Lighter, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange, announced plans to file for a derivatives license with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in November 2026. Founder Vladimir Novakovski aims to secure the first legal approval for an on-chain perpetual exchange from the CFTC, potentially enabling institutional access in the US.
The platform, operated by Delaware-based Elliot Technologies, previously raised $68 million in November 2025 at a valuation of $1.5 billion, with backing from Robinhood Ventures. Following the announcement of the upcoming filing, the native LIT token price increased by over 15% on October 21, 2026, reaching approximately $3.90.
Lighter maintains a partnership with Robinhood Chain, launched on July 1, 2026, which features a 50/50 revenue split on trading volume. The exchange has allocated 11 million LIT tokens for user incentives and recently expanded its product offerings to include binary options for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The protocol utilizes revenue to fund quarterly buybacks and burns of LIT tokens to manage supply. While the exchange has engaged in over 11 months of regulatory discussions, the success of the pending CFTC application remains a key factor for its future operations and institutional market entry.
