My Set and Forget Crypto Airdrop and Staking Yield Strategy for Ethereum

Are you ready to turn your crypto assets into a passive income powerhouse? This guide will walk you through my low-risk, high-yield strategy using Ethereum and Solana. With a minimum of 0.4 ETH and some extra for gas fees, I qualify this way for several potentially lucrative airdrops while enjoying significant multipliers on my staking yields. This strategy minimizes risks such as liquidation by using correlated assets and audited smart contracts. However, always be aware of smart contract risks and the potential for cryptocurrency devaluation. If you do not have ETH laying around, consider using a DCA-Strategy to minimize your risk. If you have ETH, Don't let your ETH rest and gather Dust!

Stay tuned for my Solana Strategy and additional ETH Airdrops by following me and supporting my work.

Before diving into the strategy, it’s essential to understand a few key concepts:

Staking
Staking your cryptocurrency on a centralized exchange (CEX) might seem convenient, but it’s often not the best option. When you stake on a CEX, you relinquish control of your funds to the exchange, exposing you to risks. Additionally, CEXs usually offer lower staking rewards and the CEX is collecting your potential airdrops. For greater security, control, and potentially higher returns, it’s generally better to stake directly from your crypto wallet using decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.

What are Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs)?
Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) are tokens you receive when you stake your cryptocurrency through specific protocols. Unlike traditional staking, where your assets are locked and can’t be used until the staking period ends, LSTs allow you to maintain liquidity. Additionally, your staking rewards automatically compound, when compared to traditional staking. You can trade, lend, or use these tokens in other DeFi applications while still earning staking rewards — this is precisely, what this strategy is about.

What are Vaults?
Vaults in DeFi are smart contracts that automatically manage your crypto assets to generate yield. They reinvest your earnings and optimize strategies to maximize returns. By depositing your tokens into vaults, you can benefit from higher yields without actively managing your investments.

What are Liquidity Pools?
Liquidity Pools are collections of funds locked in a smart contract, providing liquidity for decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and other DeFi platforms. Users who provide liquidity (liquidity providers) earn fees and sometimes additional tokens. It’s a great way to earn passive income, but watch out for impermanent loss.

Let's get started

Let’s get your wallets and dashboards set up before we jump into the restaking process.

Setting up a Wallet

A crypto wallet holds your cryptocurrency. It’s crucial to use a crypto wallet because it gives you full control over your funds and allows you to interact with various DeFi applications (something you cannot do, when your funds are locked on a Centralized Exchange). Think of your crypto wallet as a master key that not only secures your digital assets but also lets you access and log into different DeFi platforms, much like using a single key to open multiple locks.

Buying crypto directly within your wallet can be pricier due to higher transaction fees. The term “on-ramping” refers to the process of converting your traditional currency into cryptocurrency on a CEX and then transferring it to your crypto wallet. This two-step process is essential: you buy the crypto on the exchange, and then you send it to your wallet so you can use it in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Once your wallet is funded, you can swap your crypto using decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and bridges. This allows you to move your assets across different networks and tokens as needed, providing flexibility to participate in a wide range of DeFi opportunitie

Ethereum Wallet:

1. Choose a Wallet: For example MetaMask or Rabby Wallet.

2. Fund Your Wallet: Fund it with ETH (don’t forget extra ETH for gas) from a centralized exchange (onramp) such as Bitvavo (attention: Bitvavo only supports Eth-Withdrawals via Mainnet and Bitvavo is only available in Europe). For an in-depth Explanation on Withdrawing from a CEX you can check here<

You can withdraw a L2 Asset such as ARB on Bitvavo, withdraw it for lower fees than Mainnet and then Swap and Bridge it to ETH on Scroll, which is needed later

Solana Wallet

1. Choose a Wallet: For example Phantom Wallet.

2. Fund Your Wallet: Fund it was a sufficient amount of Solana, you can get the Solana from Bitvavo. I really like Solana due to its low fees, fast transactions and the meme culture. We will sign up for some high yielding vaults later.

Setting up a DeFi Dashboard

To keep track of your investments (because losing track would be a set-and-forget disaster), set up a DeFi dashboard (we will go over how to use the Dashboard later, but for now, just see it as a summary of all your holdings on a specific Wallet — better than the Wallet Software can ever do):

Track Your Investments:

• DeBank: Sign up and connect your wallet. You can use it for free or splurge approx. €60 on a Web3 ID for potential future airdrops via DeBank. If you want to mint the Web3 ID follow the instructions on DeBank (you will need to bridge to their L2).
  https://debank.com/claim?r=595288

• Step Finance: Use this to track your Solana funds. 
  https://app.step.finance/en/?ref=CryptoShroom

Restaking

Now that your wallets are set up and ready, let’s dive into the restaking process to maximize your airdrop exposure and staking yields.

