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dYdX vs Lighter

How dYdX and Lighter differ on chain, volume, fees and model.

dYdXLighter
TypePerp appchain (Cosmos)zk perp DEX
ChaindYdX Chain (Cosmos)zk rollup
How it worksdYdX v4 runs its own Cosmos SDK appchain with an off-chain order book and on-chain settlement; validators process order matching. 75+ markets, taker 0.05%.A zero-knowledge-proven order-book DEX that charges retail zero trading fees, earning revenue from its liquidity pool plus mandatory 1:10 LIT staking. ~248k active addresses, TVL ~$1B.
Scale*~$0.3–0.5B/day~$25B/wk · zero-fee
Max leverageup to 20xhigh
Best forMaturity + validator decentralizationFee-free retail perps

dYdX

  • Mature, battle-tested venue
  • Validator-decentralized appchain
  • Deep liquidity on top pairs
  • Lower volume than Hyperliquid
  • Higher fees than Hyperliquid

Lighter

  • Zero fees for retail traders
  • zk-proven order book (verifiable)
  • Fast-growing volume & users
  • Mandatory LIT staking to access
  • Younger venue

Bottom line

Pick dYdX for maturity + validator decentralization; pick Lighter for fee-free retail perps.

* Volume/TVL = dated snapshot (DefiLlama + venue reports, 2026).