Lighter trading platform sees $250 million withdrawn 24 hours after airdrop

AI Summary4 min read

TL;DR

Lighter experienced $250 million in withdrawals after its $675 million LIT token airdrop, representing 20% of its total value locked. Such outflows are common post-token generation events as early participants exit positions.

Key Takeaways

•$250 million was withdrawn from Lighter within 24 hours of its $675 million LIT token airdrop, representing approximately 20% of its total value locked.
•Large withdrawals after token generation events are common as airdrop farmers and early participants exit positions to rebalance or pursue new opportunities.
•Similar outflows have been observed with other token launches like Hyperliquid and Aster, and are expected to continue with upcoming airdrops.
•LIT trading volume dropped significantly from $8-15 billion in November to as low as $2 billion recently, with the token price falling nearly 23% since December 30.
•The withdrawals occurred across both Ethereum ($201.9 million) and Arbitrum ($52.2 million) blockchains, indicating broad-based capital movement.

Lighter sees $250 million in outflows following its token generation event. (geralt/Pixabay)

What to know:

Approximately $250 million was withdrawn from Lighter after its $675 million LIT token airdrop.
The withdrawals represent about 20% of Lighter's total value locked, according to Bubblemaps CEO Nicolas Vaiman.
Large withdrawals post-token generation events are common as early participants exit, says CertiK's Natalie Newson.

Approximately $250 million was withdrawn from Lighter after its $675 million LIT token airdrop.
The withdrawals represent about 20% of Lighter's total value locked, according to Bubblemaps CEO Nicolas Vaiman.
Large withdrawals post-token generation events are common as early participants exit, says CertiK's Natalie Newson.

Onchain data from Bubblemaps revealed that roughly $250 million was withdrawn from decentralized perpetual exchange Lighter after it airdropped $675 million worth of LIT on Tuesday.

In an X post, Bubblemaps questioned whether “all the (yield) farmers were leaving?” It also noted that Lighter users withdrew roughly $201.9 million worth of tokens on the Ethereum blockchain and approximately $52.2 million on arbitrum.

Nicolas Vaiman, CEO of Bubblemaps, told CoinDesk that "these outflows represent more or less 20% of Lighter's total value locked (TVL) assets that total $1.4 billion per DeFiLlama”. He also said that, “while this is a large number, outflows like this following an airdrop are not uncommon as users rebalance hedging positions and move capital to the next farming opportunity.”

Vaiman said outflows similar to this one were seen after Hyperliquid and Aster launched their tokens and that it will “likely happen again with other airdrops such as the PERP DEX or Paradex, Extended".

Natalie Newson, CertiK senior blockchain security researcher, also spoke with CoinDesk regarding this event: "Large withdrawals after TGEs are usually driven by airdrop farmers and early participants exiting their positions. This is seen beyond just Lighter, though. We see it across many token launches. Without clear insight into new token distributions, there's a fog that allows a few insiders to operate and capture outsized gains shortly after launch."

Leading up to the airdrop, LIT trading volume had remained relatively steady, ranging between $8 billion to $15 billion in November. However, in recent days, it dropped to as low as $2 billion, according to DeFiLlama data. The price of LIT has also dropped by nearly 23% since Dec. 30 from $3.37 to approximately $2.57.

KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

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