You need a self-custodial wallet — meaning a wallet where you hold the private keys, not a centralized exchange. MetaMask is the standard for Ethereum and EVM chains. Phantom for Solana. Rabby Wallet (made by DeBank) has become popular with more active DeFi users because it has better transaction previewing and multi-chain support.
Exchange wallets — your Coinbase or Binance account — usually can’t receive airdrops because the exchange controls the private keys, not you. There are occasional exceptions, but the rule is: if you don’t hold the keys, you don’t receive the drop.
Hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor, Keystone) work fine for airdrops and are much safer for storing anything meaningful. You can still interact with DeFi through a hardware wallet connected to MetaMask.
For active airdrop hunting, many people maintain a separate “farming wallet” that’s different from their main holdings wallet. This limits the blast radius if something goes wrong.
