Hyperliquid Rival Lighter Raises $68 Million at $1.5 Billion Valuation

Crypto trading protocol and Hyperliquid rival Lighter has raised $68 million in fresh funding at a $1.5 billion valuation. The round was led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Haun Ventures and Robinhood. This marks a strong return of venture interest in decentralized finance.

Lighter Plans Expansion Into Spot Trading Amid Rising Competition

Lighter operates both as a decentralized exchange and a blockchain network. The platform lets users trade perpetual futures, a form of crypto derivative that enables round-the-clock trading without expiry.

Founder Vladimir Novakovski said the company plans to introduce spot trading for tokens like Bitcoin soon, per a Fortune report. This would expand the platform’s product reach across the crypto ecosystem.

The deal includes a mix of equity and token warrants, giving investors access to a yet-to-be-released cryptocurrency. Novakovski described Lighter’s goal as building “an infrastructure layer that ensures everything in finance happens fairly and transparently.”

The fundraise comes amid renewed excitement for crypto perpetuals or “perps,” a fast-growing segment in digital assets. Rival activity has been especially strong among decentralized exchanges, with Aster outpacing Lighter in perpetual DEX rankings recently.

Earlier, Hyperliquid surpassed both rivals in this same metric. The rise of these rival platforms has intensified competition among decentralized exchanges.

Lighter Secures Its Place in the Crypto Infrastructure Race

Before Lighter, Novakovski co-founded Lunchclub, an AI-driven social networking startup that raised $30 million during the pandemic. By the time the business could no longer grow in 2022, he turned it into a crypto company, retained the majority of employees and renamed it Lighter. That pivot led to an earlier $21 million round in 2024, bringing total funding to nearly $90 million.

Lighter has since grown rapidly. Data from L2BEAT shows its blockchain is already one of the top Layer-2 networks by total value locked. Novakovski said the company is profitable and confident about its position in the decentralized trading market.

The wave of institutional funding in blockchain firms continues across the sector. Recently, Ripple raised funds in excess of 500 million after a year of massive growth. These fund raises are a confirmation of trust among investors in crypto projects with real world use.

For investors like Founders Fund’s Joey Krug, the attraction lies in Lighter’s team and execution speed. “Vlad and his team are 85% to 90% of why we made the investment,” he said.

The latest funding cements Lighter’s place among top decentralized exchanges. Also, it is a sign that institutional investors are once again betting on crypto infrastructure over hype. As Novakovski puts it, Lighter aims to make finance more transparent one perpetual trade at a time.