Lighter: Building a Verifiable Order Book for Decentralized Perpetual Trading

Rethinking the Core Architecture of Decentralized Perpetual Contracts

(Source: lighter)

While most decentralized derivatives protocols still rely on the AMM model, Lighter takes a different path by returning to an order book design that closely resembles traditional financial markets. Built on Ethereum, the protocol leverages a dedicated zk-rollup architecture, enabling order matching, clearing, and state updates to remain decentralized while delivering high efficiency and verifiability.

Lighter’s primary goal is to make order book trading viable for high-frequency, institutional-grade perpetual contract markets—without sacrificing security.

How a Verifiable Matching Engine Elevates Market Fairness

Unlike traditional centralized exchanges, Lighter’s matching and clearing processes are fully transparent—not a black box. Every trade follows publicly defined rules, and cryptographic proofs are submitted to Ethereum for on-chain verification.

This structure allows market participants to confirm that:

• Matching results remain free from manipulation
• Clearing logic executes strictly according to protocol rules
• The price discovery process is completely auditable

For professional traders who demand fairness and transparency, these features set Lighter apart from conventional DEX architectures.

Performance Engineered for High-Frequency and Institutional Trading

Lighter’s system architecture prioritizes ultra-low latency and high throughput. The platform handles a massive volume of order placements and cancellations within milliseconds, fully supporting the demands of high-frequency trading strategies.

At the same time, Lighter’s highly optimized infrastructure delivers zero maker and taker fees for retail traders, while institutional clients drive the platform’s main revenue streams—creating a transparent and sustainable business model.

Liquidity Sources and Market Making Mechanisms

Lighter’s primary liquidity comes from the Lighter Liquidity Pool. When users deposit funds, the system utilizes these assets to implement market-making strategies, providing substantial depth to the order book.

Liquidity providers earn revenue through:

• Counterparty trading profits
• Funding rate income
• Clearing-related fees

This approach embeds liquidity within the protocol itself, rather than relying solely on external market makers.

Funding Background and Rising Market Attention

In November 2025, Lighter secured approximately $68 million in funding, reaching a valuation near $1.5 billion. The round was led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Haun Ventures, Robinhood, and others. After the funding, platform trading volume surged, at times overtaking several competitors. Since the official token has not yet launched, the active points program has fueled strong anticipation for a future airdrop.

LIT Token Value Capture and Distribution Model

According to official disclosures, all value created by the Lighter ecosystem will be returned to LIT token holders. Platform revenue is fully traceable on-chain in real time and is allocated between ecosystem growth initiatives and token buybacks based on market dynamics.

The token distribution is structured as follows:

50% Allocated to the Ecosystem

• 25% comes from the 2025 points season and will be distributed by airdrop
• The remaining 25% is reserved for future points programs, partnerships, and ecosystem development

50% Allocated to Team and Investors

• 26% for the team, 24% for investors
• Both allocations have a one-year lock-up, followed by linear vesting over three years

Real-World Use Cases for LIT

LIT is more than just a value token—it’s deeply integrated into the trading and infrastructure ecosystem. Its functions include:

• Staking for participation in various tiers of trading and validation services
• Serving as the fee token for market data access and price verification
• Enabling a more decentralized trading and validation framework

The team has also made it clear: the future of finance lies at the intersection of TradFi and DeFi, with verifiable and composable infrastructure as the foundation.

To learn more about Web3, register here: https://www.gate.com/

Conclusion

From technology roadmap and funding scale to tokenomics, Lighter demonstrates a fundamentally different development strategy from most perpetual DEXs. Rather than chasing short-term hype, Lighter aims to build a robust, long-term trading infrastructure that balances efficiency, security, and transparency. As ZK technology matures, institutional involvement grows, and the LIT token goes live, Lighter’s potential to become a cornerstone of the decentralized derivatives market will be a key trend to watch in the years ahead.