Lighter's LIT Tokenomics and Ecosystem Dynamics Amidst High Market Activity in 2025
Lighter's LIT tokenomics allocate 50% of tokens to users, partners, and growth incentives, and the other 50% to the team and investors, with insider vesting structured as a one-year cliff followed by three years of linear vesting—26% allocated to the team and 24% to investors. At launch, 25% of the total LIT supply was distributed via an airdrop linked to Seasons 1–2 in 2025, converting 12.5 million points to LIT, while the remaining 25% of ecosystem tokens remain reserved for future incentive campaigns and growth initiatives.
Operating from the U.S. as a C-Corp, Lighter has on-chain visible revenues from trading and a framework that allocates funds between growth initiatives and potential buybacks depending on market conditions. The company previously raised $68 million, with some analyses suggesting a fully diluted valuation around $272 million, in contrast to headline valuations of $1.5 billion in later rounds.
Sentiment around the tokenomics has been mixed; some market participants praised the transparency of vesting schedules and revenue allocation, while others criticized the sizable insider allocation and lengthy lockup periods. Lighter demonstrated strong trading metrics, ranking second by 24-hour perpetual volume at approximately $4.3 billion, and leading 30-day on-chain perpetual volume with about $201 billion, indicating high user activity.
On-chain activity around the announcement period showed large leveraged short positions and a notable long-dormant whale address taking a significant long position despite unrealized losses. The broader environment for on-chain derivatives remained robust in 2025, with monthly perpetual futures volumes exceeding $1 trillion, reflecting a highly competitive and high-turnover market for LIT and its peers.
