Lighter's perps DEX hits $10M TVL on Robinhood Chain

Lighter, a zero-knowledge perpetuals exchange, crossed $10.4 million in total value locked on Robinhood Chain within a week of the network's mainnet launch. The Layer-2, built on Arbitrum, went live July 1–2, 2026.

Robinhood was a lead backer in Lighter's $68 million funding round in November 2025. The brokerage also committed roughly $11 million in LIT token incentives for users accessing Lighter through Robinhood Wallet. LIT's price jumped between 15% and 80% after the integration, depending on the measurement window.

Robinhood Chain itself passed $100 million in TVL in its first week. The capital is coming from retail users who are familiar with the app but may not have used a self-custody wallet before, the company said.

Lighter expanded its collateral options beyond USDG stablecoins to include tokenized shares of AAPL, NVDA, and GOOG. Those stock tokens can now back perpetual futures positions.

The $10.4 million figure puts Lighter in the early stages. Major perps DEXs on established chains hold hundreds of millions or more. Going from zero to eight figures in a week with a major brokerage actively distributing users and incentives is a fast start, though the concentration risk is clear. Lighter's TVL depends on Robinhood Chain attracting sustained activity beyond the incentive-driven launch phase. If that activity fades, the TVL could deflate just as quickly.

Robinhood's broader crypto push includes its own blockchain and AI trading tools, which helped lift its stock 14% in June. The Robinhood Soars 14% article covers the details of that launch.