LIT Token Experiences Sharp Decline Following Large Airdrop Amid Strong Market Activity
LIT, the token of Lighter, launched with an airdrop distribution going live, initially rising to $4.04 before falling about 22% to approximately $2.62. Pre-market trading was marked by heavy selling from airdrop recipients and leveraged traders, leading the token price to its lowest point since launch amid ongoing price discovery.
Trading volume surged, with 24-hour volume reaching 13.43 million LIT — nearly triple the previous day’s figures — reflecting significant volatility and short-term speculation rather than long-term accumulation. On-chain data from 10,000 wallets indicated approximately 198.86 million LIT tokens were received from the airdrop, while existing balances totaled around 183.29 million LIT. This data suggests a notable portion of the airdropped supply has been sold or transferred.
Regarding wallet activity, 7.77% of wallets increased holdings, 45.88% decreased holdings, and 46.35% remained unchanged. Approximately 150.34 million LIT tokens (75.6%) were still held, while approximately 48.52 million tokens (24.4%) were sold or transferred. Furthermore, around 32.95 million LIT (16.57%) were accumulated beyond initial allocations.
Derivatives data revealed a persistent negative net flow, with sales amounting to about $108,000 over one hour, nearly $1 million over four hours, and over $6 million across ten hours, indicating sustained selling pressure on price rallies.
The airdrop's total value was close to $675 million, ranking it as the tenth largest crypto airdrop by dollar value, yet still much smaller compared to Uniswap’s record $6.43 billion airdrop. Tokenomics are under debate, as 50% of the total LIT supply was allocated to users, partners, and growth initiatives, whereas the remaining 50% is reserved for the team and investors, subject to a one-year cliff and multi-year vesting. This allocation has prompted discussions regarding the fairness of the community-focused launch.
Despite the token’s price volatility, Lighter’s platform exhibits strong perpetual contracts metrics, with about $3.90 billion in 24-hour perpetual volume and $201 billion over 30 days, positioning it among the top DeFi perpetual venues amid rapid sector growth.
