Crypto trading platform Lighter has raised $68 million in a new funding round at a $1.5 billion valuation. The round was led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital.
According to a report from Fortune, Haun Ventures and Robinhood also joined the investment. Founder Vladimir Novakovski said the company will soon offer spot Bitcoin trading. Moreover, Lighter operates as a decentralized exchange and a blockchain network.
Novakovski explained that the deal includes equity and token warrants. He said the goal is to create “an infrastructure layer that ensures everything in finance happens fairly and transparently.”
At the same time, the new funding comes as interest in crypto perpetual futures, known as perps, is growing rapidly. Perps let traders hold contracts that do not expire as long as they meet margin requirements.
Lighter competes with other platforms like Hyperliquid and Aster. Furthermore, Novakovski said the platform’s Ethereum Layer-2 network allows faster and cheaper transactions.
This feature helps Lighter stand out in a crowded market. Founders Fund partner Joey Krug said, “Vlad and his team are 85% to 90% of why we made the investment.” Therefore, Lighter’s team and speed of execution attracted institutional investors.
The platform began as an AI social network called Lunchclub. Novakovski and his co-founder, Scott Wu raised $30 million, but growth slowed in 2022. After that, Novakovski kept most of the team and changed the company to focus on crypto, renaming it Lighter. The company then raised $21 million in 2024 before this latest round.
Lighter launched in January and quickly grew its blockchain. In fact, data from L2BEAT shows it is one of the top Layer-2 networks by total value locked. Moreover, Novakovski said the company is already profitable. The platform plans to expand its products and build more trust in decentralized finance.
The latest funding shows that investors are returning to crypto infrastructure projects. As a result, Lighter aims to provide a fair and transparent platform for trading digital assets. Novakovski said, “We’re pretty happy about our position right now, but we’re working hard.”
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