Robinhood joins $68m round for crypto trading protocol Lighter

Lighter, a decentralized cryptocurrency trading protocol founded by Vladimir Novakovski, has raised US$68 million in a new funding round.

The round was led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Haun Ventures and Robinhood.

Lighter, launched in January 2025, operates both as a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures and as a layer-2 blockchain on Ethereum.

The latest round brings its total funding to nearly US$90 million, including a previously undisclosed US$21 million round in 2024.

Two sources familiar with the deal said the funding values Lighter at around US$1.5 billion.

🔗 Source: Fortune

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

On September 24, 2025, trading volume on perpetual futures decentralized exchanges (DEXs) on BNB Chain (a blockchain network initiated by Binance) hit a record $67 billion, with Lighter at $10.5 billion in daily volume and Hyperliquid at $10.8 billion 1.
Independent market watchers flag skewed volume to total value locked (TVL) ratios, as well as alleged wash trading (coordinated self-dealing to inflate activity) in parts of the perpetuals DEX market 1. Focus centers on Aster, a perp DEX, which some say inflates activity.
Lighter lists TVL of $1.171 billion on Ethereum and $87 on Arbitrum (an Ethereum layer-2 network) 2. Cumulative perpetual futures volume is $933.9 billion, with open interest (outstanding unsettled contracts) at $1.62 billion. Equity and token investors should check if the roughly $1.5 billion valuation relies on durable use instead of short-term, incentive-led spikes.

An airdrop program (free token allocation to users) gives early users points for trading, referrals, or event participation 3. Token distribution is expected after the beta phase ends on July 31, 2025 3.
Analytics platforms and wallet providers can integrate with Lighter’s zero-knowledge (zk) rollup 4. Security auditors and developer tooling firms should do the same.
Software teams should monitor Lighter’s official documentation and channels for integration guidance 4. Watch for announcements, updates to software development kits (SDKs), or application programming interfaces (APIs).