How to Use Zerion to Master Optimism and Earn More OP Airdrops in the Future?
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How to Use Zerion to Master Optimism and Earn More OP Airdrops in the Future?
Don't just hunt airdrops; you need to actually use Optimism and Ethereum.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWritten by: Vladimir
Compiled by: TechFlow intern
Optimism has announced the launch of its governance token $OP, an Ethereum L2 rollup, along with a major airdrop to early supporters.
There have long been rumors, and many have tried to game the system for free tokens. However, Optimism's airdrop was designed to exclude so-called "airdrop hunters," meaning many shallow users who simply bridged to Optimism and made a few transactions still missed the first airdrop.
But if you didn't qualify, don’t worry.
The Optimism Foundation has confirmed that more airdrops are coming soon for users. In this article, we'll explain how to participate in Optimism and maximize your chances of receiving future Optimism airdrops when they are announced.
1. Bridge ETH to Optimism
The first step to joining the Optimism ecosystem is transferring ETH from Ethereum mainnet to the L2. You can do this via the official Optimism bridge or other popular cross-chain bridges.
Functionally, all bridges work the same way: you lock ETH on the mainnet and receive an equivalent amount of ETH minted on Optimism. However, gas fees, bridge costs, and speed may vary, making it hard to know which bridge offers the best deal at any given time.
Luckily, Zerion helps you find the fastest or cheapest bridge.
Zerion aggregates multiple bridges and protocols like Hop.Exchange to find you the best price.
Here’s how Zerion Bridge works:
1. Connect your wallet: Visit app.zerion.io and connect any non-custodial Ethereum wallet. Then click on Zerion’s Bridge tab.
2. Networks: Select Ethereum as the “source network” and Optimism as the “destination network.”
3. Assets: Choose the asset (start with ETH, needed to pay Optimism gas) and the amount you want to bridge. Since Optimism was created specifically to address Ethereum’s high fees, you likely won’t need to transfer your entire balance.
4. Bridge destination: Choose how you want to bridge. “Max Received” ensures you get the most tokens on Optimism, while “Fastest Transfer” finds the quickest bridge.
5. Get quote: Zerion automatically scans all available bridge options, recommends the best one, and estimates transfer time and cost.
6. Transfer: Click “Transfer” and sign the transaction using your wallet.
Usually within 15 minutes, the transaction completes (you can check Etherscan), and you’ll receive ETH in your Optimism address. If it takes longer, don’t panic—network congestion can sometimes slow down the Ethereum network.
Once your ETH is on Optimism, Zerion’s Overview will reflect its value in your portfolio. Click the “All Networks” dropdown to see your Optimism assets.
2. Use dApps on Optimism
Like other L2s, Optimism aims to reward active participants in its ecosystem. Regularly using dApps is the best way to prove you're a real user, not just an “airdrop hunter.”
Let’s explore how to swap, lend, and provide liquidity on Optimism to maximize your chance of qualifying for the next airdrop.
Swap
You’ll need some assets on Optimism. For DEXs, you have many options: Uniswap, 1inch, Curve, and many other top-tier DEXs are already live on Optimism.
Zerion’s aggregated trading helps you find the best rates across all major DEXs.
Just go to Zerion’s Swap page and select the asset you want to buy. Zerion automatically scans all major DEXs on Optimism and gives you the best price after factoring in fees and slippage. Zerion charges a 0.5% fee for this service, which is waived if you hold a Zerion Genesis NFT.
What should you buy?
That’s up to you, but here are some useful suggestions for dApps in the Optimism ecosystem:
●DAI: MakerDAO’s decentralized stablecoin, which you can lend out or use to provide liquidity.
●Synth sUSD: A synthetic stablecoin minted through the Synthetix protocol. It’s used in several popular dApps on Optimism.
●SNX: The native token of the Synthetix protocol. You can stake SNX to mint sUSD and earn rewards in SNX.
Lend
Now that you’ve acquired some assets, you can lend them out to earn yield.
While Aave isn’t the only lending platform on Optimism, it’s likely the simplest and lowest-risk option. Stablecoin yields aren’t very high (2–3%), but something is better than nothing.
Instead of depositing tokens into Aave manually, you can directly purchase yield-bearing tokens on Zerion. You can buy these tokens directly on Optimism, and they will accrue interest in your wallet.
Provide Liquidity
If you’re looking for higher yields, you can provide liquidity on one of the many protocols running on Optimism.
●Uniswap: The leading DEX, no introduction needed. On Optimism, many users trade WETH/DAI, so this could be a high-yield pool.
●Hop Protocol: A popular cross-chain bridge where you can provide liquidity for users moving assets. On Optimism, pools include ETH, USDC, USDT, and DAI.
●Synthetix: A protocol for creating synthetic assets. When you stake SNX, you mint sUSD and earn SNX rewards.
●Lyra: A platform for trading on-chain options. You can lock sUSD to provide liquidity for option buyers and earn trading rewards in LYRA tokens.
No matter where you choose to lend, stake, or provide liquidity, you can use Zerion to track your Optimism portfolio, automatically calculating the value of positions, debts, and rewards.
3. Participate in DAO Governance
Optimism’s first airdrop rewarded those who participated in DAO governance. On-chain voting is one of the easiest ways to identify active contributors in the Ethereum ecosystem. Here are some of the most active DAOs on Optimism:
●Aave (AAVE)
●Synthetix (SNX)
●Uniswap (UNI)
To vote in a DAO, you first need the governance token, then connect your wallet to governance dashboards like Snapshot or Boardroom, which also help you discover governance opportunities for any other tokens you hold.
4. Bridge to Other Networks – Stay Active on Ethereum Mainnet
Optimism targets users hurt by high gas fees on Ethereum mainnet. However, users of other EVM-compatible L1s (like BSC) and L2s (like Arbitrum) are also potential candidates. Therefore, bridging some assets to other networks might be a smart move to qualify for future OP airdrops.
Optimism’s first airdrop included Ethereum addresses active on these networks:
●Polygon
●Gnosis Chain
●Arbitrum
●Solana
You can use Zerion’s aggregated bridging feature to move assets from Ethereum to Polygon, Gnosis, and Arbitrum via the cheapest or fastest bridge. To connect to Solana, you’ll need Wormhole.
Optimism specifically mentioned bridge users as still eligible for airdrops.
So avoid creating brand-new addresses you don’t intend to use—this leads us to another key point.
5. Be a Real User!
Don’t just chase airdrops—actually use Optimism and Ethereum.
Future Optimism airdrops will reward active users who contribute to the network. Trade, provide liquidity, lend, vote, mint—do what a genuine user would do.
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