Round 1: Liquid Staking Tokens (LST)

For this step, you will restake ETH with specific protocols to receive staking tokens, which you can then further optimize for yield and airdrop potential.

Ether.fi (Recommended minimum: 0.2 ETH)

For an investment of around 200 EUR, I received approx. 100 Etherfi tokens in each of the two previous airdrop rounds. It is currently trading at 2 EUR per token (I won't sell until it is at 8 EUR). I have staked the token for a point multiplier. It is possible to swap to their token and stake with them to get a point multiplier. This is recommended to be done on Arbitrum due to high fees on ETH.

How to stake ETH on Ether.fi:
1. Head over to Ether.fi. Use my referral, it gets you 100 extra points per staked 0.1 ETH (!)
2. Connect your wallet and stake 0.2 ETH.

On mainnet, you’ll need to wrap and bridge your ETH. However, due to high gas fees, it’s best to do it on Linea or Mode Layer 2. You will be able to bridge it later to the correct network. You can, however, also choose Mainnet (if the fees are below 10 Euro, otherwise wait for Saturday morning — thats when gas is the lowest).

3. You’ll receive eETH (or weETH if you decide to stake on a L2) in return.

4. If you received eETH and you want to bridge, you will need to wrap it first — via the "Wrap" Tab on Etherfi.

For multiple airdrop exposure and yield multiplication consider bridging half of your weETH to Arbitrum One and the other half to Scroll

Bridge eETH:

Owlto Finance, to change the Network(Blockchain) your Token are kept

1. Use Owlto Finance to bridge half of your weETH to Scroll and the other half to Arbitrum.
   Bridging weETH allows you to participate in more DeFi opportunities and potentially qualify for additional airdrops.

2. Optional: If you run out of gas, use Gas.zip for efficient gas bridging. It is cheaper than Owlto and can be used when not having enough ETH for Gas on the network (for example when accidentally Staking all and not leaving over enough for Gas).

3. Optional: You can also bridge via DeBridge: https://app.debridge.finance/r/25578, especially if you want to bridge from Solana. However, be aware, they do not support all Tokens or Networks. It is, however, great to Swap&Bridge at the same time, for example ETH to USDT etc.

By following these steps, you’ll be well-positioned to maximize your staking yields and airdrop potential with Eth.fi. Track your investments and airdrop points on your DeFi dashboard to stay on top of your strategy.

Kelp (recommended minimum 0.1 ETH)

Kelp is on their second Airdrop round, however, we are still early. I have also just started using this protocol recently.

How to stake ETH on Kelp:

1. Head over to Kelp’s Restake Page.

2. Use my referral link to get potential bonuses.

3. Connect your wallet and select ETH from the dropdown where ETHx is preselected.

4. Restake at least 0.1 ETH and receive rsETH.

You have 2 Options! Mainnet or Layer 2?

On the mainnet, restake and wrap, then bridge your rsETH to Arbitrum. This qualifies you for an additional airdrop of 3 ARB per 0.1 stETH bridged.

Alternatively, restake on any Layer 2 network. I recommend Blast, Mode, or ZkSync for diversification and additional airdrop exposure. Consider that Linea is a little bit overfarmed.

Note: Restaking on the mainnet will incur gas fees for wrapping. Depending on which network you choose you will either need to bridge later, or have limited options. Consider looking at some protocols in Round 2&3 to decide for a network.

• Restaking on various Layer 2s not only diversifies your investments but also increases your chances of qualifying for multiple airdrops. Keep in mind to always have 0.1 as this might be a minimum qualifier for the airdrops.

• If you choose to restake on the mainnet, remember to bridge your tokens to Arbitrum for the ARB airdrop. Use the bridge provided on the Kelp website.

By following these steps, you’ll be well-positioned to maximize your staking yields and airdrop potential with Kelp. Track your investments and airdrop points on your DeFi dashboard to stay on top of your strategy.

Mantle Staked ETH (mETH) (Recommended minimum: 0.1 ETH)

Mantle is currently releasing its second airdrop token, after great success of the first token, making this an excellent time to participate.

How to stake ETH on Mantle:

1. Get MNT for Gas:
   Use Gas.zip to obtain some MNT for gas on Mantle. Choose Mantle Mainnet and inbound from where you want to send the gas.
   Send 0.1 ETH or the Amount you want to Deposit in Mantle Staked ETH to MNT.

