Justin Sun–linked wallets quietly built a meaningful stake in Lighter’s new LIT token, on-chain analysis shows, raising fresh questions about early liquidity deals around the project’s launch.
On Jan. 1, on-chain researcher MLM reported that four wallets associated with Justin Sun each received exactly 1.6 million LIT at the token generation event (TGE) — a combined 6.4 million LIT that was worth about $17 million at the time. Those wallets were funded roughly 34–50 minutes after Lighter’s airdrop allocation form closed, and MLM found no signs they had participated in earlier points- or airdrop-farming. The pattern, researchers say, is consistent with an LLP (Liquidity Provider Program) deposit arrangement rather than organic airdrop claims.
Further on-chain activity shows a much larger position followed. The Sun-linked cluster deposited nearly $200 million into Lighter’s Liquidity Provider Program, later withdrawing about $38 million. Roughly $33 million of that was used to buy an additional 13.25 million LIT on the market. Combined with the initial TGE receipts, those wallets now hold about 14.89 million LIT — roughly $39.8 million at current prices — representing about 5.32% of circulating supply and 1.33% of total supply. Approximately $5.5 million remains in spot balances tied to the same cluster.
The data also hints that similar arrangements may have been made with other large LP participants. For example, one wallet that previously deposited $50 million USDC into the LLP received 874,875 LIT, though that particular attribution is less certain because of indirect transfers.
Quick refresher on LIT and Lighter’s tokenomics: LIT launched Dec. 30 as the native token of Lighter, a high-performance perpetual futures DEX built as an Ethereum zk-rollup. The token launch included a 25% airdrop to early users and liquidity providers, immediately placing circulating supply at roughly 250 million tokens. Supply is effectively split between ecosystem and insiders: 24% of the total goes to investors and 26% to the team, both subject to a one-year cliff followed by three years of linear vesting. Protocol value capture mechanisms include fee recycling, buybacks, staking, governance, and gated access to advanced features.
Market reaction was volatile, as is typical for widely distributed launches. LIT opened trading around $3.40 before sliding about 30% to roughly $2.45–$2.80 amid liquidity withdrawals and post-airdrop profit-taking. Despite price turbulence, Lighter reports strong usage: about $3.7 billion in 30-day trading volume and roughly $101 million in annualized fees, signaling active demand for its perp product.
The implications are twofold: large, coordinated LLP involvement can concentrate meaningful holdings shortly after launch, and Lighter’s long-term success will hinge on sustained adoption, execution of revenue-sharing mechanisms, and growth in the DeFi perpetuals market.
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