Lighter, the perpetual-focused Ethereum-based Layer 2 decentralized exchange (DEX), has announced the debut of its native cryptocurrency, the Lighter Infrastructure Token (LIT), to align traders, builders, and sponsors in their quest to combine traditional markets with DeFi.
The supply of LIT tokens is divided equally: 50% for the ecosystem, 50% for the team and investors. An immediate airdrop rewards early participants with free money by instantly converting their 12.5 million points (earned in 2025) into LIT tokens. This represents 25% of the project’s fully diluted total value – the maximum tokens possible if everything is issued.
The rest funds rewards, partnerships, and future expansions. The team (26%) and investors (24%) face a one-year lockup followed by a three-year linear rights buyout, Ligther said in a post on X.
The token is issued directly by Lighter’s operating company, which is a US registered C corporation.
“The future of finance lies at the nexus between the traditional financial system and DeFi, and infrastructure that is efficient, secure, and verifiable will be important in both directions: adding real-world assets to DeFi and adding verifiability and composability to TradFi,” Lighter said on X.
“Therefore, our framework for the utility of the LIT token is to consider how value is exchanged throughout the financial system and build infrastructure in a way that value is accrued for efficiency, transparency and innovation,” he added.
Lighter-based perpetuals have averaged $2.7 billion in volume over the past seven days, the third largest behind Hyperliquid and Aster, according to a Dune-based data tracker.
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token is currently trading at a market valuation of $6.26 billion, making it the 29th largest digital asset in the world.
More than just a governance token
LIT does more than simply allow its holders to vote on decisions or earn rewards. Powers Lighter trading systems as a key token.
Lighter offers trade execution and data verification services at different levels, with higher levels requiring staking of more LIT tokens. Staking means locking your tokens to access these features. These requirements grow as the network becomes more decentralized, meaning it is managed by many users rather than a single company.
Users and data providers also pay fees in LIT to obtain market information and confirm prices. Staking helps ensure that this data is reliable to operate safely and manage risks.
Revenue tracking and buyback policies
Post X explained that the money earned by Lighter on its trading platform and future products will be fully traceable on the blockchain, so anyone will be able to publicly view and verify it.
The team could use the proceeds to support ecosystem growth or buy back LIT tokens. Buybacks mean purchasing tokens to reduce supply, which can help increase their value.
These elections will not follow a strict schedule and will depend on general market trends and the company’s long-term plans.
