Lighter расширяет горизонты: спотовая торговля с Ethereum теперь доступна на крупнейшей perp-DEX Translation: Lighter Expands Horizons: Spot Trading with Ethereum Now Available on Largest Perp-DEX

Leading the market of perpetual contracts, the Lighter exchange has introduced spot trading functionality.

The platform initially focused on the Ethereum market, with plans to expand its list of available assets in the coming days.

In October, Lighter launched its main network operating on a second-layer solution based on EVM. By November, trading volumes on the exchange surpassed $295 billion, propelling it to the top position in the perp-DEX segment, ahead of Aster on the BNB Chain and Hyperliquid on its own HyperEVM.

This new feature is part of a broader expansion strategy. Previously, Lighter added futures for stocks of companies such as Coinbase and Robinhood, introduced various currency pairs, and announced integration with Chainlink to advance RWA (Real World Assets) initiatives.

Lighter is designed as a specialized ZK-rollup. Its founder, Vladimir Novakovski, a former quantum trader at Citadel, consistently advocates for the creation of L2 solutions tailored specifically for decentralized trading. This approach contrasts with the strategies of competitors like Hyperliquid, which operate on the first layer.

The key argument for this strategy is the reliability and ecosystem strength of the Ethereum base layer.

In November of this year, Lighter raised $68 million, achieving a valuation of $1.5 billion. The funding round was led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital.

Similar to traditional finance, spot transactions in the crypto sector account for only a portion of overall trading volume, where derivatives dominate.

The total trading volume of perpetual futures reached a record $1.2 trillion in October, driven by a market crash and the resulting interest in platforms like Lighter and Aster.

Offering both types of trading is a common practice; centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken are actively expanding their derivatives segments this year.

Notably, at the end of November, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes stated that by the end of 2026, the price of stocks would be determined by perp-DEX rather than Nasdaq.