NEKO Airdrop by Neko Network: What Actually Happened and Where to Find Real NEKO Tokens

There’s no such thing as a single "Neko Network" airdrop. If you’re searching for it, you’ve probably seen ads, Discord posts, or TikTok videos promising free NEKO tokens. But here’s the truth: NEKO isn’t one project. It’s three different tokens, two failed airdrops, and one confusing DeFi platform all fighting for the same name. And if you’re not careful, you’ll lose money trying to chase the wrong one.

There Was an Airdrop - But It’s Over

The closest thing to a real NEKO airdrop was run by NeonNeko (a token launched on Gate.com with a 2 billion supply, distributed via a HODLer airdrop in mid-2025). The campaign ended on July 22, 2025. You can’t join it anymore. It wasn’t open to everyone - you had to hold specific cryptocurrencies in your Gate.com wallet during a snapshot window. If you did, you got your NEKO tokens right away, no vesting, no waiting. 500,000 tokens total were given out. That’s less than 0.03% of the full supply. At listing, the entire project was valued at just under $100,000.

That’s not a big airdrop. It wasn’t meant to go viral. It was a quiet launch for a small team. Today, NeonNeko trades on Gate.com, but volume is low. No one’s making headlines with it anymore.

The Real NEKO Token Is on NEAR Protocol

While NeonNeko faded into obscurity, another NEKO token exploded - and then crashed. This one lives on the NEAR Protocol (a high-speed blockchain designed for decentralized apps, known for low fees and fast finality). It’s not connected to NeonNeko. It doesn’t share code, team, or goals. But it has the same ticker: NEKO.

This NEKO token hit 22,000 unique holders within days of launch. That’s massive for a new token on NEAR. People were buying, sharing, and talking about it. But then the price dropped - 98.6% from its peak. Today, it trades at a fraction of its high. The 24-hour volume on Rhea Finance, its main exchange, is under $500. That’s down 35% from just a week ago. The token’s max supply is 10 billion, but no one’s buying much anymore.

Why the crash? Simple: hype without utility. People bought because they saw others buying. There was no real product behind it - no app, no DeFi protocol, no roadmap. Just a token with a cute name and a meme logo. When the early buyers cashed out, the price collapsed.

Nekodex Is Not Neko Network - And It Has Its Own Airdrop

Now here’s where things get messy. There’s a platform called Nekodex (a DeFi trading platform on Optimism that lets users trade with email-only accounts and gasless transactions). It’s built by the same team behind Perpetual Protocol. It doesn’t issue NEKO. It issues Nekocoin. But because of the similar name, people confuse it with NEKO tokens.

Nekodex is running an active airdrop right now - $4 million in Nekocoin to be distributed. To qualify, you need to:

1. Sign up using the invite code airdrops-io
2. Deposit at least 100 USDC into one of their earn vaults
3. Keep your funds locked for at least 30 days

These vaults offer 142% to 148% APY. Sounds great? Maybe. But remember: high yield often means high risk. If the platform fails, you lose your deposit. And Nekocoin isn’t NEKO. Don’t confuse the two. If you’re looking for NEKO, Nekodex won’t give it to you.

There’s a Third NEKO - And It’s Almost Worthless

A third NEKO token exists on a low-traffic exchange. Its price is $0.00000594. That’s less than one-hundredth of a cent. It used to hit $0.0004919 - a 98% drop since then. It has an infinite supply, meaning new tokens can be minted anytime. No one knows where it’s headed. No forecasts exist. No team is public. It’s a ghost token - likely a pump-and-dump scheme that’s already dead.

Don’t buy it. Don’t trade it. Don’t even think about it.

Why So Many NEKOs? And Why It Matters

Cryptocurrency is full of copycats. A successful name gets reused. A meme becomes a ticker. People don’t check the contract address. They don’t look at the blockchain. They just see “NEKO” and think, “Oh, that’s the one.”

Here’s how to avoid getting scammed:

• Check the contract address - Every token has a unique string of letters and numbers. If someone sends you a link to “claim NEKO,” verify the address on Etherscan, NearScan, or the official exchange.
• Know the network - Is it on Ethereum? NEAR? Optimism? BSC? If you’re not sure, don’t connect your wallet.
• Never send crypto to claim a free token - Real airdrops don’t ask for money. If you’re told to pay gas or deposit funds to get NEKO, it’s a scam.
• Use official sources only - Gate.com for NeonNeko. Rhea Finance for NEAR NEKO. Nekodex.app for Nekocoin. No Telegram bots. No Discord DMs.

What’s Happening Now? And What Should You Do?

As of January 2026:

• The NeonNeko airdrop is closed. No more free tokens.
• The NEAR NEKO token is trading at low volume with no signs of recovery.
• Nekodex is active, but it gives out Nekocoin - not NEKO.
• The third NEKO token is a dead asset.

There is no active NEKO airdrop you can join today. Any website, video, or influencer claiming otherwise is either mistaken or lying.

If you want to get involved:

• Wait for a legitimate project to launch with clear documentation, a team, and a working product.
• Follow official channels only - never trust random links.
• Assume any new NEKO token is a scam until proven otherwise.

There’s no shortcut. No magic wallet. No free money waiting for you. The NEKO airdrop hype is over. The only thing left is confusion - and people trying to profit from it.

What If You Already Got NEKO Tokens?

If you got NEKO from the NeonNeko airdrop in 2025:

• Check your Gate.com wallet. That’s where it was sent.
• Don’t move it to another exchange unless you know the token’s contract address matches.
• Monitor price on Gate.com - it’s not going anywhere fast.

If you got NEKO from the NEAR ecosystem:

• It’s likely in your Phantom or Near Wallet.
• Check the balance on near.org or Rhea Finance.
• Don’t expect it to recover. The market has moved on.

If you sent money to claim NEKO - you’ve been scammed. Report the address. Don’t send more.