Early participants maximize airdrop rewards by prioritizing **first-mover advantage**—interacting with testnets, accumulating points, or providing liquidity before metrics are gamed. Strategies include:  

- **High-Volume Activity**: Completing eligible transactions early (e.g., bridging, swaps) to secure larger allocations before thresholds rise.  
- **Sybil Resistance**: Using fresh wallets with organic behavior to avoid detection as farms.  
- **Data-Driven Targeting**: Monitoring project docs/whitepapers for hinted criteria (e.g., Gas usage, governance votes).  

Latecomers face diluted rewards but can exploit:  
- **Secondary Markets**: Buying/selling airdrop tokens post-claim during volatility.  
- **Niche Filters**: Targeting overlooked tasks (e.g., NFT mints, minor LP contributions).  
- **Community Tools**: Using dashboards like **EigenLayer**’s to optimize late-stage eligibility.  

Early = higher risk/reward; late = tactical arbitrage. (140 words)