2. Set Up and Bind Referral:
   Sign up and create an account on Mantle’s mETH Campaign Page using my referral link to get a 10% bonus. Important: bind my referral C7omYBeFxq before the next step.

3. Staking mETH:
   Instead of staking directly via the Mantle website (which requires costly mainnet fees), go to Merchant Moe.
   Swap your MNT to mETH on Merchant Moe to participate in the staking pool.

Step 1

The graph has to be going down, as mETH is a LST and will always gain in Price compared to non-yielding assets. Make sure that you are Swapping the MNT to mETH (and leave around a little bit MNT over for Gas)

By staking on Mantle, you’re setting yourself up for yield opportunities and future airdrop benefits. Keep track of your mETH holdings and any rewards through your DeFi dashboard.

Additional Tasks for Round 1

To maximize your airdrop points and potential rewards, complete these additional tasks for each protocol:

Ether.fi

1. Dashboard and Profile:
   Check your Ether.fi dashboard and navigate to the profile, points, and badges tabs.
   Link your email, Twitter, and any other social media accounts to earn extra points.

2. Referral and Extra Points:
   Ensure you’ve used my referral code when staking to get those 100 extra points per 0.1 ETH staked.

3. Sign up for Turtle Club
   Sign up for the Turtle Club to get an extra reward for your staking activities: https://turtle.club/dashboard/?ref=SHROOM

Kelp

1. Profile and Social Media Integration:
   Similarly, check Kelp’s dashboard and profile settings.

2. Monitor and Optimize:
   Keep an eye on any new opportunities Kelp offers to earn more points or badges.

Mantle

1. Airdrop Preparation:
   Make sure your referral is properly bound to your Mantle account to maximize your airdrop rewards.
   Regularly check the Mantle dashboard for any new tasks or opportunities to earn extra points or badges.

By completing these additional tasks, you ensure that you’re not leaving any points on the table and maximizing your potential airdrop rewards. This step is crucial for the success of the “Set and Forget” strategy, providing you with an optimized yield from your initial investments.

Round 2: Vaults on ETH

In this round, you’ll deposit your restaked ETH into vaults to enhance your airdrop exposure and increase your yield. This step builds on your initial staking, allowing for optimized yields and additional airdrop points.

Note: It’s also possible to borrow and lend the restaked ETH beforehand for extra exposure. I’ll provide details on this in Round 3. For now, this round focuses on a solid set-and-forget ETH long positions with compounded yields and airdrops.

Keep in mind that points are awarded per asset staked per day, so some investors may accumulate more points by being more active. Vaults like Karak might have limited capacity, but there are plenty of alternatives if you miss out.

Ether.fi: Mitosis

This move boosts your points for the Eigenlayer, Etherfi, and Mitosis airdrops all at once.

• Deposit Strategy:
  Deposit half of your eETH from Scroll into the Mitosis vault for extra APR and a 1.3 point boost for using the Scroll network.

• Referral Link: Mitosis

• Additional Notes:
  You’ll receive miweETH, which can be used in DeFi but currently does not yet have many options.
  Regularly check your dashboard for any “low-hanging fruit” badges you can claim to increase your airdrop potential, although this won’t affect your general ETH yield.

Ether.fi: Karak

Karak is an exciting new DeFi protocol offering promising yields and future airdrop potential. It has yet to launch its native token, making it a prime candidate for future airdrop rewards. Due to its limited Total Value Locked (TVL) and the competitive nature of its vaults, securing your spot early is crucial. Act fast to ensure you don’t miss out on this opportunity to benefit from both high yields and potential airdrop rewards.

• Deposit Strategy:
  Use the remaining half of your eETH on the Arbitrum network via the Karak vault.

• Use my Access Code to Karak: e3PRZ (this code is important)

• Deposit Link: Karak Arbitrum Vault

• Additional Notes:
  If prompted, mint or claim receipt tokens as necessary.
  Your eETH will now accumulate APR and points automatically.

Mantle: Karak

• Deposit Strategy:
  Consider setting up a second account on Karak with a new invite code and a new wallet (using VPN) for extra airdrop opportunities. Contact me for the new invite code.

• Alternatively, deposit all your mETH into the Karak Vault on the Mantle network with the Karak account you already have.

