Meteora Airdrop Insider Revealed: 4 Whale Addresses Consume 28.5%, 60,000 Retail Investors Only Receive 7%

In the context of the Solana ecosystem's DeFi project Meteora airdrop event, the market analyzed over 70,000 on-chain claim data, revealing severe distribution inequality and a Crisis of Confidence. Of the approximately 161 million airdrop tokens distributed, just 4 Whale addresses received 28.5%, while over 60,000 retail investor addresses only received 7.15%. Even more concerning is that the address with the highest claims is suspected to have ties to the team.

48% High Circulation Model Triggers Price Flash Crash

(Source: Meteora)

The TGE plan of Meteora is highly controversial in its mechanism design, with its core being a “high liquidity” model. The total supply of MET tokens is 1 billion, and on the day of TGE, 48% of the total supply (i.e., 480 million tokens) will be fully unlocked and enter circulation all at once. The team claims that this move is “intentional” and aims to eliminate “artificial scarcity” to achieve “real market price discovery.”

This radical model almost immediately triggered the market's “shock therapy.” The 48% massive supply created overwhelming immediate selling pressure. After the TGE launched, the MET price quickly fell from an opening price of about $0.90, hitting a low of $0.51 within a few hours, a drop of 43%. This design is completely contrary to traditional token economics, which typically employs a gradual unlocking mechanism to avoid supply shocks.

This Meteora Airdrop is based on the activity snapshot from June 30, 2025, with claims opening on October 23. The eligibility criteria use a points system, and the rewards target liquidity providers (LP), Jupiter (JUP) stakers, and previously controversial M3M3 Memecoin stakers. However, the release of 48% of the supply alongside an opaque points distribution mechanism creates perfect conditions for Whale manipulation.

According to PANews statistics, as of October 24, the amount of MET Airdrop that has been distributed is approximately 161 million tokens, with the number of transactions claiming the airdrop being around 71,000, and the average amount claimed per transaction being 2,277 tokens. In terms of the scale of the airdrop, the total value claimed so far is approximately 83.7 million USD, with the average value claimed per Address being about 1,180 USD. On average, it seems that the MET Airdrop is still a decent reward; however, when observing the data further, it reveals a concentration of Whales and a stark “wealth gap.”

Four Whale Addresses Are Unusual

(Source: Arkham)

Among all the claimed addresses, the address that received the most from a single airdrop obtained 12.15 million tokens, worth approximately 6.31 million USD. A total of 4 addresses claimed more than 10 million tokens, and these four whales received approximately 45.94 million tokens, accounting for 28.5% of the total airdrop claimed so far.

The address that received the most tokens is 3vAauDAR8er3HT8C3Vaj7WRbDoaoebi3KnvCdWuHj6ae, which claimed over 12.15 million tokens in a single transaction. Based on discussions on social media, this address participated in the Airdrop of the MER token (the token of Meteora's predecessor, Mercurial Finance) and holds a large amount of JUP tokens, which have been transferred to exchanges for long-term selling. Some analysts also believe this is a related address of the Meteora team.

In the past 8 months, the number of JUP tokens sold through the Address has exceeded 30 million. Currently, this selling strategy has been applied to MET again, and as of October 25, the Address has transferred over 3 million MET tokens to CEX exchanges. This behavioral pattern suggests that the holder of the Address is a professional Airdrop hunter or insider, well-versed in maximizing profits and exiting quickly.

The addresses ranked second and third in the amount received seem to have a very strong correlation. Both addresses are large holders of JUP and are often active in adding to the Jupiter liquidity pool. Coincidentally, the JUP transfer amounts for these two addresses have repeatedly remained the same, both being 2,622,632.41, and the activity times are often on the same day. Based on various activity trails, these two addresses are likely controlled by the same group.

The fourth ranked Address DKpWmjTTJCgHsRCznxp8UmRq6hCUK75pFw9kd1uCMUaK is even more unusual, as the amount of Airdrop received by this Address is a total of 10 million coins, which seems abnormal for a regular point collection. Moreover, this Address was created a month ago, and at that time, it should have already missed the snapshot time for Meteora. Additionally, this Address has never participated in any liquidity addition or JUP staking or any activities related to Airdrop qualification. The qualification for Airdrop and the ownership of this Address are still unknown.

