Lighter vs Variational
Same lines, side by side: fees, leverage, markets, KYC, custody and referral perks, from official pages and DefiLlama.
| Line | Lighter | Variational |
|---|---|---|
| 30-day volume | #P03 · $52,570.0MEdge | #P04 · $50,872.0M |
| Trading fees | 0% maker · 0% takerStandard accounts, the default, pay no maker or taker fee on perps or spot, at the cost of slower matching (300ms taker latency). Premium accounts are opt-in and get faster matching: 0.0040% maker and 0.0280% taker with no LIT staked, reduced by staking LIT. | 0% trading feesOmni charges no trading fee: the venue keeps the market-making spread instead. Deposits and withdrawals cost a flat $0.10 in USDC, and a forced liquidation is executed 0.5% away from the bid or ask. |
| New-user perk | One week of Premium for free: the fees paid during that week are rebated | 1 point for every 10 points earned |
| Max leverage | up to 50×Edge | Not documented |
| Perp markets | 210 | 500Edge |
| Identity check | No KYC | No KYC |
| Custody | Non-custodial: Ethereum contracts hold the state root, escape hatch available | Non-custodial, EVM wallet, gasless deposits |
| Settles on | Lighter Core (ZK rollup anchored on Ethereum) | Arbitrum (Variational settlement pools) |
| Collateral | USDC | USDC |
| Where it runs | Web | Web |
| Chains | EVMEthereum | EVMArbitrum |
| Documented features | 7 of 10Edge | 4 of 10 |
| Order book | Yes | No |
| Cross margin | Yes | Yes |
| Spot trading | Yes | No |
| Vaults / copy vaults | Yes | Yes |
| Copy trading | Not documented | Not documented |
| Stocks, gold or forex | Yes | Yes |
| Points program | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Not documented |
| Mobile app | Not documented | Not documented |
| Telegram bot | No | No |
Which one should you pick?
Pick Lighter if
Fees are your main cost and you accept slightly slower fills to keep them at zero.
Trading is free by default on Lighter, and the venue anchors its state root on Ethereum with a documented escape hatch. The catch is that free matching is slower, and the paid Premium tier exists above it.
app.lighter.xyz
Pick Variational if
You want one cross-margined account for crypto, equities, commodities and forex with no visible trading fee.
A zero-fee venue built on RFQ rather than an order book: the platform earns the spread it quotes, so your real cost is the price you accept, not a line on a fee schedule.
omni.variational.io