Kelp: Lyra

Lyra is an emerging DeFi platform with impressive yield opportunities and strong potential for future airdrop rewards. Though still in its early stages, Lyra has quickly garnered attention for its robust yield farming options. With a focus on both ARB and mainnet deployments, Lyra offers a promising avenue for maximizing returns on your restaked ETH. The platform’s innovative approach and early-stage status make it a key player to watch for upcoming airdrops and yield enhancements. Don’t miss out on this chance to get in early and capitalize on potential rewards.

• Deposit Strategy:
  For Kelp, deposit your rsETH into the Lyra vault, either on Arbitrum or Mainnet (with a preference for Arbitrum).

• Invite Code: ZBOBU
  Go on https://lyra.finance/invite/ZBOBU, use my invite code (!)

• Deposit into this Vault: Lyra Vault

• Additional Notes:
  If your funds are not already on Mainnet or Arbitrum, bridge them using Owlto.
  For those interested, Round 3 will cover additional strategies for lending and borrowing to maximize exposure.

Additional Tasks for Round 2

After depositing your restaked ETH into the respective vaults, there are a few important follow-up steps to ensure everything is in order and to maximize your potential rewards:

Verify Vault Deposits:

1. Check Your Wallet: Ensure that your staked ETH tokens (eETH, rsETH, mETH) are no longer in your main wallet. They should now be securely deposited into the vaults.

2. DeBank Verification: Log in to your DeBank account and verify that your staked ETH tokens are listed correctly in their respective vaults. This will help you keep track of your assets and ensure they are generating yields as expected.

3. Monitor Ether.fi for New Badges: Visit the Ether.fi platform and check for any new badges or additional tasks that can earn you extra points. These badges can increase your airdrop potential and boost your overall returns.

4. Mint Scroll Canvas:
   Head over to Scroll and mint using this invite link: Scroll Canvas Invite. This will give you 50% off on the mint, and the mint is an airdrop multiplier and is directly from the team.

By completing these tasks, you can ensure that your strategy is functioning as planned and that you are on track to maximize your yields and airdrop potential. Keep an eye on your investments and stay proactive to make the most of your DeFi journey.

Next, let’s proceed to Round 3 where we will explore borrowing and lending strategies to further enhance your yields and airdrop opportunities.

Round 3: Borrowing, Lending, and Liquidity Pools

Round 3 is all about amplifying your crypto yield through borrowing and lending while also participating in liquidity pools. This step can significantly enhance your returns and provide extra airdrop opportunities. By strategically lending and borrowing correlated assets, you can minimize risks and maximize gains.

Understanding Borrowing and Lending

Borrowing and lending in DeFi involve lending out your assets to earn interest and borrowing assets against your collateral. The key to this strategy is using correlated assets, which helps in reducing risks associated with price volatility.

Correlated Assets: These are assets that tend to move in the same direction. For instance, ETH and stETH (staked ETH) are correlated because their value is tied to the price of ETH.

Why Correlated Assets Matter

Using correlated assets is crucial for a set-and-forget strategy because it minimizes the risk of liquidation. When the value of your collateral and borrowed assets move in sync, it reduces the chances of your collateral dropping below the required threshold, thereby avoiding forced liquidation. This allows you to maintain your position with minimal intervention, ensuring a stable and passive income stream.

Recommended Platforms for Borrowing and Lending

• Dolomite
  Link: Dolomite
  Dolomite offers a variety of lending and borrowing options with competitive interest rates. It supports ARB, Mantle and X-Layer. I recommend it for usage on ARB.

• ZeroLend
  Link: ZeroLend
  ZeroLend is known for its innovative lending solutions and potential airdrop multipliers. It provides a user-friendly interface for managing your assets. I recommend it for the networks Zksync or Linea.

• Aave Finance
  Link: Aave Finance
  Aave is a well-established platform with a broad range of assets available for lending and borrowing. It offers stable and variable interest rates, allowing for tailored strategies and with Ethereum Mainnet, Base, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Fantom, Optimism, Polygon, Metis, Gnosis, BNB and Scroll it has the most supported chains.

• Pendle Finance
  Link: Pendle Finance
  Pendle Finance specializes in tokenized yield and time decay assets, providing unique opportunities for maximizing returns through yield farming and liquidity pools. Pendle supports Mainnet, Arbitrum, BNB Chain, Optimism and Mantle.

• Silo Finance
  Link: Silo Finance
  Silo Finance offers isolated lending markets, which reduces the risk of cross-market contagion. It supports a variety of assets and networks. Silo operates on Mainnet, Arbitrum and Optimism.

How to Borrow and Lend

Choose Your Platform:
Select a platform that supports the assets you want to lend and borrow. Check for any airdrop multipliers or additional rewards for using specific assets or networks.

