The altcoin market continues to deliver surprises. This week, I recorded a significant surge in activity from large holders on the Lighter (LIT) and Mantle (MNT) networks. According to on-chain analytics, the number of transactions exceeding $100,000 reached six-month highs, clearly indicating increased interest from institutional and large retail players in these assets.
Lighter: Tokenomics as a Catalyst
In the case of Lighter (LIT), the situation is particularly telling. Monitoring services recorded 86 large transactions over the recent period — an absolute record for the last six months. Notably, this surge coincided with a dynamic rise in the token's price. On Monday, LIT jumped over 20%, reaching the $2.6 mark — a high since January. The weekly gain amounted to an impressive 37.9%.
The key driver, in my opinion, was the recent update to the project's tokenomics. Last month, the Lighter team revised the economic model by introducing a token burning mechanism, which directly reduces the total supply of LIT. Additionally, staking conditions were changed: holders can now earn 6% annual interest from a pool of 250 million LIT. This creates a powerful incentive for long-term holding and attracts "whales" seeking passive income. Interest in perp DEX, buyback mechanisms, and new partnerships only fuels the excitement.
Mantle: Betting on RWA and Stablecoins
An equally interesting picture is emerging around Mantle (MNT). Here, 37 large transactions were recorded — also a six-month high. Large holders are clearly reacting to the rapid development of the real-world assets (RWA) and tokenized securities segment within the Mantle ecosystem.
According to the team's latest report, the total value locked (TVL) in the network's DeFi segment exceeded a record $1 billion, of which $90 million came specifically from RWA solutions. The stablecoin market cap also hit an all-time high, reaching $955 million (120% annual growth). The network now supports 155 tokenized stocks and has a treasury exceeding $1.8 billion. "Stablecoins, tokenized securities, and deposit products are now at the core of Mantle's on-chain economy. Capital is starting to work," the project noted.
However, the price of the MNT token itself has yet to show similar optimism. Over the past day, it fell by 2% to $0.431, although a slight increase of 1.4% was recorded over the week. This suggests that the market is still cautiously assessing the fundamental changes.
My comment: The surge in whale activity in Lighter and Mantle is not speculative noise, but a reaction to fundamental improvements. In LIT's case, we see a classic deflationary story with strong incentives for holding. Mantle, in turn, is betting on one of the most promising trends — the tokenization of real-world assets. If these projects continue to execute their roadmaps, the current spike in interest could mark the beginning of a long-term upward trend, rather than a short-term tactical play.