Lighter, a decentralized crypto perpetuals trading platform, is setting the crypto community ablaze with chatter around trading of its airdrop points. The platform is running a points program to attract users and support its initial growth, essentially rewarding contributors with a token airdrop. Users who trade on the platform and provide liquidity to public pools are currently provided with Lighter points.
Since the past few days, Lighter Points have been a buzzword among airdrop farmers. Especially as these points are sold in live markets, even before airdrop is finalized. Professor Satoshi, a user on X, noted that users are paying as high as $33 for a single point via over-the-counter (OTC) deals.
While pre-market trading for soon-to-be-launched tokens is not a new thing in crypto, airdrop points trading has taken this approach to a next level. A similar occurrence was also spotted prior to Hyperliquid’s airdrop but it largely took place after the official airdrop announcement. In Lighter’s case, neither any official airdrop dates are shared or token details are revealed.
Lighter’s greater potential
Reacting to ‘pre-airdrop’ pricing for Lighter points, an X user YashasEdu, pointed out that $33 for each point is way lower than its potential. The user also noted that Lighter is targeting a $2-4 billion fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) and it puts each point priced at $40 to $150 range over standard tokenomics design.
“Lighter’s positions itself at the center of these trends with tech & execution that addresses real market needs,” YashasEdu said. “Current OTC pricing seems disconnected from underlying fundamentals & comparable project valuations.”
Recalling the Hyperliquid airdrop, the user noted that its points traded in a range of $15 to $25 on OTC markets but the protocol achieved significantly higher valuations after launch and early sellers missed upside.
New competitor to Hyperliquid
While Hyperliquid is setting a trend for a decentralized trading ecosystem, Lighter is emerging as its closest competitor with over $440 million in total value locked (TVL) and an average of $1 billion in daily trading volume. Both the perpetual DEXs share similar functionalities.
Hyperliquid employs a two-layer design with synchronized data sharing between HyperCore and HyperEVM, achieving decentralized trading speeds comparable to centralized exchanges. In contrast, Lighter leverages a proprietary zk-rollup (zkLighter) with a centralized limit order book (CLOB), delivering an impressive 5ms soft finality, enhancing trade execution speed and efficiency.
Additionally, Lighter introduces capital composability through LLP positions usable as margin, a feature absent in Hyperliquid. It also optimizes yield and trading flexibility on Ethereum’s secure foundation.
Given the first-mover advantage, Hyperliquid is currently positioned first among all decentralized trading platforms. If Lighter continues to gain traction, it might face stiff competition from Hyperliquid as prominent features of decentralized perpetual trading keep attracting a wider user base.
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