1. Deposit Collateral:
   Deposit a correlated asset, such as (w)eETH or rsETH as collateral. Ensure that the collateral is sufficient to cover the amount you plan to borrow.

2. Borrow Assets:
   Borrow another correlated asset against your collateral. For instance, you can borrow eETH against your rsETH. This allows you to leverage your position without significant risk.

3. Utilize Borrowed Assets:
   The borrowed assets can be deposited back into the platform or into other DeFi protocols to earn additional yields. This could involve depositing into a vault from Round 2 or joining a liquidity pool. You could even stake your liquidity pool token afterwards (or drop it into another pool) to further maximize your yield.

Liquidity Pools

Liquidity pools allow you to provide liquidity to decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and earn fees from trades. Additionally, you can receive rewards in the form of extra tokens or interest.

Recommended Pools:

• Pendle Finance Pools
  Link: Pendle Finance Pools
  Pendle pools offer unique opportunities to earn yields from tokenized future yield streams. Some pools on Pendle can mature, allowing you to lock up tokens for a specific time for optimized yield and excellent airdrop multipliers. I recommend putting your staked ETH

On Pendle Finance, you can trade future yields by using Principal Tokens (PT), Yield Tokens (YT), and Liquidity Provider Tokens (LP). PT represents the asset’s principal value, YT represents the right to claim future yield, and LP tokens are earned by providing liquidity to the platform’s pools. For a set-and-forget strategy, I recommend LP tokens as they offer lower risk by balancing the stable principal with the volatile yield, generate passive income through trading fees, and require minimal management while potentially qualifying for additional rewards like airdrops and staking incentives.

• Dolomite Pools
  Link: Dolomite Pools
  Dolomite provides various liquidity pools with attractive APRs and the potential for additional airdrop rewards.

Joining a Liquidity Pool:

Check well what type of pool you are going into, my recommendation is low-risk stable yield LP pools. They do also offer a great airdrop multiplication.

1. Select a Pool:
   Choose a liquidity pool that matches your assets. Ensure it offers a good balance between APR and stability.

2. Provide Liquidity:
   Deposit your assets into the pool. This often involves pairing two correlated assets (e.g., ETH and stETH) to provide liquidity.

3. Earn Rewards:
   Monitor your liquidity position and collect any rewards. Some pools may offer additional tokens or fees as interest.

Additional Tasks for Round 3:

1. Monitor Collateral Ratios:
   Regularly check your collateral ratios when the market is moving to avoid liquidation risks (if you are using uncorrelated assets). Ensure that your borrowed assets are within safe limits relative to your collateral.

2. Rebalance as Needed:
   Rebalancing isn’t necessarily needed for a set-and-forget strategy, but using DeBank helps keep an eye on your assets. Rebalance periodically to maintain optimal yields and minimize risks. This might involve moving assets between different platforms or pools.

3. Check for New Airdrops:
   Stay updated with the latest airdrop announcements on the platforms you are using. Participate in any additional tasks or criteria to qualify for these airdrops.

By following these steps, you can significantly enhance your DeFi strategy through effective borrowing, lending, and liquidity pooling. This approach not only maximizes yields but also provides additional opportunities for airdrop rewards. Keep monitoring your investments and stay proactive in managing your assets for optimal results.

Glossary:

Airdrop: A distribution of cryptocurrency tokens or coins to a large number of wallet addresses, typically used as a marketing strategy to promote new projects or tokens.
Collateral: Assets that a borrower offers to a lender to secure a loan. In DeFi, this is often cryptocurrency.
Correlated Assets: Assets that tend to move in the same direction in terms of price, reducing the risk of liquidation when used in borrowing and lending strategies.
DeFi (Decentralized Finance): A financial ecosystem built on blockchain technology that allows for peer-to-peer transactions and services without intermediaries like banks.
Liquidity Pool: A collection of funds locked in a smart contract, providing liquidity for decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and earning fees and rewards for liquidity providers.
Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs): Tokens received in exchange for staking cryptocurrency, which can still be traded or used in other DeFi applications while earning staking rewards.
Vaults: Smart contracts that manage crypto assets to generate yield, reinvesting earnings and optimizing strategies for maximum returns.
Yield Farming: The practice of staking or lending crypto assets to generate high returns in the form of additional cryptocurrency.
LP Tokens: Tokens given to liquidity providers on a decentralized exchange, representing their share of the liquidity pool.
Principal Tokens (PT): In Pendle Finance, these represent the principal value of an asset.
Yield Tokens (YT): In Pendle Finance, these represent the right to claim future yield from an asset.