The Lighter $LIT Launch: Speed, Hype, and the "Insider" Problem Lighter "looks promising" with zero fees and backing from titans like a16z, but its staggering $2.5B FDV at launch and ex-Citadel roots begs the question... are you the product? With an immediate 30% crash from pre-market to launching and half the supply locked for insiders, this 'retail-friendly' launch looks suspiciously like another mechanism for VC exit liquidity. Zero-Knowledge (ZK) Proofs Uses custom ZK circuits for fully verifiable order matching and liquidations. Retail-Friendly Offers zero fees for retail traders to encourage adoption but this begs the question of is the user the product like how RobinHood sells their users trading data to people like Citadel so they can hunt liquidations and stop losses. Strong Backing Supported by top-tier VCs including a16z, Founders Fund, and Ribbit Capital. Volume Skepticism Critics argued that early high volumes during the beta (starting Jan 2025) were inflated by incentive-fueled wash trading rather than organic demand. Insider Concerns Large pre-launch transfers of $LIT tokens raised alarms about potential insider selling. Founder Vladimir Novakovski (ex-Citadel) clarified these were for safeguarding investor allocations, but skepticism remained. Allocation 50% Ecosystem (Community) vs. 50% Team/Investors. Immediate Airdrop 25% of the total supply was airdropped immediately to points holders. Inflated FDV The token listed at a massive $2.5B Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV), significantly higher than earlier VC rounds (~$1.5B). Dump Pressure With 25% of the supply unlocked instantly for airdrop recipients, the token faced immediate sell pressure, dropping ~30% shortly after trading began from its pre-market value of $3.2B a couple hours before....