Shenzhen's Airdrop Hunters Are Now Turning to Hong Kong Stock IPOs

marsbitPublished on 2026-04-24Last updated on 2026-04-24

Abstract

Shenzhen, a city synonymous with ambition and rapid growth, has long been a hub for those capitalizing on information and opportunity gaps. From its origins as a small fishing village, it has transformed into a global center for electronics, manufacturing, and innovation, home to giants like Huawei, Tencent, and DJI. Arez, a typical Shenzhen entrepreneur in his early thirties, runs an airdrop farming studio in Nanshan. In 2023, his team profited significantly from major airdrops including Arbitrum, Starknet, and LayerZero. At its peak, the operation managed thousands of on-chain addresses, utilizing scripts, IP proxies, KYC resources, and capital rotation to maximize returns. Now, like many others in Shenzhen’s dynamic speculative economy, Arez and his peers are shifting focus—this time to Hong Kong’s IPO market, seeking new avenues for profit in ever-evolving financial landscapes.

Vibrant cities always attract ambitious people, and Shenzhen is one such city.

Over forty years ago, Shenzhen was still a stretch of rice paddies and a few fishing villages on the eastern bank of the Pearl River Estuary. But in the following forty years, it turned Huaqiangbei into the world's largest distribution center for electronic components, turned Dafen Village into a global oil painting factory, and became the birthplace of Huawei, Tencent, DJI, and BYD. In this city, there are too many people who capitalize on price differences through information, liquidity, and regulatory asymmetries.

Arez is a typical Shenzhen native like that.

He is in his early thirties and runs an airdrop hunting studio with friends in an office building in Nanshan. He once made a lot of money for the team from the Arbitrum, Starknet, and LayerZero airdrops in 2023. At its peak, he maintained thousands of on-chain addresses, running scripts, IP proxies, KYC resources, and fund rotations.

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