Lighter, the Ethereum-based onchain exchange, is continuing its rapid pace of development with the rollout of 24-hour weekday equity perps markets on Tuesday.
The trading platform plans to expand these markets to 24/7 availability “soon,” according to Sebastián J., the go-to-market lead for Lighter, on Discord.
“Previously, these markets followed U.S. trading hours only,” the executive, who often goes by Sebas, wrote.
CEX and DEX perps
With the announcement, Lighter joins a growing list of crypto trading venues attempting to bring the flexibility of trading crypto derivatives to traditional assets, like Coinbase’s $COIN and Robinhood’s $HOOD.
The 24/5 Equity Perps setup theoretically allows global traders to access these markets continuously during the week without being restricted by time zones, improving liquidity and activity on the platform.
Major centralized exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase have gradually introduced greater flexibility to their derivatives markets, with “round-the-clock” trading often cited as a near-term goal. Kraken, for instance, offers access to a range of CME-based markets, from gold and oil to equity indexes like NASDAQ, initially following a 24/5 model.
Meanwhile, Coinbase Derivatives has brought 24/7 trading for about a dozen listed altcoin “perpetual-style” futures, in part powered by the technology acquired from Deribit.
On Tuesday, BitMEX took a leap forward by launching 24/7 Equity Perps for widely traded U.S. stocks and indices, including Amazon, Apple, Circle, Coinbase, Meta, Nvidia, Robinhood, Tesla, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq, with plans to expand its offerings over time.
Perps are a type of futures product that enables people to speculate on the price movement of an asset they do not own over an indefinite period of time. Offered first by Bitcoin derivatives platform BitMEX, perps essentially evolved to fit the need created by global, permissionless, and uninterrupted digital currencies like BTC and ETH.
“Equity Perps give traders a more flexible way to access U.S. equity markets using crypto,” BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz said. “By removing traditional market hours and allowing crypto collateral, we are extending our derivatives expertise to a broader set of global markets while maintaining the reliability and performance BitMEX is known for.”
Onchain perps platforms have been some of the fastest-growing startups in crypto following the breakout success of Hyperliquid. Like Hyperliquid, the Lighter DEX is built on a bespoke blockchain, though Hyperliquid has its own dedicated Layer 1 and EVM chains, while Lighter was designed as a zk-powered Ethereum Layer 2.
The share of DEX to CEX trade volume has been growing, hitting a new high ratio of 21%, according to The Block’s data. Binance continues to dominate perps trading activity, though has seen rising competition.
That’s LIT
Lighter has seen a spike in interest recently, having surpassed Hyperliquid’s monthly trading volume in November and December, according to The Block’s data.
Last week, Lighter introduced a native LIT token and appears to have quietly rolled out token buybacks on Monday, The Block reported. All this comes on the heels of a $68 million funding round led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital.
Editor’s note (Jan. 6 —17:18 UTC): Updates story to add BitMEX’s new offering.
© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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