If you’re searching for a NEKO airdrop from something called "Neko Network," you’re not alone. Thousands of people typed that exact phrase into Google in late 2025, hoping to claim free tokens. But here’s the truth: there is no official "Neko Network" airdrop-at least not one that exists as a single, clear project. What you’re seeing is a mess of similar names, confused communities, and dead campaigns. Let’s cut through the noise.
What You’re Actually Looking For: Three Different NEKO Tokens
The word "NEKO" has been slapped onto at least three completely separate crypto projects. They don’t share code, teams, or goals. But because they all use the same name, people keep mixing them up. Here’s what each one really is.NeonNeko (NEKO) on Gate.com-this was the biggest airdrop that actually happened. It ran through the exchange Gate.io and ended on July 22, 2025. Participants who held certain qualifying tokens during snapshot periods got 500,000 NEKO tokens total, all unlocked immediately. No vesting. No waiting. The project launched spot trading the same day. Total supply? 2 billion tokens. That airdrop was just 0.03% of the full supply. At listing, the fully diluted valuation was around $95,250. If you didn’t hold the right tokens before July 22, you missed it. Period.
NEKO on NEAR Protocol-this one lives on the NEAR blockchain, not on any exchange. It exploded in popularity for a few days, hitting over 22,000 unique holders and becoming the third most-held token in the entire NEAR ecosystem. But then it crashed. The price dropped 98.6% from its peak. Trading volume fell 35% in a single day. As of December 2025, it’s still trading on Rhea Finance, but the activity is thin. No one knows if it’s dead or just resting. If you bought in early, you might have made money. If you jumped in after the hype, you’re likely underwater.
The third NEKO-this one’s a mystery. It trades for $0.00000594, has an infinite supply, and no real roadmap. Its all-time high was $0.0004919-over 80 times higher than today’s price. No one publishes forecasts for it. No team is listed. No website is verified. It’s a meme coin with no utility, no team, and no future. Don’t touch it unless you’re willing to lose everything.
Nekodex Isn’t Neko Network-It’s Something Else Entirely
You might have seen ads for "Nekodex" offering a $4 million airdrop. That’s not NEKO. That’s Nekocoin. Nekodex is a DeFi platform built by the team behind Perpetual Protocol. It runs on Optimism, a Layer 2 Ethereum network. To qualify for their airdrop, you had to:- Sign up using the invite code "airdrops-io"
- Deposit more than 100 USDC
- Participate in their earn vaults with 142%-148% APY
They also let you create accounts with just your email-no wallet needed at first. That’s unusual. Most DeFi platforms require a MetaMask or Phantom wallet right away. Nekodex made it easy to join, which is why it got attention. But again-this has nothing to do with NEKO. If you thought you were signing up for a Neko Network airdrop and ended up on Nekodex, you got misled.
Why So Much Confusion? The Naming Problem
"Neko" means "cat" in Japanese. It’s cute. It’s short. It’s easy to remember. That’s why so many crypto teams picked it. But that’s also why it’s dangerous. You can’t trust a project just because it sounds fun or has a cute logo. You need to check:- Which blockchain does it run on? (NEAR? Ethereum? BSC?)
- What’s the official website? (Look for verified socials)
- Who’s behind it? (Is there a team? LinkedIn profiles? Past projects?)
- Is the airdrop still open? (Most NEKO airdrops closed in mid-2025)
One person in Perth I spoke to lost $1,200 because they sent ETH to a contract they thought was for "Neko Network." It was a scam. The contract didn’t belong to any real project. It was just a wallet address someone posted on Reddit. Don’t be that person.
What’s Left After the Hype?
As of December 2025:- The NeonNeko airdrop is over. No more claims.
- NEAR’s NEKO token is still trading, but volume is low. No updates from the team.
- The infinite-supply NEKO coin is a ghost. No one knows who owns it.
- Nekodex is still live-but it’s for Nekocoin, not NEKO.
No new NEKO airdrops have been announced since July 2025. No major exchanges are listing new NEKO tokens. The market has moved on. The hype cycle burned out.
What Should You Do Now?
If you missed the NeonNeko airdrop? You’re too late. There’s no way to get those tokens anymore. If you’re holding NEKO from the NEAR chain? Monitor the price, but don’t expect a rebound. The trading volume is too low to sustain serious interest. If you’re thinking about chasing a "new" NEKO airdrop? Don’t. There isn’t one.Instead, learn from this. Most crypto airdrops that go viral are either:
- Done by centralized exchanges (like Gate.io) and have clear rules
- Run by teams with public profiles and GitHub activity
- Announced on official blogs, not random Telegram groups
If you see a "NEKO airdrop" on Twitter or Discord with no website, no team, and no blockchain info? Block it. Report it. Walk away.
Where to Look for Real Opportunities
If you want real airdrops in 2026, focus on:- Projects on Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, or zkSync
- DeFi platforms with real TVL (Total Value Locked) over $10 million
- Teams that have shipped products, not just whitepapers
- Official announcements on CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap
NEKO taught us one thing: names don’t matter. Utility does. Team matters. Transparency wins. The cute cat logo? It’s just a distraction.
What Happens Next?
The NEKO tokens aren’t going to disappear overnight. Some will linger as low-volume memecoins. Others might get delisted. But no new airdrop is coming. Not from "Neko Network." Not from any real team. The window closed in July 2025.If you’re still holding NEKO tokens, check which chain they’re on. If they’re on Gate.io, they’re real-but you already got them. If they’re on NEAR, they’re still tradable but risky. If they’re on any other chain with no name attached? Delete the wallet. Walk away.
There’s no magic bullet. No secret airdrop waiting. Just lessons learned the hard way.
