Lighter's $68M Raise Fuels Institutional DeFi Push Amid Market Caution

Lighter, a decentralized perpetual trading protocol, has secured $68 million in a new funding round led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and fintech investor Ribbit Capital, with additional participation from Haun Ventures and Robinhood. The round, which brings the company's total funding to nearly $90 million, values Lighter at approximately $1.5 billion, according to sources familiar with the deal. The capital will be used to enhance on-chain transparency and speed for institutional traders in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, as outlined in reports from Fortune and a LookOnChain report.

The funding comes amid a broader surge in crypto venture capital activity. Earlier in November 2025, the crypto sector saw $1.015 billion in funding across 21 projects, with Ripple Labs securing $500 million in a strategic round and Lava raising $200 million. Payment infrastructure and stablecoin solutions dominated the landscape, reflecting growing institutional interest in blockchain-based financial systems, according to a Crypto News report. Lighter's latest raise underscores continued investor confidence in DeFi protocols, despite broader market caution.

Vladimir Novakovski, Lighter's 40-year-old founder and CEO, emphasized that the funding includes both equity and token subscription rights. While he declined to confirm the valuation publicly, he highlighted the round's significance in scaling the platform's infrastructure. "This funding will accelerate our mission to deliver secure, high-performance trading solutions for institutional participants," Novakovski said. The company previously raised $21 million in an earlier round led by Haun Ventures and Craft Ventures, according to the LookOnChain report.

The crypto funding environment has shown signs of stabilization after a period of retrenchment. Earlier this year, venture capital activity in the sector slowed as investors adopted a more selective approach. However, high-profile raises like Lighter's and Ripple's indicate that strategic infrastructure projects remain attractive to backers. "Investors are prioritizing platforms with clear utility and long-term scalability," said a venture capitalist who participated in the round, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The funding landscape for crypto startups has been shaped by macroeconomic factors, including interest rate uncertainty and regulatory developments. Yet, niche areas like DeFi and stablecoin infrastructure continue to draw capital. For example, Arx Research recently raised $6.1 million to develop hardware for merchant stablecoin adoption, while Digital Asset secured $135 million to advance its blockchain network, according to a TradingView report. Lighter's focus on institutional-grade trading aligns with this trend, as firms seek to bridge traditional finance and decentralized markets.

As the DeFi sector evolves, Lighter's expansion could face competition from established exchanges and emerging protocols. However, its emphasis on transparency and speed positions it to capture a segment of the market demanding secure, high-throughput solutions. With the new funding, the company plans to further integrate its platform with institutional workflows, potentially broadening its appeal to asset managers and hedge funds.