Лидерская раздача токенов Lighter изменила сценарий конкуренции в мире perp-DEX Translation: The Leading Airdrop of Lighter Tokens Alters the Competitive Landscape in the World of Perp-DEX

The Lighter Perp-DEX distributed LIT tokens worth a total of $675 million. This event ranks among the top ten largest asset distributions in the history of the cryptocurrency industry, as per CoinGecko.

In terms of dollar value, this airdrop surpassed 1inch ($671 million) and secured the tenth position in the overall ranking. Uniswap remains the dominant player, having distributed tokens worth $6.43 billion in 2020.

Most recipients chose not to sell their coins. Analyst Arndxt noted that 75% of users retained their assets, while 7% purchased additional tokens on the open market.

Nevertheless, some investors voiced concerns regarding the project’s tokenomics. Half of the total LIT supply is reserved for the team and investors, with a one-year lock-up followed by a prolonged vesting period.

Market participants criticized this allocation as excessively high for a DeFi protocol. Some likened this model to that of competitor platform Hyperliquid.

As of this writing, LIT is trading at $2.66 (-18.1% in a day), with a market capitalization of $692.9 million, according to CoinGecko.

A crypto investor using the pseudonym Casa warned that purchases at current levels might only be profitable in the short term.

For long-term growth, the project will need a significant increase in trading volumes and retention of its user base.

The Lighter token distribution occurred alongside explosive growth in the perp-DEX market. By the end of 2025, the total trading volume in the sector reached $12.09 trillion, up from $4.1 trillion at the beginning of the year.

2025 accounted for $7.9 trillion, or 65% of the historical trading volume since these platforms emerged.

The peak activity was seen in the second half of the year. While the first six months recorded a volume of $2.1 trillion, the second half witnessed an increase to $5.74 trillion (73% of the annual turnover). Since October, monthly volumes consistently exceeded $1 trillion, with the fourth quarter outperforming the entire first half.

The increase in liquidity and enhancement of order execution transformed perp-DEX from alternative venues into key platforms for margin trading.

The sector began taking shape back in 2021 with the introductions of dYdX and Perpetual Protocol, but gained significant momentum in 2023 following the launch of Hyperliquid.

In the first half of 2025, Hyperliquid dominated the market with monthly volumes ranging from $175 billion to $248 billion. Competitors, including Aster and Lighter, lagged significantly during this period.

However, the situation changed mid-year. Lighter increased monthly volumes from under $50 billion to over $100 billion by the third quarter. Aster exhibited explosive growth at the year’s end, reaching $259 billion in October and November.

Statistics indicate a transformation in the market: the sector has transitioned from the dominance of a single platform to a competitive ecosystem featuring several major players.

It is worth noting that in October, Lighter launched its mainnet of a layer two solution based on EVM. In December, the platform added spot trading capabilities.