Founded by former Revolut employees, the Extended DEX has set itself apart with new infrastructure and a wide variety of products. With over $6 million raised in 2024 and more than 30% of the total token supply announced for the community at launch, Extended is clearly one of the major potential airdrops of 2026. Find out what you need to do to be eligible for a possible Extended airdrop.
What is Extended and its innovative architecture?
Extended is a decentralized trading platform (perp DEX) built on Starknet, which is positioned as one of the most powerful in DeFi. The platform is actively developing an ambitious vision around “unified margin,” which will allow any supported asset (including those that generate returns, such as wstETH) to be used as single collateral for all types of trading. The goal is to create a comprehensive platform, combining perpetuals, spot, and integrated lending/borrowing markets, all under a single margin system.
Unified Margin
This concept, which differentiates Extended from more traditional margin trading, allows any asset traded and supported by the platform to be “transformed” into a single token (e.g., USDC). This allows for better amortization in the event of a loss, both for the investor and for the platform.
For example, if a user deposits wstETH as collateral and incurs a loss while trading perpetuals settled in USDC, this is effectively equivalent to borrowing USDC, with interest paid to USDC lenders. Put more simply: if a user deposits wstETH as collateral and loses money trading perpetual contracts in USDC, this is equivalent to using borrowed USDC, for which they pay interest to USDC providers.
Extended differs from other perpetual DEX platforms in its hybrid architecture. Rather than adopting a purely on-chain model or a fully centralized infrastructure, Extended relies on a central limit order book processed off-chain, while ensuring on-chain transaction validation and settlement on Starknet.
CLOB
A CLOB is a centralized order book where all buy and sell orders are listed and executed according to a price-time priority, which means that prices are dictated directly by traders. An AMM, on the other hand, sets the price using a formula applied to a liquidity pool (LP).
In concrete terms, this means that:
- Order processing, matching, and risk assessment are handled by a very fast and efficient off-chain engine capable of achieving performance levels comparable to those of centralized platforms;
- Final transaction validation, settlement, and fund custody are handled by smart contracts on Starknet, ensuring that every state change complies with protocol rules and that no manipulation is possible.
This hybrid approach addresses a key issue: how to offer a smooth, fast, and liquid trading experience while maintaining user sovereignty over their funds and the security of their positions. Extended does this by separating tasks that require speed (order matching) from those that require trust (validation and settlement).
Unlike a liquidity pool model used by some DEXs, where liquidity providers act directly as counterparties to traders (which can lead to deteriorating liquidity and low returns for LPs), or a virtual automated market maker (vAMM) model, which is limited by imbalances between long and short positions,
Extended’s CLOB model offers more accurate execution and a natural balancing of traders’ interests.
vAMM
A vAMM works like a classic AMM with the formula x×y=k, but instead of trading real assets, the trade is a virtual leveraged exposure against a virtual pool. Example: when opening a long ETH-USD position, the vAMM curve raises the price of the pool if more long positions accumulate, unlike CLOBs where the long/short ratio always balances out. Unlike AMMs (such as Uniswap), there are no physical assets in the pool: only a global vault manages the collateral (e.g., USDC).
This hybrid model allows Extended to offer a trading experience that is similar to that of centralized platforms in terms of performance, without compromising the fundamental principles of decentralized finance, such as non-custodial funds and transparency.
How to farm the Extended airdrop?
Connect and configure your wallet
Visit the Extended website via this link (commercial collaboration) and enjoy a 10% discount on all your fees. Then connect your wallet to Extended and sign the transaction to choose which blockchain you want to make your deposit from, with Arbitrum being the recommended choice due to its speed and low cost.
Once you’ve done that, you can officially start farming and accumulating points on Extended! Here are the steps you can follow 👇
Trade
The main way to earn points on Extended is through trading activity. The higher the volume generated, the more points you will earn.
