Lighter raises $68 million at a $1.5 billion valuation as VC bets flood back into perp DEX infrastructure: report
Quick Take Lighter raised $68 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital. The raise comes as Venture investors bet that decentralized derivatives are shifting from speculative trades to core market infrastructure in DeFi.
Ethereum-based trading protocol Lighter has raised $68 million in a funding round as venture capitalists splurge big bucks on decentralized derivatives platforms.
Investors from Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital led the fundraising, with participation from Haun Ventures and Robinhood, according to Fortune . The funding values the firm at around $1.5 billion, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told The Block.
Lighter operates as both an Ethereum Layer 2 network and a decentralized exchange. It supports perpetual futures contracts, allowing traders to take long or short positions without expiration.
By combining onchain verification with a high-throughput matching engine, Lighter aims to deliver the performance of a centralized exchange while remaining fully decentralized.
The protocol uses its own Layer 2 infrastructure to minimize gas fees, enable instant settlements, and provide auditable proof of every trade.
VC conviction and the perpetual boom
Lighter’s $68 million round comes amid a renewed push from venture investors to identify infrastructure bets in crypto’s derivatives market as volumes explode.
On centralized exchanges, futures activity — largely perpetuals — hit $5.6 trillion in September, driven by Binance and OKX, according to data compiled by The Block.
As of October 2025, perpetuals accounted for roughly 75% of total CEX trading volume, generating nearly $49 trillion, far outpacing spot at $14.8 trillion and options at $1.3 trillion. On DEXs, perpetuals have expanded their share of total volume from 50% last year to over 56% in 2025.
Lighters’ raise follows this surge of activity across decentralized perpetual markets. According to The Block’s data dashboard, total onchain perpetual trading volumes reached a record $1.2 trillion in October , propelled by liquidations, incentives, and migration from centralized venues.
The data underscores how perpetuals have become the core engine of market liquidity across both centralized and decentralized ecosystems, The Block’s Yogita Khatri wrote in “ The Funding: Why perp DEXs are getting VC attention now .”
VC firms are increasingly backing decentralized trading protocols because they believe the market is shifting from token incentives to product differentiation. Analysts argue that this wave represents more than just a trading boom.
Decentralized perpetual exchanges are moving beyond speculative experiments to functioning as critical market infrastructure, with promises to handle institutional liquidity and risk management. With platforms like Hyperliquid demonstrating that small, efficient teams can rival centralized giants, new entrants such as Lighter are now drawing heavyweight investors eager to back the next generation of onchain trading rails.
The Block’s analysis noted that this new generation of perp DEXs competes less on airdrops and more on execution, liquidity design, and risk management features.
Looking ahead: spot trading and a token launch
Lighter reportedly plans to expand into spot trading. The funding round also included token warrants, giving investors allocations of the yet-to-launch Lighter token. No launch date for the asset has been announced as of publishing time.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Morgan Stanley reviews the AI crash: It's the valuation that's being slashed, not the profits! But don't rush to bottom-fish.
Morgan Stanley stated that the AI pullback is driven by valuation contraction, while profit expectations continue to rise. It advises against indiscriminate bottom-fishing upstream sectors, recommending selective allocation to application players, with priority given to those in the US and Europe with safety cushions.
SpaceX (SPCX.US) Under the $500 Billion Growth Vision: Morgan Stanley Bets on AI Computing Power Explosion, "Big Bears" Warn of a Bubble
Morgan Stanley remains optimistic that the company's stock price could reach $300, while "Big Short" Michael Burry questions whether its high valuation can be sustained. The real disagreement between the two sides centers on whether SpaceX can leverage the synergistic advantages of rockets, satellite communications, and AI computing power to generate sustained cash flow sufficient to support a $1 trillion valuation.
AI Trading "Weather Vane": Meta's Bond Issuance Faces Multiple Twists and Turns
Meta's $46 billion Election Day bond issuance faced multiple challenges: a credit rating downgrade by S&P, Microsoft gaining market share, and political upheaval. The CFO personally presented to 500 investors, ultimately paying a real financial cost—the spread on the longest-term bonds widened by 90 basis points compared to April. The Democratic "blue wave" has sharply increased regulatory risks for AI data centers, tech bond spreads continued to widen last week, and whether AI capital expenditures can translate into returns remains the biggest question for the market.
CICC: Accelerated Employment Expansion, Fed Maintains Gradual Rate Hikes
China International Capital Corporation (CICC) released a research report stating that the baseline scenario remains that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates once more in December and then shift to a wait-and-see approach.
Crypto prices
More
