| FEATURE | LIGHTER | BULK |
|---|---|---|
| Type | DEX | DEX |
| Taker Fee | 0% | 0.035% |
| Maker Fee | 0% | 0% |
| Max Leverage | 50x | 40x |
| Perp Pairs | 211 | 8 |
| Spot Trading | Yes | No |
| KYC Required | No | No |
| Rating | 4.2 | 3.0 |
Lighter vs BULK: key differences
Opening and closing a $10,000 position with market orders costs $0 on Lighter and $7.00 on BULK at base-tier taker fees, a difference of $7.00 per round trip.
Lighter allows up to 50x leverage against 40x on BULK. The headline figure usually applies to a few markets only, so check the limit on the pair you trade.
Lighter lists 211 perpetual markets, BULK lists 8.
Lighter also has spot trading; BULK is perpetuals only.
Lighter is the more liquid venue, with $511M in 24-hour volume against $21M on BULK (about 24 times more). Deeper books mean less slippage on large orders.
Neither exchange requires KYC: both are used by connecting a wallet.
Margin is posted in USDC, ETH, XAUT on Lighter and in USDC on BULK.
Figures as of 2026-10-04, from each exchange's documentation, CoinGecko and DeFiLlama.
Costs, liquidity and safety in detail
| Lighter | BULK | |
|---|---|---|
| Taker round trip on $10,000 | $0 | $7.00 |
| Maker round trip on $10,000 | $0 | $0 |
| Best-tier taker fee | 0.0196% | 0.022% |
| BTC max leverage | 50x | 40x |
| Margin modes | cross, isolated | cross, isolated |
| 24h volume | $511M | $21M |
| TVL | $768M | $8M |
| Custody | non-custodial | non-custodial |
| Collateral | USDC, ETH, XAUT | USDC |
| Deposit networks | Ethereum, Arbitrum One, Base +3 more | Solana |
| Minimum order | $10 | $1 |
| Order types | 9 | 9 |
| Options | No | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | No |
| Testnet or demo | No | Yes |
| Vaults or copy trading | No | No |
| Insurance fund | Yes | Yes |
| Audited | Yes | Yes |
| Restricted jurisdictions | 11 | 43 |
| Founded | 2022 | 2025 |
Choose Lighter if
- You mostly use market orders: 0% taker fee against 0.035% on BULK.
- You want higher leverage: up to 50x against 40x.
- You trade smaller or newer markets: 211 perpetual pairs against 8.
- You trade size and need liquidity: $511M in 24-hour volume against $21M.
- You want spot and perpetuals in one account.
- You trade from a phone: Lighter has a mobile app.
Choose BULK if
- Its feature set fits your workflow better; on the measured data points it does not beat Lighter.
Lighter
PROS
- + Zero maker and taker fees for standard accounts on perpetual and spot markets; premium accounts pay 0.004% maker and 0.028% taker, falling to 0.0028% and 0.0196% with 500,000 LIT staked (30% discount)
- + Every order match, liquidation, and settlement is proven with ZK circuits on Lighter's own Ethereum rollup, and nine audit reports for the contracts and circuits are published in the docs
- + 211 active perpetual markets and 10 spot pairs (October 2026), with up to 50x leverage on BTC, ETH, EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY, SPY, and US500
CONS
- − Restricted in the US, Canada, the UK, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, and Syria under the Terms of Service dated December 29, 2025, a list that includes the UK and Canada
- − Standard accounts trade free but with 300ms taker and cancel latency; the 140ms taker latency requires a premium account that pays 0.028% taker
- − Margin collateral beyond USDC is limited to ETH and XAUT at a 70% loan-to-value ratio, with per-user caps of 2,000 ETH and 500 XAUT
BULK
PROS
- + Base taker fee of 0.035% and maker fee of 0% during the Genesis phase, with taker fees down to 0.022% at 4 billion dollars of 14-day volume and maker rebates of up to 0.015%
- + Portfolio margin is the default: margin is calculated on the correlation-adjusted exposure of the whole account, which the docs say can cut requirements for a hedged BTC and ETH position by 30% to 70% against isolated margin
- + Non-custodial: funds sit in a per-user account of a Solana program, withdrawals need a FROST threshold signature from the validator set, and Zellic audited the program in July 2026
CONS
- − Mainnet is invite-only since September 5, 2026: access codes are the only way in for new users, they are single-use and expire weekly, and no date for public access has been announced
- − Only 8 of 22 listed perpetual markets were open for trading on October 4, 2026, there is no spot trading, and USDC on Solana is the only collateral
- − 24-hour volume was about 21 million dollars and open interest about 9 million dollars on October 4, 2026 per the BULK API, and BTC accounted for 14.3 million dollars of that volume
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lighter or BULK better?
Lighter has a higher rating (4.2 vs 3). Lighter offers lower fees (0% vs 0.035%). Choose Lighter for lower fees, and BULK for its features.
What are the fees on Lighter vs BULK?
Lighter charges 0% taker / 0% maker. BULK charges 0.035% taker / 0% maker for perpetuals.
Which has higher leverage, Lighter or BULK?
Lighter offers up to 50x, and BULK offers up to 40x. Maximum leverage applies to selected markets and falls as position size grows on both exchanges.
Do Lighter and BULK require KYC?
Lighter does not require KYC. BULK does not require KYC. Both restrict some jurisdictions (Lighter lists 11; BULK lists 43), so check the terms of service for your country before depositing.
Is Lighter or BULK safer?
Lighter has been audited and runs an insurance fund, and custody is non-custodial. BULK has been audited and runs an insurance fund, and custody is non-custodial. Neither audits nor insurance funds remove smart contract risk, so size deposits accordingly.
Which has more trading volume, Lighter or BULK?
Lighter recorded $511M in 24-hour volume and BULK recorded $21M, as of 2026-10-04. Lighter lists 211 perpetual markets and BULK lists 8.