens and other benefits.

(3) About Aries Airdrop

Aries recently launched a points program, where users can earn points through lending and referring friends on the platform, which will later be directly related to project airdrops.

1. Conditions to earn Aries points are as follows:

• To earn points, first go to the points page to sign up https://points.ariesmarkets.xyz/rfw84n
• You can earn ARIES points through Lending (Supplying, lending), Borrowing, and referrals;
• The total deposit amount must reach 100 USD or more;

2. Points accumulation rules:

• Each asset provided by the platform worth 1 USD earns 1 point per day;
• For every 1 USD borrowed, you can earn 3 points per day, with no minimum borrowing requirement.

The longer you engage in these two activities, the more points you accumulate.

3. Referral system:

• Referrers can earn an additional 10% reward on the points earned by the referred person; the best way is to use both main and sub-accounts to earn.

(4) Aries Practical Guide

Before operation: Please ensure you have $APT tokens on the Aptos chain for transaction fees. It is best to withdraw more than 100 USD worth of $APT tokens to Pontem Wallet at once, which will eliminate the need for the cross-chain step below (you can buy $APT on exchanges).

Step 1: Register an account

• Registration link: https://points.ariesmarkets.xyz/rfw84n,
• Bind Twitter
• Bind wallet (can be an OK wallet on the Aptos chain or use Pontem Wallet)
• Bind invitation code, you can fill in this one: rfw84n

Step 2: Cross-chain (can be skipped)

If you have withdrawn more than 100 USD worth of $APT tokens from an exchange, you can skip this cross-chain step.

• Click Launch App to enter the interaction page
• Click Bridge to use LayerZero or Wormhole to complete the cross-chain process, but if you have used many wallet plugins, you may not be able to connect your wallet on the LayerZero page.

• Therefore, the best tool for cross-chain here is to use Liquidswap

PS: If you have withdrawn more than 100 USD worth of $APT tokens from an exchange, you can skip this cross-chain step and directly proceed to the interaction below.

Step 3: Deposit

• Switch to the Lending interface
• You can choose E-Mode, where the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for assets in E-Mode can be as high as 90%, while other assets have an LTV ratio between 40% and 80%.

• Choose a token to deposit, such as APT, USDC, USDT, etc.

Step 4: Borrowing

Since I just deposited USDC, I want to borrow other coins, such as amAPT (which will be used in the Liquidswap tutorial below).

• amAPT is the staking certificate issued by the liquidity staking protocol Amnis Finance after staking APT. Amnis also has a points program, and using amAPT can earn us at least 3 airdrops.

The method is as follows:

• In the Lending interface, select the amAPT token

• Click Borrow
• Enter the amount to borrow or click max directly
• Confirm

PS: When using borrowing tools, be aware of the risks. If the asset drops significantly, your collateral may be forcibly liquidated.

Many people borrow and don't know how to repay, so they often ask me, which is quite frustrating. Actually, they could just translate it themselves. To repay, just follow the directional operation; Repay is to repay the loan, Withdraw is to withdraw your deposit.

After completing the operation, click Points to check your points.

Aptos Gold Mining Manual Chapter 2: Liquidswap Airdrop Guide (Key)

(1) Background of Liquidswap

If Aries Markets is very low-key and hard to find information about, Liquidswap is a project with a strong background on Aptos.

Liquidswap is one of the four flagship projects launched through the strategic cooperation between Pontem Network Studio and Aptos. The strategic cooperation between Pontem and Aptos involves the development of tools, EVM, AMM, etc., to promote the widespread use of its L1 blockchain.

Pontem Network has created: Lumio L2, Pontem Wallet, Liquidswap DEX, NFTs (Pontem Pirates, Dark Ages), and supports NFTs…

(2) Performance of Liquidswap

Liquidswap is the first and largest AMM protocol in the Aptos ecosystem, currently with a TVL of 34 million USD and an average daily trading volume of 10 million USD, accounting for over 80% of the trading volume in the Aptos ecosystem. According to official data, its daily active users average 10,000, making it the project with the highest daily active user count in the Aptos ecosystem.

(3) Is Liquidswap going to issue a token?

Yes, the official Twitter @PontemNetwork has already started community surveys in May, and it is expected that a token and airdrop will be issued soon. https://x.com/PontemNetwork/status/1787208981041004873

(4) What preparations are needed to benefit from Liquidswap?

(1) Fund preparation

• Fund 1: + 10.1 APT
• Fund 2: +100 USD

These funds have the following uses:

• Trading volume: + 5,000 USD
• Interaction count: + 30 times
• Adding liquidity: + 100 USD, at least add 3 pairs
• Staking: + 10 APT

The above are just basic estimates; the more interactions, the better.

(2) Wallet preparation (use the same wallet as Aries)

• Phantom wallet
• Metamask or OK wallet
• Pontem wallet (if you previously used OK wallet for APT fees, you can directly import the original mnemonic)

We will use the Pontem wallet to start the tutorial, and you can import the original OK wallet mnemonic.

(5) Complete interaction tasks

First, log in to the Pontem airdrop page

https://airdrop.liquidswap.com/?ref=01HYAQ97X8M52ZCEJWEJBFVG7R

• Connect the Pontem wallet
• Register an account
• Click Go to Liquidswap

Task 1: Increase trading volume on Liquidswap

• Choose any trading pair and make a trade

PS: If you want to qualify, it is recommended that each account increases the trading volume to over 5,000 USD and the interaction count to no less than 30 times.

