Airdrop and points programs to watch in September 2026: a network-by-network guide

In 2026 the airdrop scene revolves around points programs: a project rewards users with points for trading volume, liquidity or tasks, and says those points will count if it launches a token later. The key detail: in most programs the token is not confirmed yet, and nobody knows what the points will be worth.

Highlights by network

• Hyperliquid: a perpetuals exchange on its own chain. A possible “season 2” after the first airdrop is discussed; there is no official date.
• Solana, BULK: a trading platform that went to mainnet on September 5; points follow trading activity.
• Ink, Nado: stock-token spot and margin trading on Kraken’s Ethereum layer Ink, with weekly reward pools.
• Trading platforms (multi-chain): Variational, Extended and RISEx award points for volume and referrals.
• Polymarket: the prediction market says a token and an airdrop are coming, but has not published the criteria.

Before you join: points programs are not investment advice and guarantee no token. Volume-based programs cost trading fees and, with leverage, can cause serious losses. Never share your wallet’s secret recovery phrase on any site, connect only through the project’s official address, and ignore “claim your airdrop” messages.

Project by project

Hyperliquid. An order-book perpetuals exchange on its own blockchain, with the HyperEVM smart-contract layer on the same network. The routes people discuss for a possible new distribution are trading volume on the main exchange or building on HyperEVM. No season date has been announced, so this is fully speculative.

BULK (Solana). Went live on mainnet on September 5, 2026. Points follow trading activity; early access required joining the mainnet launch or an invite code. No confirmed token.

Nado (Ink). Offers spot and margin trading in tokenized stocks. Weekly $100,000 trader reward pools can be claimed in the app; this is a direct rewards program, not a token airdrop.

Variational. A trading platform with swaps and leveraged markets. Points come from cumulative trading volume and referrals, and swaps earn double points. Token speculative.

Extended. Says roughly 30% of the future EXT supply goes to its points program. The program has a 70-million-point cap and only about 3 million points were left as of September 8, so it is close to the end.

RISEx. Weekly 200,000-point pools are split by trading activity and positions. Token speculative.

Polymarket. The team said “there will be a token, there will be an airdrop”, but has not said who will qualify or how. It is expected after the platform’s US relaunch.

Quick checklist

1. Cross-check the project’s official website and X account; do not trust links from search ads.
2. Use a separate “airdrop wallet” and keep your main holdings elsewhere.
3. Do not churn volume just for points: fees and leverage can cost more than any reward.
4. Check whether using the platform is legal where you live.