Liquid Restaking Protocol Puffer Finance Preps for Airdrop

Puffer Finance, an Ethereum-based liquid restaking protocol, is gearing up for its upcoming PUFFER token generation event (TGE) and airdrop.

Puffer said on Oct. 4 that for every 10,000 ETH deposited, the protocol would increase the community token allocation by 0.1%. Of this increase, 70% will go to new stakers, while the rest will reward previous users.

“Our token distribution may look different from others you've seen. Puffer is community-first,” Puffer Finance tweeted. “Getting airdrops right is hard. We've seen crypto communities fracture because of poorly designed airdrops. While no design is perfect, we will be focusing on rewarding our most value-aligned community members.”

Tapping Into the LRT Boom

Puffer is tapping into the booming Liquid Restaking Token (LRT) sector, which has grown massively this year. LRTs have ballooned to over $10 billion in total value locked (TVL), marking a 3,233% increase from less than $300 million at the start of the year, according to DeFiLlama.

The LRT sector exploded in 2024, driven mainly by the hype surrounding EigenLayer and the rapid success of EtherFi, the pioneering LRT protocol. EtherFi’s TVL currently stands at $5.8 billion, up a staggering 1,586% since January. Other top players in the space include EigenPie, with a TVL of $1 billion and Renzo, holding $895 million in TVL.

LRTs allow users to earn restaking rewards on their ETH while keeping their assets flexible and liquid. LRTs provide additional yield by letting users "restake" through platforms like EigenLayer, earning not just the base staking rewards but also extra returns from validating third-party services. This means users can maximize their profits in DeFi without locking up their assets​.

As of now, Puffer has not confirmed the official launch date for the airdrop, but the first snapshot — a record of user balances to determine eligibility — is scheduled for Oct. 5.

Puffer’s Growth and Funding

Launched in February, Puffer Finance has raised $24.47 million in funding, with its latest round being a $18 million Series A led by Brevan Howard Digital and Electric Capital. Other notable participants include Coinbase Ventures, Animoca Brands, ConsenSys, and Binance Labs, which made an undisclosed investment in January.

Puffer now ranks as the second-largest liquid restaking protocol, according to DeFiLlama, boasting over 500,000 ETH in TVL, valued at $1.28 billion. That’s a whopping 1,322% increase from its $90 million TVL when it launched in February. Currently, more than 5,000 node operators are contributing to Puffer's network.

In July, Puffer said it was developing UniFi, a rollup solution aimed at improving Ethereum's network by solving fragmentation issues and increasing interoperability. UniFi is built to speed up transactions to around 100 milliseconds and streamline interactions between various rollups, removing the need for bridges.