Bitwise launches first Lighter ETP amid Hyperliquid rivalry

Bitwise Asset Management has introduced the Bitwise Lighter Staking ETP (BLIT) on Deutsche Börse Xetra, providing a brokerage-accessible vehicle for European investors to gain exposure to LIT, the native token of decentralized derivatives exchange Lighter. The ETP is fully backed by holdings of LIT kept in cold storage and charges an annual expense ratio of 0.85%, according to Bitwise. Although branded as a staking product, BLIT will not initially generate staking rewards. Bitwise said it will begin staking LIT only after the ETP accumulates enough assets under management to make the process efficient; until that threshold is reached, the product will simply track LIT’s market price without distributing staking returns. The Lighter ETP builds on Bitwise’s recent push into products tied to decentralized derivatives platforms: the firm launched a Hyperliquid staking ETP in Europe in April. Bitwise’s new listing comes as Lighter, an Ethereum-based decentralized exchange for perpetual futures that uses zero-knowledge proofs and lets users retain asset custody, seeks to grow its market presence with features such as zero-fee retail trading. Lighter has seen notable traction; CoinGecko data cited in the source reports nearly $1.8 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours. The platform also gained wider distribution in July when Robinhood integrated Lighter into Robinhood Chain, enabling eligible Robinhood Wallet users to trade perpetuals settled by Lighter smart contracts. Despite Lighter’s growth, Hyperliquid remains the dominant player in decentralized perpetual futures. Data referenced by The Motley Fool indicates Hyperliquid controlled more than 61% of decentralized perpetuals trading, and separate reporting noted a May deal with Circle to expand USDC usage on Hyperliquid, where roughly $5 billion in USDC was reported to be held, per Coinbase.