| FEATURE | LIGHTER | VELOCITY |
|---|---|---|
| Type | DEX | DEX |
| Taker Fee | 0% | 0.06% |
| Maker Fee | 0% | -0.0025% |
| Max Leverage | 50x | 20x |
| Perp Pairs | 211 | 4 |
| Spot Trading | Yes | No |
| KYC Required | No | No |
| Rating | 4.2 | 2.5 |
Lighter vs Velocity: key differences
Velocity is still in recovery after a security incident. Read the status notice in the Velocity review before depositing.
Opening and closing a $10,000 position with market orders costs $0 on Lighter and $12.00 on Velocity at base-tier taker fees, a difference of $12.00 per round trip.
For limit orders, Lighter charges makers nothing, while Velocity pays makers a 0.0025% rebate.
Lighter allows up to 50x leverage against 20x on Velocity. The headline figure usually applies to a few markets only, so check the limit on the pair you trade.
Lighter lists 211 perpetual markets, Velocity lists 4.
Lighter also has spot trading; Velocity is perpetuals only.
Neither exchange requires KYC: both are used by connecting a wallet.
Margin is posted in USDC, ETH, XAUT on Lighter and in USDT, SOL, wBTC, wETH on Velocity.
Figures as of 2026-10-04, from each exchange's documentation, CoinGecko and DeFiLlama.
Costs, liquidity and safety in detail
| Lighter | Velocity | |
|---|---|---|
| Taker round trip on $10,000 | $0 | $12.00 |
| Maker round trip on $10,000 | $0 | $0.50 rebate |
| Best-tier taker fee | 0.0196% | 0.02% |
| BTC max leverage | 50x | 20x |
| Margin modes | cross, isolated | cross-margin |
| 24h volume | $511M | — |
| TVL | $768M | $343M |
| Custody | non-custodial | non-custodial |
| Collateral | USDC, ETH, XAUT | USDT, SOL, wBTC, wETH |
| Deposit networks | Ethereum, Arbitrum One, Base +3 more | Solana |
| Minimum order | $10 | — |
| Order types | 9 | 11 |
| Options | No | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Testnet or demo | No | No |
| Vaults or copy trading | No | No |
| Insurance fund | Yes | Yes |
| Audited | Yes | Yes |
| Restricted jurisdictions | 11 | — |
| Founded | 2022 | 2021 |
Choose Lighter if
- You mostly use market orders: 0% taker fee against 0.06% on Velocity.
- You want higher leverage: up to 50x against 20x.
- You trade smaller or newer markets: 211 perpetual pairs against 4.
- You want spot and perpetuals in one account.
Choose Velocity if
- You have read its recovery status first: users affected by the earlier incident have not been made whole.
- You place limit orders: makers earn a 0.0025% rebate.
- You want a sign-up discount: 5% off fees through a referral link.
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
Velocity
PROS
- + Trading is open again: the public beta has been available to all users since September 21, 2026, with BTC, ETH and SOL perpetuals at up to 20x leverage and HYPE at up to 10x
- + Makers receive a 0.0025% rebate on post-only orders at every volume tier, and the taker fee falls from 0.06% to 0.02% above 200 million dollars in 30-day volume
- + One cross-margin account accepts USDT, SOL, wBTC and wETH as collateral, and deposits earn lending interest while they back positions
CONS
- − About 286 million dollars was stolen on April 1, 2026 through compromised administrator keys, and verified user losses are about 295.4 million dollars
- − Affected users have recovered about 1 percent so far: each DFX recovery token redeemed for about 0.0104 USDT from a 3.11 million USDT pool in early October 2026
- − The relaunched exchange lists four perpetual markets, down from more than 40 before the exploit, and spot order book trading was removed
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lighter or Velocity better?
Lighter has a higher rating (4.2 vs 2.5). Lighter offers lower fees (0% vs 0.06%). Choose Lighter for lower fees, and Velocity for its features.
What are the fees on Lighter vs Velocity?
Lighter charges 0% taker / 0% maker. Velocity charges 0.06% taker / -0.0025% maker for perpetuals.
Which has higher leverage, Lighter or Velocity?
Lighter offers up to 50x, and Velocity offers up to 20x. Maximum leverage applies to selected markets and falls as position size grows on both exchanges.
Do Lighter and Velocity require KYC?
Lighter does not require KYC. Velocity does not require KYC. Both restrict some jurisdictions (Lighter lists 11; Velocity publishes no list we could verify), so check the terms of service for your country before depositing.
Is Lighter or Velocity safer?
Lighter has been audited and runs an insurance fund, and custody is non-custodial. Velocity 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.