The NEKO airdrop you heard about? It’s already over. And if you’re still looking to claim it, you’re chasing a ghost.

There’s no single "Neko Network" airdrop waiting for you in November 2025. Instead, there are at least three different tokens all using the name NEKO, each with their own blockchain, community, and history. The confusion isn’t accidental-it’s the result of lazy branding, copycat projects, and a crypto market that rewards speed over clarity.

NeonNeko (NEKO) on Gate.com: The Only Real Airdrop That Actually Happened

The only NEKO airdrop with verified details, clear timelines, and public records was run by NeonNeko (a token launched on Gate.com that distributed 500,000 NEKO tokens in a HODLer airdrop). It ended on July 22, 2025, at 08:00 UTC. No extensions. No delays. No second chances.

Here’s how it worked: if you held any of the qualifying assets in your Gate.com wallet during the snapshot periods, you got your share. No sign-ups. No KYC. No complex tasks. Just holding. The entire airdrop pool was 500,000 NEKO tokens out of a total supply of 2 billion. That’s 0.025% of the whole supply going to airdrop participants-and it was all unlocked immediately. No vesting. No waiting.

That same day, NeonNeko started spot trading on Gate.com. The price opened at around $0.00019, giving the project a fully diluted valuation of roughly $95,250. It didn’t explode. It didn’t crash. It just… traded. Quietly. And since then, trading volume has faded. The token still exists, but the hype is gone.

The NEAR Protocol NEKO: A Short-Lived Community Phenomenon

While NeonNeko was running on a centralized exchange, another NEKO token was quietly gaining traction on the NEAR Protocol (a high-speed, low-cost blockchain optimized for decentralized apps). This NEKO token wasn’t tied to Gate.com. It wasn’t part of any official airdrop campaign. It just appeared.

Within days, it hit 22,000 unique holders-ranking #3 in the entire NEAR ecosystem. That’s impressive. But here’s the catch: it didn’t last. The token peaked, then lost 98.6% of its value. Today, it trades at a fraction of its high. Daily volume has dropped 35% from its peak, hovering around $740. Most of that volume comes from Rhea Finance, a small decentralized exchange on NEAR.

This NEKO token has a max supply of 10 billion. No one knows who created it. No whitepaper. No team announcement. Just a token contract deployed and a community that showed up for the ride. It’s a classic example of a memecoin with no utility, no roadmap, and no long-term plan. The airdrop? There wasn’t one. People bought it. Some sold. Most lost.

Nekodex: Not NEKO, But Often Mistaken for It

Then there’s Nekodex (a DeFi platform on Optimism that gives out Nekocoin, not NEKO, through a $4 million airdrop). This one trips people up because the names sound the same. Nekodex is real. It’s active. And it’s offering an airdrop-but not for NEKO.

To qualify, you need to:

• Sign up using the invite code "airdrops-io"
• Deposit more than 100 USDC into their earn vaults
• Use their gasless trading feature (powered by ERC-4337)
• Participate in their yield pools offering 142%-148% APY

This isn’t a passive airdrop. It’s a performance-based reward system. You earn Nekocoin by using the platform. It’s not free money. It’s a way to incentivize adoption. And yes, the APY numbers look insane. But remember: high yield often means high risk. If the platform fails, your deposit vanishes.

And again-this is Nekocoin. Not NEKO. But Google searches and Telegram groups keep mixing them up. People show up looking for NEKO. They get Nekodex. They get confused. And then they blame the crypto market.

Why So Many NEKOs? And Why Does It Matter?

Crypto is full of copycats. A successful name gets reused. A trending token gets cloned. A project with no idea what it’s doing just picks a popular name and hopes for the best.

There’s no central authority tracking NEKO tokens. No official registry. No trademark. So anyone can deploy a contract called NEKO on any blockchain and call it a day. The result? Three separate projects with no connection to each other:

• NeonNeko - Gate.com centralized token, airdrop done, trading quietly
• NEAR NEKO - Memecoin on NEAR Protocol, exploded then collapsed
• Nekodex - DeFi platform on Optimism, giving out Nekocoin, not NEKO

If you’re trying to find the "real" NEKO airdrop, you’re chasing a mirage. The only one that ever existed is over. The others weren’t airdrops at all-or they were, but you missed the window.

What You Should Do Now

Don’t waste time looking for a NEKO airdrop that doesn’t exist anymore. Instead:

1. Check your Gate.com wallet if you held assets in early 2025. You might have NeonNeko tokens already.
2. If you’re on NEAR Protocol, check your wallet for NEKO-but don’t expect it to recover. The trend is down.
3. If you want to earn something new, look at Nekodex. But only if you understand the risks of DeFi yield farming.
4. Never trust a project that doesn’t have a website, team, or clear tokenomics. If it’s just a name and a contract, walk away.

There’s no magic bullet in crypto. Airdrops aren’t free cash. They’re marketing tools. And once the marketing is done, the project either builds real value-or fades into obscurity.

NeonNeko faded. NEAR NEKO crashed. Nekodex is still running-but it’s not NEKO. The lesson? Don’t chase names. Chase substance. And always verify the blockchain, the team, and the contract address before you touch anything labeled "NEKO."

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