How Paradex and Lighter differ on chain, volume, fees and model.
| Paradex | Lighter | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Private perp (Starknet) | zk perp DEX |
| Chain | Starknet appchain | zk rollup |
| How it works | A Starknet appchain incubated by Paradigm, offering zero trading fees and — uniquely — confidential positions, targeting institutional traders who don’t want their book public. | 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* | ~$30B · zero-fee | ~$25B/wk · zero-fee |
| Max leverage | high | high |
| Best for | Private, zero-fee institutional perps | Fee-free retail perps |
Pick Paradex for private, zero-fee institutional perps; pick Lighter for fee-free retail perps.
* Volume/TVL = dated snapshot (DefiLlama + venue reports, 2026).