Lighter plans to become the first perpetual decentralized exchange (Perp DEX) project to apply for a U.S. regulatory license, with its LIT token surging 15% in 24 hours.

Lighter founder and CEO Vladimir Novakovski stated during the Q3 investor meeting: "We are currently pursuing licenses as a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). We have spent extensive time communicating with staff at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to align with all its core principles. Many of these principles already have clear correspondences with how Lighter implements them on-chain. For other principles, we have developed entirely new approaches that are unprecedented for regulators, and they are now investing significant time engaging with us to understand how these work. Our next plan is to formally submit these license applications next month. Regulators then have a maximum of 280 days to review them. Since we have completed all this preparatory work, we believe the subsequent process will go smoothly. We are very much looking forward to obtaining these licenses in the U.S. and opening our platform to the American market—not for retail users, but for institutional clients." Earlier, LIT saw a price drop amid news that Robinhood launched perpetual contracts in the U.S. using Bitstamp. At the time, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev told reporters that the decision not to select Lighter was due to regulatory structure. Novakovski’s remarks at the investor meeting have reignited community speculation that Lighter could collaborate more closely with Robinhood once it becomes compliant. According to HTX market data, driven by these remarks, LIT rose as much as 15% in 24 hours and is currently trading at $3.76.