Lighter is a perps exchange built as a custom zk-rollup on Ethereum. It proves order matching, risk checks, and liquidations with custom zero-knowledge circuits, settles funds on Ethereum L1, and targets exchange-grade latency—with zero fees for retail traders and competitive maker/taker pricing for pros. Public mainnet is live.
Quick Facts
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What it is: A zk-rollup perps DEX; all core ops (matching, liquidations) are cryptographically proven and verified on Ethereum.
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Settlement & custody: User assets remain on Ethereum; withdrawals are guaranteed even if the L2 goes offline.
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Performance: Designed for tens of thousands of orders/cancels per second with millisecond-level latency.
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Fees: Architecture enables zero retail fees and very competitive pro fees (gas/network costs still apply).
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Backers: Founders Fund, Haun, Dragonfly, Robot Ventures and others.
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Traction: Listed among top perps venues by daily volume on public dashboards. (Rankings change; check live boards.)
How It Works
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Deposit on Ethereum to fund your Lighter account (L1 custody).
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Place/cancel orders on the rollup; the matching engine fills by price-time priority.
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Risk & liquidations: margin/funding checks run; if needed, positions are liquidated under provable rules
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Proving & finalize: batches are proven via ZK and verified on Ethereum; balances update only after proofs pass.
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Withdraw anytime through the Ethereum contracts (guaranteed exit).
