Users of the Lighter trading platform are experiencing significant withdrawal disruptions due to congestion on the Arbitrum Layer 2 network, with the project team remaining largely silent since confirming the issues. The problems began on December 30, 2025, when the team acknowledged the situation via Discord but has not issued further public statements.
The core technical issue involves the network's prover lagging behind the sequencer, which delays block submissions and causes withdrawal errors. In response to the congestion, the Lighter team advised users to switch to Ethereum Layer 1 (L1) withdrawals, a process that could take up to four hours to complete.
The disruption has directly impacted the platform's native token, LIT, which is built on the Ethereum Arbitrum Layer 2. The token's value has declined from approximately $3.25 to around $2.80, a drop attributed to the withdrawal limitations and growing market unease. This incident underscores the ongoing technical fragility and scalability challenges faced by Layer 2 networks under high transaction volumes.
Lighter operates under a U.S.-registered C-Corp structure, which brings additional scrutiny to its governance and communication practices during the crisis. The platform had recently conducted a 25% LIT token airdrop to early users. While user funds are reported to be secure, the prolonged delays and lack of leadership updates are eroding user trust and could invite broader regulatory interest in Layer-2 platform operations.
Historical parallels suggest that such sequencer and prover lags are a recurring challenge for Layer-2 solutions. The resolution of this congestion and potential future system updates will be critical for restoring confidence in both the Lighter platform and the underlying Arbitrum infrastructure.
