Will Lighter be the next Aster for Christmas or TGE?

Author: Asher, Odaily Planet Daily

Last night, Lighter announced the completion of a $68 million funding round, led by Founders Fund and fintech investment firm Ribbit Capital, with participation from Haun Ventures and Robinhood. After this round of financing, Lighter’s company valuation reached $1.5 billion.

Following this news, Lighter, which has not yet issued tokens, has become the most sought-after Perp DEX project for “yield farmers” to increase trading volume. Data from DefiLlama shows that Lighter’s 24-hour trading volume exceeded $11 billion, ranking first among Perp DEXs, followed by Hyperliquid ($9.1 billion) and Aster ($8 billion).

Perp DEX 24-Hour Trading Volume Rankings

So, with this funding round valuing the company at $1.5 billion and Lighter still not having issued tokens, could it be the next “big yield”? When will the Token Generation Event (TGE) happen? Is it still possible to participate now? Below, Odaily Planet Daily provides a detailed analysis.

Lighter: Private testing for 8 months has concluded; public testing launched on October 2nd

Lighter is a perpetual contract trading platform built on Ethereum Layer 2, aiming to combine the speed and liquidity of centralized exchanges with the security and transparency of decentralized exchanges. Its core approach is to use self-developed ZK circuits to handle matching and clearing, allowing each trade and settlement to be verified on-chain. This enables high-speed execution while maintaining decentralization and trustworthiness.

If Aster is backed by Binance, then Lighter is backed by Ethereum. It does not choose a closed architecture like HyperLiquid’s self-built L1 but instead focuses on “Ethereum-native composability”: LLP Tokens can circulate on the mainnet and collaborate with DeFi protocols like Aave, providing an open ecosystem with low costs, low latency, and verifiable execution environments. Lighter aims to become a decentralized perpetual contract platform that is “as fast as centralized, but verifiable on-chain.”

Lighter has completed 8 months of private testing, and its public mainnet officially launched on October 2nd. Currently, Lighter is running its second season of the points program. According to Vladimir Novakovski, founder and CEO of Lighter, the second season’s points activity is scheduled to end before the end of the year, not on December 31.

Lighter Founder: The second season points activity will end before the end of the year, not on December 31

TGE Timing Possibly During Christmas Period

In mid-November, Vladimir Novakovski, founder and CEO of Lighter, stated in a Russian-language AMA on YouTube that the second season’s points activity will continue until the TGE. Combining his previous mention on X that “the points activity will end before the end of the year but not on December 31,” and his recent comment to community members saying “the holidays will be lit this year,” the expectations for the airdrop timing are becoming clearer.

Vladimir Novakovski’s Response Regarding TGE Timing

Additionally, on Polymarket, there is a prediction event asking whether Lighter will complete its TGE before December 31. The market assigns an 89% probability that the airdrop will occur before the end of the year.

Polymarket Prediction on “Will Lighter Complete TGE Before December 31”

Overall, the community widely expects that Lighter’s airdrop will most likely take place during the most important Western holiday—Christmas.

Furthermore, according to AMA information, the community airdrop accounts for 50% of the total token supply. The completed first season and ongoing second season will distribute between 25% and 30% of the total supply. In other words, early points users can receive an airdrop of 25% to 30% of the total token supply when Lighter conducts its TGE.

How to participate in Lighter trading and earn points?

STEP 1. Visit the official platform (link:

STEP 2. Click on “Public Fund Pool,” then select LLP, deposit funds, and start trading to earn points.

Currently, users can still participate in the second season points activity to earn tokens. The core logic is to earn points at the lowest possible cost. Odaily Planet Daily will organize trading strategies after testing is complete. Stay tuned.