Lighter, one of the fastest-growing on-chain perpetual exchanges, has triggered a sharp debate across the DeFi community following the release of tokenomics for its newly announced Lighter Infrastructure Token, LIT.
The release raises fresh questions about what constitutes a fair launch in an increasingly institutionalized on-chain derivatives market.
The protocol said 50% of LIT tokens are allocated to users, partners, and growth incentives, while the remaining 50% is reserved for the team and investors.
Lighter stated that insider allocations are subject to a one-year cliff followed by three years of linear vesting, with 26% assigned to the team and 24% to investors.
Lighter Distributes 25% of LIT at Launch, Triggers Tokenomics Debate
As part of the launch, Lighter confirmed it had already distributed half of the ecosystem allocation, equivalent to 25% of the total supply, through an airdrop tied to its first two points seasons, which ran throughout 2025.
Those programs generated 12.5 million points that were converted into LIT and distributed at launch. The remaining 25% of ecosystem tokens will be set aside for future incentive campaigns, partnerships, and broader growth efforts.
In a statement posted on X, Lighter said that all value generated by the LIT DEX and future services will accrue to token holders.
The company said it operates from the U.S. through a C-Corp structure, with revenues from trading and other products visible on-chain and allocated between growth initiatives and token buybacks depending on market conditions.
The announcement immediately split sentiment, with some users praising the transparency around vesting and revenue allocation, describing the structure as clean and clearly defined.
Others were more important, focusing on the size of the insider allocation and questioning whether a DeFi-native protocol should assign half of its supply to the team and investors, even with long lockups.
Several posts described the split as excessive, while others argued that building large-scale derivatives infrastructure requires substantial capital and long-term backing.
Questions also emerged around Lighter’s prior fundraising, as the protocol raised $68 million following the launch of its public mainnet, and some community members questioned how that translated into a 24% investor allocation.
Independent calculations circulating on X suggested the implied average fully diluted valuation for the raise was closer to $272 million, rather than the headline $1.5 billion figure referenced in later rounds, fueling further debate around pricing and dilution.
Lighter Climbs the Perps Rankings as Debate Swirls
The controversy comes as Lighter continues to post strong trading metrics.
Data from DeFiLlama shows the platform processed roughly $4.3 billion in 24-hour perpetual volume, placing it second behind Hyperliquid on a daily basis.
Additionally, Lighter led all on-chain perp venues in 30-day volume at about $201 billion, surpassing both Hyperliquid and Aster.
Its open interest, at around $1.45 billion, remains lower than some competitors, suggesting faster position turnover rather than long-duration leverage.
Market data indicates this pattern is persistent rather than incentive-driven, as Lighter also ranked near the top in seven-day volume, reinforcing its position as a high-throughput venue favored by active traders.
Broader conditions in the derivatives market provide context for the launch, with on-chain perpetual futures volumes exceeding $1 trillion on a monthly basis in 2025.
Crypto derivatives trading accelerated sharply in 2025 as traders increasingly turned to onchain perpetual futures.#Crypto #Derivativeshttps://t.co/NRfJCBERpc
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) December 30, 2025
Decentralized venues captured a growing share of that activity, with platforms like Hyperliquid, Aster, and Lighter emerging as dominant players.
Against that backdrop, reactions to LIT also played out in trading behavior, with Blockchain analytics accounts flagged for large leveraged short positions opening shortly after the tokenomics announcement.
While Lighter showed a long-dormant whale address that added to a sizable long position despite unrealized losses.
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