At the start of the new year, the Lighter Infrastructure Token (LIT) airdrop program launched by the decentralized perpetual contract exchange Lighter was initially seen as a "model of rewards" in the DeFi world, but it is now embroiled in allegations of "insider manipulation." According to on-chain analysts, a group of wallets allegedly coordinated their actions to pre-position and distribute more than $26 million worth of LIT tokens, sparking strong backlash and distrust from the community.
A masterful maneuver involving five wallets: 5 million USDC invested yielded 9,999,999.6 LIT.
Renowned on-chain analyst @mlmabc published a detailed analysis post on the community platform X, pointing out that a group of five wallets collectively deposited a total of $5 million USDC into Lighter's Liquidity Provider Pool (LLP) approximately nine months ago. These wallets subsequently each received a precisely allocated 9,999,999.6 LIT tokens—worth a total of $26 million at the current price, representing approximately 1% of the total LIT supply and 4% of the circulating supply.
Even more striking is that these figures do not include the additional earnings they gained from participating in LLP, estimated at between $1 million and $2 million. According to on-chain tracking, over $7 million worth of tokens were quickly sold off after the airdrop.
"Scores that ordinary players cannot achieve": On-chain data exposes "self-enrichment mode"?
In his analysis, @mlmabc specifically pointed out that these wallets not only exhibited extremely high synchronization in their fund input and token withdrawal, but also collectively obtained as many as 500,000 airdrop points, far exceeding the points that ordinary players might obtain with similar funds. He stated bluntly, "Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for these wallets to obtain 500,000 points," implying that this was most likely a collective operation manipulated by a team or its associates.
The post quickly drew attention, and well-known on-chain investigator ZachXBT (@zachxbt) responded with a sarcastic meme, "crime pays," further fueling external doubts and criticisms about the incident.
Community outrage: From VC bias to widespread questioning of the fairness of DeFi airdrops
This incident sparked a huge backlash in the community, with many users criticizing it as a typical example of "VC favoritism," "self-enrichment," and a "pseudo-decentralized airdrop." Even though Lighter's design allocated 25% of its tokens to early participants, seemingly generous, the team (26%) and investors (24%) still accounted for half of the total supply, leading many to question: "Is this distribution truly decentralized?"
One user bluntly stated, "The airdrop isn't meant to give back to the community; it's just a way for insiders to cash out."
TGE experienced a massive capital flight in the last 24 hours, with $250 million flowing out of the platform in an instant.
The market reaction was quite intense following the official launch of the Token Generation Event (TGE). On-chain data shows that approximately $250 million flowed out of the Lighter platform within just 24 hours of the TGE, seen as a result of airdropped players exiting and profiting. Although the total diluted value (FDV) of the LIT token briefly exceeded $3 billion, its price performance has faced considerable pressure due to a series of doubts and market volatility.
The rapidly rising star of Layer-2, DeFi, is still unable to escape the old problem: Where exactly is the fairness in DeFi?
Lighter has rapidly gained popularity in recent years for its high-performance, low-fee Layer-2 perpetual contract trading experience, and in 2025 it even jumped to become one of the top three perp DEXs in terms of trading volume. However, this "airdrop gate" incident once again highlights the persistent problems in the DeFi world—airdrop fairness, insider manipulation, and a crisis of trust within the community.
To date, the Lighter team has not made any public response to the allegations. This has led many to re-examine the "points-based airdrop" model: while it can effectively attract liquidity and user participation, without transparency and anti-fraud measures, it will ultimately become a game of capital for a select few.
Who should airdrops serve?
Lighter's LIT airdrop, originally intended as an experiment symbolizing decentralization and community governance, has fallen into a crisis of trust due to suspected internal manipulation. This serves as a warning not only for a single project but also for the entire DeFi ecosystem, necessitating a re-examination of its reward mechanisms, fairness, and governance structures. For emerging protocols, whether airdrops truly reward their earliest supporters may be a more important question than valuation.
This article, "Lighter Exposed by 'Insider Airdrop Scandal'! The Mysterious Distribution of 9,999,999.6 LIT Sparks Controversy, Community Outrages DeFi Self-Enrichment Chaos," first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
