The next big airdrop? 3 PERP DEXS traders can’t stop farming

Permanent DEX (Distributed Exchange of a Permanent Future) has become the latest battlefield for traders looking to farm airdrops of lucrative tokens.

It’s easy to appeal. Traders can accumulate points by providing liquidity and running trades. These points are later converted into tokens, sometimes worth a significant amount in the secondary market.

The top 3 perp dexs airdrop farmers should probably be seen

In 2025, this strategy evolved into a key play for retailers who wanted to replicate early success stories of interactions such as Dydx and Hyperquid (Hype).

However, not all perp dexes are created equally. Some people boast venture capital (VC) backing and a billion-dollar volume, but others have already changed hands in the OTC market and remained in beta.

With zero-fee trading models, competitive liquidity, and a point system that is converted into tokens in TGE (token generation events), exchanges of Lighter, Paradex, Pacifica and others have attracted unprecedented attention.

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The lighter quickly emerged as one of the hottest platforms in air drop farming. It ranks by volume as a #2 perpe exchange over high lipids, reporting daily sales of over $7 billion and approximately $1.4 billion in public interest.

Light TVL and open interest. Source: Defilama

Founded by A16Z (Andreessen Horowitz) and Lightspeed and by Citadel’s former HFT, Vladimir Novakovski, Lighter is positioned as a serious candidate.

Traders will turn light points, which have already been valued at around $50 in the OTC market, into farms on farms, as token distribution is expected at the end of December 2025.

The zero-fee trading model will set up something lighter. This allows for real strategies such as funding arbitrage across platforms. Its points system also rewards liquidity offerings with low open interest (OI) pairs, creating additional incentives for risk-resistant traders.

Lighter, on the other hand, offers a user pool for non-traders where the deposit can passively earn points, although operator fees ranging from 5% to 30%. Still, the platform warns that users will bear the loss and are not attractive to beginners.

Nevertheless, Lighter is one of the top destinations of the mass farmers thanks to its unique scoring system and facility grade supporters.

Paradex

Paradex has established itself as another heavyweight in the Perp Dex Airdrops space, approaching the $100 billion mark in lifetime trading volume in September 2025.

Paradex perp volume. Source: Defilama

There are varieties of VC pedigrees that are attracting attention, backed by paradigms, jumps, dragonfly, and DCG. The exchange distributes 4 million XP every Friday, with season 2 of the program underway.

The OTC market (experience point) for Paradex XP is already active, showing strong demand ahead of the token generation.

Importantly, 57.6% of the token supply is allocated to the community, with a large 20% occurrence allocation for early farmers. This makes it one of the most community-centric token models on the market.

“What stands out for me is their token model. 57.6% of the dimes are assigned to the community and 20% are reserved for Genesis allocation,” writes Pranjal Bora, an airdrop farmer and chain researcher.

Meanwhile, Paradex’s adoption of zero-rate Perps was a major draw, leveling out the arena with rivals like Lighter. However, the platform recently extended season 2 by six months, causing complaints of point dilution and transparency issues.

Traders remain split, some see it as an opportunity to accumulate more XP, while others worry about delayed timelines.

Nevertheless, Paradex is one of the most powerful candidates, especially for traders who want to be exposed to a platform with deep liquidity and clear institutional support.

Pacifica

Pacifica is the dark horse on the list. The exchange, built on Solana by the former FTX team, is still in the closed beta version, but by trading volumes it is already ranked in the top 10 exchanges.

Its points system is live and is worth around $0.80 in the OTC market. Pacifica’s farming is easy, so users earn points at the launch of LPS through permanent transactions, community engagement (such as bug reports), and liquidity offerings.

The platform also introduces discounted trading fees during the promotion window, encouraging new users to accumulate points at a lower price.

With its smaller, community-driven approach, Pacifica is still considered high risk. However, the growing adoption and early market interest suggest that it can bring extraordinary rewards to those willing to position themselves before the launch of the mainnet.

Pacifica Perp Volume. Source: Defilama

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Multiple factors beyond trading activities fuel the competition for DEX domination in 2025. Among them is the promise of airdrop rewards comparable to early blur and Dydx wind drops.

For traders, this decision comes down to risk tolerance.

• Lighter offers a large number of opportunities with a powerful zero-fee system.
• Paradex provides transparency to assignments, but faces questions about timing.
• Pacifica represents a speculative bet with early momentum.

Nevertheless, Perp Dex Airdrop agriculture is now Defi’s latest gold rush, but users need to do their own research.

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