Why Did Everyone Flee Lighter? $250M Gone in a Day. Seriously? 🤨

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So, the DEX world, right? Always a circus. And then Lighter drops its token, LIT-like throwing a party and everyone’s already leaving. 🎉🚶‍♂️

This Ethereum-based, privacy-obsessed perp DEX has been showing off a bit, with traders farming like there’s no tomorrow-until the farmers finished, of course. Then, poof! $625 million in airdrops given out faster than you can say “free money.” And what happened? Traders, or maybe just the cows that were grazing, started heading for the hills, specifically Hyperliquid [HYPE].

Analysts at Bubblemaps-yeah, those guys-say they saw it coming. After the TGE (Token Generation Event, or “Hey, here’s some free cash”), a whopping $250 million disappeared in a day. Just like that! ✈️🤑

“Are all the farmers leaving?”

Overall, you’re looking at a net outflow of about $101 million when you do the math. But hey, one user, probably a trader, called it “normal.” Because losing a quarter billion in a day? Totally routine. Nothing to see here! 🥱

“That’s kind of normal. Seeing the $650M airdrop distribution, $250m ain’t huge.”

And then, some smart guy said, “Hey, it’s not traders taking the money-they’re just liquidity providers, folks.” Because of course that makes everything better. 🤷‍♂️

Lighter perp volumes are in free fall

Since late November, Lighter’s weekly trading volume has dropped from a robust $66 billion to a measly $31 billion. Half! That’s like going from a rock concert to a library. And Hyperliquid’s volumes are shrinking too-they went from $41 billion to $26 billion. So, maybe everyone’s just shrinking? Or maybe just tired of all this noise. Either way, it’s too soon to say everyone’s jumping ship-still some holdouts. 🚢

LIT price goes rollercoaster

So, after all the noise, LIT took a dive-down 32%, from $3.30 to $2.20. And then it decided, “Hey, maybe I’m not so bad,” and bounced back 18%. Still, the market’s feeling a little bearish, with 54% of top traders betting against it. Apparently, nobody learned from their last failed prediction. 🤡

But hey, some analysts say it might rally again, like the last time. Because if history has taught us anything, it’s that investors love to chase the next big thing-until they don’t. 🙄

Final reality check

  • Capital flew out faster than my patience at a family dinner-right after LIT’s debut.
  • Short-term bets are pretty bearish, with more folks betting against than for the token. Surprise! 😬

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2026-01-02 02:29