Lighter LIT Token Slides 15% Despite Strong Trading Activity

TLDR

• LIT token dropped over 15% in 24 hours, falling below the $1.70 price level.
• Lighter recorded $2.25B in 24h trading volume, ranking third behind two rivals.
• Open interest on Lighter stands at $1.31B, trailing Hyperliquid and Aster.
• The team bought back $2.8M worth of LIT since the January 6 announcement.

The LIT token, native to Ethereum-based perpetual futures exchange Lighter, fell over 15% in the last 24 hours. The price drop followed a broader crypto market pullback, especially in Bitcoin, even as Lighter reported strong trading activity and continued buybacks.

Token Price Declines Despite Heavy Exchange Activity

Lighter, a perpetual futures exchange built on Ethereum, has seen its native token, LIT, drop more than 15% over the past day. The decline pushed LIT below the $1.70 mark, reflecting a sharp market correction across the crypto sector.

The selloff aligned with a price dip in Bitcoin, which briefly fell from $95,000 to $92,000 late Sunday before stabilizing near $93,000 by midday Monday. Despite the drop in LIT’s price, on-chain data shows that trading on Lighter remains active.

The exchange processed about $2.25 billion in trading volume over the last 24 hours. This figure placed it behind Hyperliquid with $2.7 billion and Aster with $4.5 billion, according to DefiLlama.

Lighter Retains Third Place in Open Interest Rankings

Lighter continues to rank third among decentralized perpetual futures platforms in terms of open interest. Its current open interest stands at roughly $1.31 billion.

By comparison, Aster and Hyperliquid show higher figures with $2.6 billion and $8.9 billion, respectively. These rankings reflect sustained user engagement on the Lighter platform despite the recent token downturn.

Lighter’s open interest data suggests that traders remain active on the platform, even as token volatility rises. The exchange launched its LIT token on December 30, 2025, shortly after distributing a $675 million airdrop to users.

Lighter Continues LIT Buybacks Following Program Launch

Since announcing its LIT token buyback program on January 6, 2026, the Lighter team has bought back a reported $2.8 million worth of tokens. On-chain activity shows that $1.7 million of that total occurred recently, during the price decline.

These buybacks aim to support the token’s market value and may also contribute to long-term liquidity and demand. The LIT token was introduced with the goal of enhancing user engagement and platform growth.

While the token price has declined, the buyback program remains active. The team has not yet issued a public comment about the timing or scale of future buybacks.

Lighter’s Launch and Market Performance Since December

Since its token launch at the end of December 2025, Lighter has achieved rapid growth in user activity. Shortly after launching, the platform recorded a total cumulative volume of about $198 billion, briefly surpassing Hyperliquid.

That early momentum has continued into January, as reflected in its strong 24-hour volume and open interest figures. However, the token’s market price has not followed the same trend.

The broader market correction, including Bitcoin’s fall, has affected many assets across the ecosystem. Lighter’s token is one of several to experience double-digit declines this week.

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