How Lighter DEX targets RWA liquidity gap with $250K weekly incentives

Lighter DEX is aggressively positioning itself to be the go-to platform for tokenized equities and commodities trading. 

On the 13th of April, the Ethereum-based perpetual DEX unveiled a ‘liquidity partner program’ that rewards those who contribute liquidity to the platform’s RWA (real-world asset) tokenized markets. According to the program, market makers will be rewarded with $250K weekly to ensure enough liquidity and depth for better execution of RWA trades. 

Notably, those offering liquidity for oil, gold, and silver trades will get higher rewards, followed by those supporting top stocks like NVDA, Tesla, and Circle’s CRCL. 

Currently, Hyperliquid has 100% more liquidity than Lighter for RWA markets. In other words, for smoother trade executions and fewer slippages, traders are better off in Hyperliquid than Lighter. 

Such divergence could attract more traders to Hyperliquid and other liquid venues for RWA markets. And the current RWA market as a share of trading volumes supports this argument. 

Lighter vs. Hyperliquid: RWA trading activity

Since the West Asia crisis began, the RWA markets have exploded, especially those involving oil, gold, and silver. 

At one point, these non-crypto assets contributed to nearly 40% of overall Hyperliquid trading volume with a 60% retention rate. In fact, Hyperliquid’s RWA market has been climbing higher since March, underscoring strong adoption. 

In contrast, non-crypto assets’ activity on Lighter, especially commodities, has stagnated at around 16% for a while.

It remains to be seen whether the liquidity program will further improve the demand for Lighter’s RWA markets and overall trading volumes. 

Capital inflows and impact on LIT price

Another way of gauging Lighter’s traction and, by extension, its native token LIT’s performance, is through capital inflows. In March, the DEX saw net capital outflows of over $350 million, underscoring slow momentum in trading activity. 

In the past two weeks, however, it has seen relief inflows of over $7 million. Interestingly, this coincided with the Telegram integration and aggressive buyback program. 

During the period of capital inflows, LIT fronted a 40% surge and reclaimed $1. In fact, as of press time, it was still above the $1 level despite the recent pullback.

If the psychological support level holds for the next few days, bulls may eye $1.3, offering a potential 30% gain if retested. Conversely, a crack below $1 would embolden bears. 

Final Summary

• Lighter has unveiled a $250K weekly incentive for market makers to improve the liquidity of its RWA market
• LIT price held above $1 and could offer a 30% potential gain if the psychological level is defended as support