David Hoffman, co-founder of the crypto media outlet Bankless, has sold his Ethereum holdings and redeployed the capital into a basket of tokens, with roughly half going into LIT, the native asset of the Lighter perpetual exchange. Hoffman disclosed the move this week, saying he allocated 50% of the ETH proceeds immediately to VVV, NEAR, ZEC, and HYPE, and held the other half back for dollar-cost averaging into LIT — an asset he said hadn’t already moved sharply higher.
Why Lighter Attracted Him
Hoffman explained his LIT bet by pointing to Lighter’s product. The exchange specializes in perpetuals, requires no know-your-customer checks, and lists more assets than its rivals do, including pre-IPO markets. Lighter also uses a zero-knowledge system called zkLighter that lets users audit how the exchange enforces its own rules. Hoffman noted that Lighter is blocked by VPNs in the United States, but he called the platform’s latency and fee structure the best among perpetual exchanges, citing third-party comparisons against Hyperliquid.
He described LIT as both “beta and alpha” to HYPE. The token’s buyback speed, he claimed, is roughly twice as fast as that of Hyperliquid’s token. Hoffman also argued that Lighter’s product is technically superior, has better fees, and offers stronger latency — and, unlike some offshore exchanges, is domiciled in the U.S.
The Allocation Strategy
The split wasn’t even. Half of the ETH sale went right into VVV, NEAR, ZEC, and HYPE. The other half sat in stablecoins or cash equivalents while Hoffman did something he described as dollar-cost averaging into LIT, which he later confirmed he had finished buying. He didn’t say exactly how much ETH he sold, but the move signals a deliberate pivot away from Ethereum’s native asset and toward newer, niche tokens that Hoffman sees as having more upside in the current market cycle.
LIT’s Market Position
At press time, LIT traded at $1.50. The token has seen volatility since Hoffman’s disclosure, but its price remains well below the highs of the past year. Whether other prominent crypto figures follow his lead into LIT is an open question. Hoffman hasn’t indicated any plans to sell or adjust his position; for now, he’s betting that Lighter’s product edge will translate into token value.
