How Lighter’s Ethereum L2 Perp DEX Handled Liquidations

Lighter rolled out its public mainnet right before a $19 billion crypto liquidation wave hit, putting its ZK-powered L2 perpetual DEX to the ultimate stress test. Founder Vladimir Novakovski walks through why they chose custom ZK circuits over a generalized ZKVM, how verifiable order matching and an “escape hatch” saved the day, and why a trader-first design (think transparent proofs, not vibes) matters more than ever when markets melt down. They also compare their approach to ADL vs. LLP, score themselves against Hyperliquid and Binance, and share the minute-by-minute of the outage and make-good efforts.

Looking ahead, Lighter is eyeing spot trading, universal cross-margin, and a ZKVM sidecar to broaden their platform play. With clear throughput targets, a roadmap that embraces L2Beat “stage upgrades,” and a commitment to verifiability and transparency, they’re plotting a steady path from perps to a full-blown platform—complete with token timing and community-first features.

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