Puffer Finance went through the full airdrop cycle earlier than most restaking protocols: a points campaign, a token launch, a Season 1 claim and then a second season built around a separate reward token called CARROT. That history is useful for anyone tracking Puffer rewards now, because it shows how the protocol actually pays users and which claims floating around social media do not match anything Puffer has done. This guide covers how Puffer works, how its seasons and governance rewards are structured, what is live at the time of writing, and how to avoid the fake claim pages that target pufETH holders.
What Puffer Finance does
Puffer started as a liquid restaking protocol on Ethereum. You deposit ETH (or stETH and wstETH) and receive pufETH, a liquid restaking token. pufETH does not pay rewards as a separate balance; instead, the pufETH to ETH conversion rate rises as staking and restaking rewards accrue. Behind it, Puffer runs validators and restakes through EigenLayer.
Puffer’s distinctive design choice was validator safety. Its Secure-Signer tooling runs validator signing keys inside a trusted execution environment (Intel SGX) to reduce the chance of double-signing, one of the main causes of slashing. That lowers one category of risk but does not remove smart-contract, EigenLayer or market risk.
Over time Puffer has broadened beyond restaking. Its current documentation presents four product lines: the liquid restaking protocol, UniFi (a “based rollup” that uses Ethereum validators for sequencing), Puffer Preconf (a preconfirmation service for rollups targeting around 100ms confirmations, delivered through the UniFi AVS) and institutional staking infrastructure. Puffer has also leaned into institutional distribution, including pufETH access through Anchorage Digital’s custody platform.
How Puffer’s reward seasons worked
Season 1: the Crunchy Carrot Quest
Season 1 rewarded early pufETH depositors and DeFi users with Puffer points under the Crunchy Carrot Quest banner. The snapshot was taken on October 5, 2024, and 7.5% of the 1 billion PUFFER supply was allocated to it. Claims ran on claims.puffer.fi from October 14, 2024 to January 14, 2025. That window is closed.
Season 2: CARROT instead of points
Season 2 changed the model. Rather than accumulating off-chain points, users earned CARROT, an on-chain reward token, by holding pufETH in supported integrations, providing liquidity and taking part in governance. 5.5% of PUFFER supply was set aside for Season 2. CARROT emissions were directed by bi-weekly gauge votes, so the community, not a fixed formula, decided which pools received incentives. Puffer described CARROT as convertible into PUFFER according to its Season 2 rules, and claimed CARROT carried a 30-day cliff.
Governance rewards with vlPUFFER
PUFFER holders can lock tokens to receive vlPUFFER, which is non-transferable voting power. According to Puffer’s docs, the lock multiplier scales with duration: 30 days gives 1x, 12 months gives 12x and 24 months gives 24x, so locking 100 PUFFER for 12 months produces 1,200 vlPUFFER. The minimum lock is 10 PUFFER. After a lock expires you have seven days to withdraw; after that, anyone can “kick” the position, receiving a 1% fee while the remaining 99% returns to you. vlPUFFER is what steers CARROT gauge emissions.
Current status
At the time of writing, these are the facts we could verify:
- The Season 1 PUFFER claim is closed. It ended on January 14, 2025.
- The claims portal also distributed EIGEN. Puffer’s claims site lists an EIGEN Season 2 distribution of 4,978,963 EIGEN to pufETH holders, reflecting EigenLayer rewards passed through to depositors.
- A governance vote addressed an old Season 2 commitment. In April 2026, a proposal on Puffer’s governance forum asked whether to distribute 20 million CARROT (20% of CARROT supply) that had been set aside for users who held pufETH through the Season 1 to Season 2 transition, or redirect it to gauge rewards. Voting ran from April 28 to May 3, 2026. Check the forum and Snapshot for the result before assuming you will receive anything.
- Puffer has not announced a Season 3 PUFFER airdrop. Ongoing rewards come through CARROT gauges, vlPUFFER and the underlying pufETH yield.
One more piece of context: Puffer’s TVL is far below its 2024 peak. Independent reviews attribute much of that drop to the end of points incentives and a broader cooling of the restaking sector. Lower TVL does not make the protocol unsafe, but it does affect pufETH liquidity on DEXs.