The platform offers a wide range of pairs, so you can choose according to your preferences, such as the main cryptocurrencies, but also more specific assets such as indices or commodities-related assets, such as gold or silver, available in the “TradFi” tab. For farming strategies, the most liquid markets often offer the best compromise between low fees and ease of execution. It is possible to open long or short positions, with leverage, depending on market expectations. Each position opening and closing contributes to the total volume and therefore to the accumulation of points, but they are quite fee-intensive, as the position must be kept open.
The platform offers a very classic interface, similar to what is already available on the market. The aim is not to disrupt users in order to facilitate the trading experience and attract even more traders.
Danger
However, it should be remembered that trading derivatives involves high risks, especially in times of high volatility. A prudent strategy is to use moderate position sizes and avoid excessive leverage, especially when the main objective is to earn points rather than seek speculative performance.
Leaderboard, points, and referrals
Extended’s points program is based on a ranking that is updated every six days. This allows users to track their relative position and adjust their activity based on how the competition is performing. Points are awarded primarily on the basis of trading volume, participation in vaults, and referral links.
The referral system allows users to earn bonus points. However, this is only available once a trading volume of $10,000 has been achieved on the platform. Once this threshold has been exceeded, users can share an invitation link that offers benefits to both the referrer and the new registrants. The referral system allows users to accumulate points without taking an open position or depositing in vaults: it is a passive and risk-free way to accumulate points. However, it would be contradictory to rely solely on this to establish a good farming strategy.
Disclaimer
It is important to note that farming returns tend to decrease with the arrival of new participants. As the user base expands, the share of points awarded per unit of volume decreases, making consistency more important than one-off actions.
Vault
Beyond trading and, like many other DEXs, Extended offers vaults: liquidity pools designed to support the platform’s operation so as not to disrupt the trading experience. The funds deposited are used to absorb the gains and losses of positions opened by traders.
Where it becomes interesting for accumulating points is that, in exchange for depositing a portion of your capital, depositors receive a share of the fees generated by the platform. Over the past few weeks, some vaults have posted annualized returns of over 30%, mainly due to increased volumes and volatility.
From a farming perspective, this approach allows users to accumulate points from several sources: liquidity deposits, trading activity, and participation in protocol revenues. However, it is intended for users who are willing to accept greater exposure, as the rates are quite variable, as can be seen in the graph: after peaking at over 400% APR in October 2025, the APR level fell dramatically to stabilize at around 30%.
Understanding the opportunity behind Extended
The derivatives market now accounts for the majority of activity on crypto platforms. In DeFi, perp contracts have become one of the most dynamic segments due to their liquidity and ability to attract active traders. It is also important to remember that the platform comes from one of the largest neobanks in the world, which naturally gives it a boost in confidence among users and investors alike.
With 30% of the airdrop allocated to the community and more than $6 million raised, many users are predicting prices ranging from $2 to $6 per point. Although these figures are unofficial and unconfirmed by the protocol itself, if they were to be confirmed, it would make Extended one of the largest airdrops of 2026. Regarding the protocol itself, Extended is already showing significant economic indicators. According to data from DeFiLama, the total value locked (TVL) on the platform exceeds $190 million, while monthly trading volume regularly exceeds $30 billion. Open interest, i.e., the total value of open positions, is around $300 million.
The fees generated by the activity are also growing rapidly. On an annualized basis, the protocol’s revenues now exceed $50 million, placing Extended among the most profitable decentralized platforms, a criterion that further reassures users about the size of their allocations.
In a context where several competing platforms have already carried out significant airdrops, many users believe that Extended could follow a similar trajectory, especially since the project has confirmed that a significant portion of the token supply will be reserved for the community.
Extended is part of a trend of decentralized derivatives platforms that have seen rapid adoption and, in some cases, major airdrops. Its technical infrastructure, team with a background in traditional finance, and strong economic indicators make it a project that is being closely watched by the community.
The points program currently underway is a clear signal of a desire to reward early users, even though no official announcement guarantees the exact form of a future token distribution.
In an environment where competition between decentralized platforms is intensifying, Extended has several assets to continue its growth in 2026. It remains to be seen whether this momentum will translate, as many anticipate, into a significant airdrop for the most engaged users.
