Lighter

Lighter is Robinhood Chain's official perpetuals venue, and it is the one core partner that does not really live on the chain. That is the key thing to understand. Lighter is a zero-fee perpetual-futures DEX built on custom zero-knowledge infrastructure — an application-specific ZK-rollup anchored to Ethereum that proves every order match, funding payment, and liquidation before settlement. So when eligible users trade perps through Robinhood Wallet with USDG as collateral, the trading happens on Lighter's own ZK stack, not in Robinhood Chain's own execution — which is exactly why the chain's onchain perps TVL and volume figures look small: Lighter's activity mostly sits outside them. The pedigree is serious. Founder Vladimir Novakovski is a former Citadel engineer, and Lighter raised $68m in November 2025 at a roughly $1.5bn valuation from Founders Fund and Ribbit, with Haun, Dragonfly, Craft, and Robinhood participating — Robinhood rarely makes venture investments, and reporting frames the perps partnership as the product of a long relationship. Lighter's whole pitch is verifiability plus zero retail fees: a central-limit order book with millisecond latency where correctness is cryptographically proven on Ethereum, positioned as a Hyperliquid rival. The honest caveats: it is the newest and least chain-native of the core partners, its economics depend on the same zero-fee-now dynamic as its rivals, and because it runs its own rollup, users should be clear that perps risk lives in Lighter's system, not Robinhood Chain's. For the wiki's purposes, Lighter is the perps liquidity of record for the chain — strong backers, real technology, and an accounting quirk that makes the chain's perps look quieter than they are.

What it is

A zero-fee perpetual-futures DEX built on custom ZK infrastructure — an application-specific ZK-rollup anchored to Ethereum that proves order matching, funding, and liquidations before settlement.· 88%§

Role on the chain

The official perpetuals trading partner for Robinhood Chain; eligible users trade perps through Robinhood Wallet with USDG as collateral and quote asset.· 85%§

Founder

Vladimir Novakovski, a former Citadel engineer.· 85%§

Funding

Raised $68m in November 2025 at a ~$1.5bn valuation, led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital, with Haun Ventures, Dragonfly, Craft Ventures, and Robinhood participating.· 85%§

Accounting quirk

Because it runs its own ZK stack, Lighter's activity understates Robinhood Chain's onchain perps TVL and volume.· 82%§

• 2025-11-11

  Lighter raises $68m at ~$1.5bn

  Founders Fund and Ribbit led a $68m round valuing Lighter at roughly $1.5bn, with Haun, Dragonfly, Craft, and Robinhood participating.

• 2025-12

  LIT token and mobile app

  Lighter launched its LIT token in late December 2025 and rolled out an iOS/Android app with perps, spot, and RWAs support.

• 2026-07-01

  Perps partner for Robinhood Chain

  Lighter became the official perpetuals venue for Robinhood Chain at mainnet, accessed via Robinhood Wallet with USDG collateral.