How to participate step by step
- Go to app.puffer.fi from puffer.fi. Type the main domain and follow its link to the app.
- Mint pufETH. Deposit ETH, stETH or wstETH. Check the displayed conversion rate and the amount of pufETH you will receive before signing.
- Decide where to hold pufETH. Holding it in your wallet earns the restaking yield. Placing it in supported DeFi integrations can earn CARROT incentives, but adds the risk of each integrated protocol.
- Understand the exit path. Read Puffer’s withdrawal rules before depositing. Exiting through the protocol can take time; selling pufETH on a DEX is faster but may happen below the redemption rate when liquidity is thin.
- If you hold PUFFER, consider vlPUFFER only with a time horizon you accept. Longer locks give more voting power but leave your tokens unmovable during price swings. Use the Stake and Manage tabs on app.puffer.fi.
- Vote in gauges if you want CARROT direction. Gauge rounds run every two weeks. Record which pool you voted for and any CARROT claimed, with transaction hashes.
Risks specific to Puffer
- Slashing. Secure-Signer reduces double-signing risk, but EigenLayer AVS slashing conditions are separate. Restaked ETH can be penalized if operators misbehave on services they secure.
- pufETH depeg. In stressed markets, pufETH can trade below its redemption value on secondary markets. Using pufETH as collateral on lending markets exposes you to liquidation if that discount widens.
- Integration risk. CARROT-earning positions often sit in third-party pools, lending markets or yield protocols. A failure there affects your pufETH even if Puffer itself is fine.
- Lock risk. vlPUFFER locks cannot be undone early, and a missed seven-day withdrawal window costs 1% to a kicker.
- Token volatility. PUFFER and CARROT have both moved sharply. Unlocks for PUFFER continue on a schedule extending into 2028.
Spotting fake Puffer claim pages
Puffer’s real infrastructure lives on puffer.fi and its subdomains: app.puffer.fi for the dApp, claims.puffer.fi for distributions, docs.puffer.fi for documentation and governance.puffer.fi for the forum. The main X account is @puffer_finance, with product accounts for UniFi and Preconf linked from it. Use those as your anchor.
- “Season 3 PUFFER claim” pages. Puffer has not announced a Season 3 PUFFER airdrop. A page claiming otherwise is fake.
- “Unclaimed Season 1” recovery. The Season 1 window closed in January 2025. Sites promising late claims are phishing.
- “CARROT conversion” or “transition airdrop” links in replies. The transition airdrop was a governance matter; any resulting distribution would be announced on the forum and @puffer_finance and paid through claims.puffer.fi.
- Lookalike domains such as puffer-fi, pufferfinance-claim or puffer.finance variants. Check every character before connecting.
- Permit signatures. A legitimate claim is a transaction that sends tokens to you. A request to sign a permit or approval for your pufETH on a “claim” page is a drain attempt.
FAQ
Can I still claim Puffer Season 1 tokens?
No. The Season 1 claim ran from October 14, 2024 to January 14, 2025 and has closed.
How do I earn rewards from Puffer now?
Holding pufETH earns restaking yield through a rising conversion rate. CARROT incentives are available in pools chosen by gauge votes, and PUFFER holders can lock for vlPUFFER to direct those incentives.
Is there a Puffer Season 3 airdrop?
Puffer has not announced one at the time of writing.
Where do I check if I received EIGEN from Puffer?
On claims.puffer.fi, reached from the official site. That portal has listed EIGEN distributions to pufETH holders.
Verdict
Puffer is past the speculative points stage. Its PUFFER airdrops have happened, the Season 1 window is closed, and today’s rewards come from pufETH yield, CARROT gauges and governance locking. That makes tracking simpler: verify a handful of official subdomains, follow governance outcomes rather than rumors, and treat any new “PUFFER claim” as suspect until it appears on the forum and the official account. The real decisions are about restaking, depeg and lock risk, not about chasing a mystery allocation.
Official sources: Puffer Finance official website, Puffer Finance documentation, Puffer claims portal and Puffer governance forum.
Restaking involves smart-contract, slashing and liquidity risk. This article is not investment advice.
