The final countdown concluded last night. The decentralized perpetual contract exchange Lighter officially completed its airdrop distribution, with a total airdrop fund of $675 million to early participants. In a market that seems somewhat冷清 by the end of 2025, this number undoubtedly casts a stone.

But while there's excitement, competition on the Perp DEX battlefield has been intensifying over the past two years. Everyone is vying for the high ground in liquidity and trading experience. You'll find that high-performance solutions based on centralized limit order books (CLOB) are gradually eating into the market share of early automated market makers (AMMs). This is an inevitable process of technological iteration.

Lighter has employed ZK-rollup technology to deliver a combination of strategies: zero-fee trading mode coupled with customized ZK circuit design. This approach is indeed innovative—aiming to redefine what on-chain derivatives trading should look like. From a technical perspective, there are definitely some interesting elements.

But challenges are also evident. Community opinions on token distribution plans vary—some praise, others criticize. A more immediate concern is doubts about data authenticity and system stability—these require time and performance to prove. The most testing part remains how to retain users in the post-airdrop era. After the hype of airdrops subsides, where does genuine user stickiness come from? This is a question every new DEX must face.