Onchain data from Bubblemaps revealed that around $250 million was withdrawn from decentralized perpetual exchange Lighter after it aired $675 million in LIT on Tuesday.
In an X post, Bubblemaps questioned whether “all the (yield) farmers left?” It also noted that Lighter users raised about $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, amounting to $1.4 billion per DeFiLlama”. He also said that “while this is a large number, outflows like this after a windfall 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 PERP DEX or Paradex, Extended”.
Natalie Newson, CertiK senior blockchain security researcher, also spoke to CoinDesk regarding this event: “Major pullbacks after TGEs are usually driven by airdrop farmers and early entrants exiting their positions. However, this is seen beyond just Lighter. We see it across many token launches. Without clear insight into new token distributions, there are a few captures outside of fog, a few captures outside of fog. shortly after launch.”
Prior to the airdrop, LIT trading volume had remained relatively stable, varying between $8 billion and $15 billion in November. In recent days, however, it has fallen to as low as $2 billion, according to DeFiLlama data. The price of LIT has also fallen by nearly 23% since December 30, from $3.37 to approximately $2.57.
