Perpetuals-focused Ethereum-based Layer 2 decentralized exchange (DEX) Lighter has announced the debut of its native cryptocurrency, the Lighter Infrastructure Token (LIT), to align traders, builders and backers as it looks to blend traditional markets with DeFi.
The LIT token supply is split equally: 50% to the ecosystem, 50% to the team and investors. An instant 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 total fully diluted value – the maximum possible tokens if all are issued.
The rest funds future rewards, partnerships and expansion. Team (26%) and investors (24%) face a one-year lockup followed by three-year straight-line vesting, 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 in the connection between the traditional financial system and DeFi, and infrastructure that is efficient, secure and verifiable will be important in both directions – adding real assets to DeFi and adding verifiability and composability to TradFi,” said Lighter at X.
“Therefore, our framework for the use of the LIT token is to consider how value is exchanged across the financial system and to build infrastructure in ways where value is assigned efficiency, transparency and innovation,” it added.
Lighter-based perpetuals have averaged $2.7 billion in volume over the past seven days, the third-biggest behind Hyperliquid and Aster, according to a Dune-based data tracker.
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token currently trades at a market cap of $6.26 billion, making it the 29th largest digital asset in the world.
More than just governance token
LIT does more than just let holders vote on decisions or earn rewards. It powers Lighter’s trading systems as a key feature.
Lighter offers trade execution and data verification services at various levels, with higher levels requiring the 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 run by many users rather than just one company.
Users and data providers also pay fees in LIT to obtain market information and confirm prices. Efforts help ensure that this data is reliable for safe trading and risk management.
Revenue tracking and buyback policies
The X post explained that money earned by Lighter from its trading platform and future products will be fully traceable on the blockchain for anyone to see publicly and verify.
The team can use the proceeds to support ecosystem growth or buy back LIT tokens. Buybacks mean buying tokens to reduce supply, which can help increase their value.
These choices do not follow a strict schedule and will depend on overall market trends and the company’s long-term plans.