60,000 retail investors only share 7% distribution extremely uneven

The remaining address distribution further reveals the unfair nature of the Meteora Airdrop. There are 12 addresses that received more than 1 million tokens, collectively receiving over 28 million tokens, accounting for 17.32%. The number of addresses receiving between 100,000 and 1 million is 109, which received 23.99 million tokens, accounting for 14.84%.

The number of addresses receiving between 10,000 and 100,000 tokens is 1,195, with a total distribution amount of approximately 31.29 million tokens, accounting for 19.35%. The largest number is from addresses receiving between 1,000 and 10,000 tokens, totaling 37,000, which received 10.12 million tokens, accounting for about 6.26%. There is also a significant number of addresses receiving fewer than 1,000 tokens, totaling 61,600 (including 24,600 addresses receiving fewer than 100 tokens), which collectively received approximately 11.56 million tokens, accounting for about 7.15%.

Meteora Airdrop distribution structure:

Super Whale (4 Addresses): Receive 45.94 million tokens, accounting for 28.5%

Whale (12 Address, >1 million tokens): Received 28 million tokens, accounting for 17.32%

Middle Account (109 Address, 1,000,000 - 10,000,000 pieces): Received 23,990,000 pieces, accounting for 14.84%

retail investor (61,600 Addresses, <1000 Coins): Received 11.56 million, accounting for 7.15%

These data reveal a harsh reality: the MET Airdrop is not a one-time “sunshine” community reward, but a head feast with extremely uneven distribution. Only 4 Addresses control nearly 30% of the Airdrop, while 86.7% of the total Addresses, the retail investors, only receive 7.15%. This distribution structure completely contradicts the core spirit of DeFi's decentralization and community governance.

Controversial figure continues to receive millions deepening the Crisis of Confidence

Aside from a few unusual large holders, there are also many controversial aspects regarding the Meteora Airdrop. Arkm pointed out that three insiders' addresses related to the TRUMP token received a total of $4.2 million worth of MET Airdrop. After receiving the Airdrop, these addresses immediately deposited all MET into a CEX exchange for sale.

The TRUMP token itself is a highly controversial project related to the family of former U.S. President Trump, with insiders allegedly engaged in insider trading across multiple crypto projects. These Addresses are able to receive large Meteora Airdrops and quickly cash out, indicating serious loopholes or manipulation in the airdrop rules.

Moreover, Hayden Davis, the central figure in the LIBRA scandal, also received tokens worth approximately 1.5 million USD in the MET Airdrop. This has sparked strong criticism from the community, with users on social media stating: “Why does Hayden Davis get the MET Airdrop? You must be joking… Thanks to Meteora for giving Hayden Davis another 1.5 million USD.”

In fact, this is not the first time Meteora has been caught in a Crisis of Confidence. In December last year, Meteora launched the M3M3 platform and its namesake token, claiming to aim at changing the dynamics of Meme coins. However, the project quickly collapsed, with the token's value plummeting 98% from its peak, leading to subsequent class action lawsuits. After the LIBRA scandal in February this year, the Meteora team was once again caught up in accusations of insider trading.

In summary, the grand TGE and airdrop event of Meteora not only failed to become the “community redemption” it claimed to be, but instead turned into a disaster that exacerbated the crisis of confidence. From the price flash crash triggered by the radical 48% high circulation model, to 4 whale addresses monopolizing 28.5% of the airdrop, and then to the involvement of “mouse warehouses” related to the TRUMP token and the core figures of the LIBRA scandal receiving millions of dollars in airdrops, every move made by Meteora has been questioned as straying far from the original intention of “community first.”

This event, which was supposed to be a “redemption,” ultimately only added new wounds to the old scars left by the M3M3 and LIBRA scandals, plunging the team into a new round of confidence crisis and collective lawsuit turmoil.