Bubblemaps on-chain data revealed that approximately $250 million was withdrawn from the Lighter decentralized perpetual exchange after it launched LIT worth $675 million on Tuesday.
In an X post, Bubblemaps questioned whether “all the (yield) farmers were leaving.” He also noted that Lighter users withdrew approximately $201.9 million in tokens on the Ethereum blockchain and approximately $52.2 million in arbitrage.
Nicolas Vaiman, CEO of Bubblemaps, told CoinDesk that “these exits represent roughly 20% of the total value locked (TVL) of Lighter’s assets amounting to $1.4 billion per DeFiLlama.” He also said that, “While this is a large number, exits like this after an airdrop are not uncommon, as users rebalance their hedging positions and move capital to the next farming opportunity.”
Vaiman said outflows similar to this were seen after Hyperliquid and Aster launched their tokens and that “it will probably happen again with other airdrops like PERP DEX or Paradex, Extended.”
Natalie Newson, Senior Blockchain Security Researcher at CertiK, also spoke to CoinDesk about this event: “Large withdrawals after TGEs are typically driven by airdrop farmers and early participants exiting their positions. However, this is seen beyond Lighter. We see it in many token launches. Without a clear view of new token distributions, there is a fog that allows some experts to operate and capture outsized profits soon after launch.”
Before the airdrop, LIT’s trading volume had remained relatively stable, ranging between $8 billion and $15 billion in November. However, in recent days, it fell to just $2 billion, according to data from DeFiLlama. The price of LIT has also fallen by almost 23% since December 30, from $3.37 to approximately $2.57.
