How to trade perps on Lighter: deposit, key, first trade

To trade perps on Lighter you need an Ethereum wallet you control and a first deposit of at least $5, which opens your Lighter account. Then you pick a market, set leverage and margin mode, choose long or short, add a stop loss and place the order. On a Standard account Lighter charges no maker or taker fee, so the costs to watch are slippage, funding and liquidation. This guide walks through each step, whether you use Lighter's own app or an interface such as Prow.

The numbers to know first

Step 1: a wallet

Lighter accounts belong to an Ethereum wallet. Rabby, MetaMask or a wallet made for you by an app all work. You register the account by signing a message with that wallet, and only that wallet can withdraw from it later. Keep its seed phrase offline.

You do not need ETH on Lighter itself. Trading, adding a key and revoking one are signatures with no network fee. The only transaction with a network fee is the deposit on the chain you send from.

Step 2: the first deposit

Your Lighter account does not exist until money arrives. Lighter's bridge gives each wallet its own deposit address. Send at least $5 to it from a chain Lighter supports and the account is created with that balance. Your margin on Lighter is held in USDC, whichever asset the bridge takes from you.

In Prow, Connect Lighter shows your own deposit address with a QR code, one for the EVM chains and separate ones for Solana, Tron and Bitcoin when Lighter offers them. With a wallet connected you can also send USDC straight from Prow on Arbitrum, Base, Optimism or Ethereum: pick the network, type the amount, confirm in your wallet. Prow checks that the address was made for your wallet before it shows it, then waits until Lighter shows the account. See Connect Lighter and Deposit funds.

Step 3: a trading key (if you use an app)

Lighter's own app and third-party apps sign orders with an API key that lives in one of 255 numbered slots on your account. Slots 0 to 3 are reserved for Lighter's web and mobile apps. A key in a slot can place, change and cancel orders, set leverage and margin, and read your orders and fills. It cannot withdraw or transfer. Withdrawals need the wallet that owns the account.

Adding a key is one signature. Your wallet shows a message that starts with Register Lighter Account and names the account index and the slot. Check that they match what the app shows, then sign. No network fee is paid.

Prow makes its key on your device, in a free slot from 4 to 254, and the key never leaves the device. It has no expiry, and you can revoke it from Settings, then Venues, with one more signature. See How trading keys work and Revoke a key.

Step 4: pick the market, side and size

• Long profits when the price rises. Short profits when it falls.
• Size is the position's value. Margin is what you put in. Position = margin × leverage, so 50 USDC at 10x is a 500 USDC position.
• The minimum order is $10 of position value, and each market has its own minimum size on top. Lighter lists over 200 perps, from BTC and ETH to stock, FX and commodity markets. Which coins trade where, with leverage and open interest, is on Perp markets by venue.

Step 5: leverage and margin mode

On Lighter, leverage and margin mode are set together per market, before you open the position.

• Leverage. The maximum is set per market. BTC goes up to 50x. Higher leverage means less margin for the same size and a liquidation price closer to your entry.
• Margin mode. Cross uses your whole Lighter balance as margin for all cross positions. Isolated treats the position as its own small account with the margin you give it. A few Lighter markets are isolated only.

Prow asks for both before a new Lighter position. See Leverage and margin.

Step 6: order type

Two Lighter details. A market order is really a limit at your worst acceptable price, and Lighter cancels what cannot fill within it, so set the slippage you are happy with. Lighter also refuses a limit price more than 5% from the mark price. See Order types.

Step 7: take profit and stop loss

Add a stop loss below your entry for a long, above it for a short. It closes the position at market when the mark price reaches the trigger, so you leave before liquidation and keep the margin a liquidation would cost. A take profit closes in profit at your price.

On Lighter, TP and SL go out together with the opening order as one group. They follow the size that fills, go live once the entry fills, and one cancels the other. Lighter has no trailing stop. See TP/SL.

Triggers use the mark price, a fair price Lighter builds from its order book, an index from Chainlink, Stork and Pyth, and marks from centralized exchanges. One large trade on Lighter alone does not fire your stop.

Step 8: check the numbers, then place it

Before you confirm, read three lines:

1. Fee. On a Standard account, zero. Lighter charges Standard accounts nothing on maker or taker fills. Prow's fee is 0% until Dec 31, 2026, then 0.025% per trade, and on a Standard Lighter account Prow adds nothing, because Lighter only lets an app charge a fee on Plus and Premium accounts. See Lighter fees explained.
2. Estimated liquidation price, and how far it is from the current price.
3. Margin required, and what is left available.

Step 9: while it's open

• Funding is paid every hour on the position's value. When the rate is positive, longs pay shorts. Lighter's rate is the hour's average premium divided by 8, with a default of 0.01% per 8 hours when the market trades close to its index. Lighter keeps none of it. Current rates per venue are on Funding rates.
• Unrealized PnL moves with the mark price. At 10x, a 1% price move is about 10% of your margin.
• If the liquidation price gets close, add isolated margin, deposit more for a cross position, or reduce the size. Lighter liquidates in stages, cancelling your open orders first, and takes up to a 1% liquidation fee.

Step 10: close and withdraw

Close with a market order or a reduce-only limit order. Realized PnL is the result after funding, since there is no trading fee on a Standard account.

Withdrawals happen on Lighter's own app and are signed by the wallet that owns the account. A trading key cannot start one. Margin held by open positions stays until you free it.

Doing the same in Prow

Prow is a non-custodial app that trades Hyperliquid, Aster and Lighter from one ticket. Your funds stay in your own venue accounts. After Connect Lighter your wallet signs once to register a trading key that lives on your device and cannot withdraw. The ticket shows the fee, the estimated liquidation price and the margin before you confirm, and Portfolio lists positions across all three venues. Start with Connect Lighter and Your first trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum deposit on Lighter?

$5 for the first deposit, which creates the account. Lighter's bridge takes USDC, USDT or ETH from several EVM chains, and other networks when Lighter lists them. Your balance is held in USDC.

Do I need ETH for network fees to trade on Lighter?

Only on the chain you deposit from. Registering the account, adding a trading key, every order and revoking a key are signatures with no network fee.

Does Lighter really charge zero fees?

Yes on a Standard account, the default: 0% maker and 0% taker. The trade-off is that taker orders and cancels on a Standard account are processed about 300 milliseconds slower than on a paid Premium account. Plus and Premium accounts pay fees.

Can an app withdraw from my Lighter account?

No. An app trades with an API key in one of your account's key slots. The key can place and cancel orders and change leverage, but withdrawals and transfers need the wallet that owns the account.

Should I use cross or isolated margin for a first Lighter trade?

Isolated is simpler: the most you can lose on the position is the margin you gave it. Cross shares your whole balance, which keeps liquidation further away but can draw on all of it.

Sources

Checked October 10, 2026:

• Lighter docs: Trading fees, Account types, Funding, Order types and matching, Fair price marking, Liquidations, API keys, Partner attribution
• Prow docs: Connect Lighter, Order types, How trading keys work
• Prow data: Perp markets by venue, Funding rates