Lighter raises $68 million at a $1.5 billion valuation as VC bets flood back into perp DEX infrastructure: report

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.