Ethereum Adjacents Lighter and Mantle See Surge in Whale Activity

Two Ethereum-adjacent networks, Lighter and Mantle, are experiencing increased whale activity. According to Santiment on-chain data, both platforms have seen their highest transaction volumes in six months.

Lighter's zero-knowledge rollup has been successful in attracting large traders with its aggressive buyback program. The protocol has repurchased approximately 15.5 million of its native LIT tokens, representing around 6.3% of the total token supply. This was funded directly from treasury revenues.

Notably, one wallet accumulated over $40 million worth of LIT in a single seven-day window in early January. Lighter's platform has surpassed $200 billion in 30-day trading volume on its perpetual DEX, putting it ahead of several established competitors.

Mantle Network, another Ethereum Layer 2 solution, has been quietly rising in the market. Its treasury is one of the largest in crypto, providing significant runway for adoption and partnerships. Santiment data flagged Mantle's token, MNT, as the number one network for increases in transactions worth $100,000 or more back in August 2025.