Onchain data from Bubblemaps revealed that around $250 million was withdrawn from decentralized perpetual exchange Lighter following LIT’s $675 million airdrop on Tuesday.
In an article X, Bubblemaps wondered if “all the (yield) farmers were leaving? » He also noted that Lighter users withdrew approximately $201.9 million worth of tokens on the Ethereum blockchain and approximately $52.2 million in arbitrage.
Nicolas Vaiman, CEO of Bubblemaps, told CoinDesk that “these outflows represent roughly 20% of the total value locked (TVL) of Lighter’s assets, which total $1.4 billion per DeFiLlama.” He also said that “while this is a significant number, capital outflows like this following an airdrop are not uncommon as users rebalance their hedging positions and move their capital to the next agricultural opportunity.”
Vaiman said outflows similar to this were seen after the Hyperliquid and Aster launches and that this “will likely happen again with other airdrops such as the PERP DEX or Paradex, Extended.”
Natalie Newson, Senior Blockchain Security Researcher at CertiK, also spoke with CoinDesk about this event: “Large withdrawals after TGEs are usually caused by airdrop farmers and early participants exiting their positions.
Before the airdrop, LIT trading volume had remained relatively stable, hovering between $8 billion and $15 billion in November. However, in recent days, this amount has fallen to $2 billion, according to data from DeFiLlama. The price of LIT has also fallen almost 23% since December 30, from $3.37 to around $2.57.