LiquidSwap has set the following trading volume tiers:

• 1--20 USD --- coke
• 20--50 USD --- socks
• 50--300 USD --- ledger
• 300--3000 USD --- Ticket to NBA
• 3000--6000 USD --- Vision pro
• 6000--30000 USD --- Vacation in the Bahamas
• 30000--100000 USD --- Cybertruck
• 100000--10000000 USD --- House

You can check your trading volume and tier level on the LiquidSwap Dashboard page.

Task 2: Staking

• On the Liquidswap website, click Earn
• Select Staking

• Choose any "Validators" section
• Click stake
• Stake at least 10.1 APT (it is recommended to choose validators with longer durations)

Task 3: Add liquidity (multiple benefits)

In the previous section, we already exchanged for amAPT tokens in Aries, so we can use amAPT and APT tokens to provide liquidity (you need to have APT tokens in your wallet).

(1) Adding liquidity, the specific method is as follows:

Step 1: Enter the Liquidswap platform

• Click Earn
• Select Farms

• Add amAPT/APT

Step 3: Stake LP

• Click the "small fish icon"

• Click Balance
• Click Stake to stake LP, with an annualized return of 30% here;

After adding liquidity, it will be locked for 7 days, and you can only withdraw after 7 days. You can keep it in there until the airdrop is issued.

You do not need to complete all three tasks on the Liquidswap platform; you can complete the trading volume first and then do the liquidity task, or you can do any one of them.

The Pontem team has also issued two NFT series, Pontem Pirates and Dark Ages. Some farming on Liquidswap can also earn additional rewards by verifying ownership of these two NFTs.

Liquidswap is likely the most prominent project on Aptos, with the TGE approaching. Many airdrop hunters have released guides on how to benefit from Liquidswap, along with subsequent interactions with Pontem's flagship project Lumio.

Aptos Gold Mining Manual Chapter 3: Amnis Finance Airdrop

Amnis Finance is a liquidity staking protocol on APT, allowing users to exchange APT 1:1 for redeemable amAPT (which requires a 1-month wait or can be exchanged back at a discount of about 1% on DEX) and further stake to earn staking rewards similar to wstETH with stAPT.

The airdrop activity of Amnis Finance is still ongoing, and there are many ways to participate.

First, log in to the official website: https://stake.amnis.finance/retroactive, then choose a task to interact with:

(1) Mint amAPT, stake stAPT, accumulating 1 point for each APT

(2) Hold amAPT and stAPT in your wallet, generating points hourly, accumulating 1 point for each APT per month

(3) Provide liquidity for amAPT --- APT on Pancake Swap or Liquid Swap, where the amAPT in the LP earns 3.5 times more points than simply holding it in your wallet. (Liquid Swap is recommended)

(4) Lend stAPT to Aries Markets and other lending protocols, earning a 1.2 times points multiplier. (At the same time, Aries also has points bonuses for stAPT)

https://stake.amnis.finance/retroactive

The above several tasks have been introduced in previous sections; please integrate the information.

Aptos Gold Mining Manual Chapter 4: Merkle Trade Airdrop

Merkle Trade is a full-chain perpetual DEX that offers trading in cryptocurrencies, forex, and commodities, with leverage up to 1,000 times.

On April 1, 2024, it announced a $2.1 million seed round led by Hashed and Arrington Capital, with other participants including Morningstar Ventures, Amber Group, Aptos Labs, Re7 Capital, and Dorahacks.

Merkle Trade has not yet issued a token, and you can earn airdrop points by increasing trading volume on the platform. The rules are as follows:

(1) Weekly tasks (including trading for 7 consecutive days)

(2) Make 5 trades

(3) Make 2 trades on different trading pairs

(4) Increase trading volume to 2000, 3000, 15000

……

Reset every Tuesday at noon (UTC); all unused MP will be burned.

XP points and MP are used for upgrades and to obtain "loot boxes," which can yield MKL airdrops (in the form of pKML tokens).

The higher the box level and the more tasks completed, the higher the airdrop received.

Merkle Trade link: https://app.merkle.trade/?ref=FNDP9T68

Aptos Gold Mining Manual Chapter 5: Kana Labs Airdrop

Kana Labs is a collection of Web3 tools invested by DWF Labs, designed to help users access DeFi, GameFi, NFT markets more easily… The main products of Kana Labs include: liquidity aggregators from various blockchains, cross-chain bridge aggregators, wallets, and SDKs for projects, as well as toolkits for integrated developers.

https://cryptorank.io/ico/kana-labs

Currently, Kana Labs has not yet issued a token, and it is expected to launch new user incentive activities after the release of version V2. As early users, what we can do is stake and increase trading volume on its trading platform, as follows:

• Log in to the platform: https://tinyurl.com/3e6n867d
• Connect Phantom wallet
• Increase trading volume

That's all for today. The market has entered a boring phase, and watching various QGs frequently shout orders gives a feeling that the funds released on ETH may flow into the Move system.

As Solana matures, investors are also looking for new breakthroughs. The flywheel generated by these rotating funds will bring many hotspots, and there is still 48% of the tokens that have not been issued on Aptos. The technology and ecosystem have been fully deployed, making it an investment paradise with built-in traffic.

BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes said, "Aptos will surpass Solana and become the second-largest public chain," which may be realized in the next six months to a year, inevitably triggering an Aptos airdrop season similar to last December's Solana airdrop season.