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Lighter CEO Vladimir Isn’t Stopping at Perps – Takes a Surprising Next Step

1 hour ago
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Lighter:- Lighter, led by CEO Vladimir Novak Koski, is quickly becoming one of the most aggressive movers in the zero-knowledge–powered perps DEX landscape.

Since its mainnet launch in October 2025, the exchange has surged in visibility. It recently even surpassing Hyperliquid in trading volume, fees and revenue. The momentum comes on the heels of Lighter’s $68 million funding round, which has positioned the platform for rapid expansion.

But Vladimir and his team aren’t stopping at perps.

In a major product extension, Lighter is now expanding into spot trading. The exchange announced on Tuesday that its spot trading testnet is live, showcasing markets such as ETH/USDC, PROVE/USDC, and ZK/USDC. This implies that Lighter is soon to make a formal entry into spot markets, signaling a shift from a pure perps DEX to a multi-market on-chain exchange.

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Lighter’s Spot Trading Segment

Lighter’s newly released spot trading testnet is already showcasing an unusually advanced feature set for a DEX. The interface mirrors a full CEX-grade trading environment, complete with a live bid–ask order book, TradingView-powered charts.

It even shows stop-loss and take-profit options – tools rarely seen in early-stage spot DEXs.

Notably, the UI still displays open interest, funding rates, and leverage indicators. This hints that Lighter may be building a unified trading engine that powers both spot and perpetual markets.

It is also displaying zero fees on the testnet and support for pairs like ETH/USDC and Lighter’s native ZK/USDC. The exchange appears to be bringing derivatives-level execution and speed into the spot market – reflecting its ambition to rival leading on-chain exchanges.

Interestingly, Lighter’s foray into the sport-trading segment comes at a moment when perpetuals are surging with 24-hour perp trading volumes hovering around $9 billion. In last seven days, only, it has earned a revenue of $6 million with a 30 day revenue surpassing $27 million as well.

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Growing Perp DEXs

Lighter’s expansion arrives as other perp DEXs double down on UX upgrades. Aster, for instance, recently introduced a major portfolio overhaul that includes a Daily PnL Calendar for visualizing performance day-by-day, along with perp/spot account separation, an asset-breakdown chart, and detailed spot-trade analytics.

At the same time, Hyperliquid founder Jeff signaled an even more aggressive push in the sector. On Tuesday, he announced support for permissionless perpetuals for “any asset,” arguing that mobile-first, fiat-friendly design will unlock billion-dollar opportunities as finance shifts fully on-chain. With Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 framework offering liquidity infrastructure and revenue-sharing tools for developers, the perp-DEX landscape is setting up for a significantly more competitive phase.

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