The altcoin market has once again attracted the attention of major players. According to on-chain analytics, whale activity in the Lighter (LIT) and Mantle (MNT) networks has reached its highest levels in the last six months, indicating renewed interest from institutional and wealthy investors in these assets amid volatility.
Lighter: Burn tokenomics sparked interest
The Santiment service recorded 86 transactions with LIT exceeding $100,000 — a record figure since the start of the year. The sharp increase in large transactions coincided with a dynamic rise in the token's price: on Monday, the LIT rate surged by more than 20%, reaching $2.6 — a high since January. The weekly increase amounted to about 37.9%.
The reason lies in fundamental changes. Last month, the Lighter team revised its tokenomics, introducing a burn mechanism that reduces the total supply of LIT. Additionally, the platform launched staking with a 6% annual yield from a pool of 250 million LIT. These measures created a supply deficit and intensified accumulation by whales, who are clearly betting on long-term growth.
Mantle: RWA and stablecoins attract capital
A similar picture is observed in the Mantle network. On-chain data shows 37 large transactions with MNT (each exceeding $100,000), which is also a six-month high. Whales are responding to the growth in the tokenized real-world assets (RWA) and stablecoin segments.
According to the latest Mantle report, the total value locked (TVL) in the DeFi segment exceeded a record $1 billion, of which $90 million is in real-world asset solutions. The network's stablecoin market capitalization hit an all-time high, reaching $955 million — a 120% annual increase. The network now supports 155 tokenized stocks and holds a treasury of over $1.8 billion.
However, the MNT price has not yet shown similar optimism: over the past day, the token fell by 2% to $0.431, although it gained 1.4% over the week. This suggests that the network's fundamental growth is not yet fully reflected in the quotes.
My analysis: The surge in whale activity in Lighter and Mantle is a clear signal that large holders see long-term potential in projects with strong fundamental changes. However, investors should remember: even with rising on-chain activity, the price may lag if the market remains sideways. Keep an eye on supply dynamics and TVL — these metrics are now more important than short-term price movements.