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Lighter DEX Announces Full Compensation After $93B Trading Month
Lighter, a rising Ethereum-based perpetual DEX, has announced it will fully compensate traders impacted by a major system outage during October’s flash crash. The compensation plan comes after a 4.5-hour database failure on October 10th locked users out of their accounts, causing significant financial losses.
Database Glitch During Market Turmoil
The incident occurred in the wake of a broader crypto market crash, which also affected major players like Binance and Robinhood. However, Lighter’s issue stemmed from a database upgrade failure, leaving users unable to enter or exit positions during a highly volatile window.
According to Lighter’s post-mortem, the outage affected over 2,000 traders, with 367 users losing over $10,000 and 38 users losing more than $100,000. In total, 2,008 accounts recorded losses of over $1,000.
Compensation in Stablecoins and Points
In a recent update on X (formerly Twitter), Lighter confirmed that compensation will begin Monday, with users receiving a mix of stablecoins and platform points. The latter can be used to farm its upcoming native token, expected to launch in Q4 2025.
This move sets Lighter apart from other platforms affected during the crash. While Binance has addressed complaints, co-founder Yi He did not commit to issuing refunds.
Lighter’s proactive approach comes amid its aggressive push to challenge Hyperliquid’s dominance in the perp DEX space. In October alone, Lighter recorded $93 billion in perpetual volume, trailing closely behind Hyperliquid’s $109 billion.
With no trading fees for retail users and ongoing point farming campaigns, Lighter’s strategy could further boost its volume as users chase allocations of its upcoming token.
As the perp DEX sector continues to evolve post-crash, Lighter’s response may set a new standard for platform accountability.
