Lighter Introduces On-Chain Perpetuals Linked to Major Korean Stocks

TheNewsCryptoPublished on 2026-02-12Last updated on 2026-02-12

Abstract

Lighter, an on-chain perpetual futures exchange, has become the first decentralized platform to offer perpetual derivatives tied to major South Korean stocks. Traders can now speculate on companies like Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, and the Korean Composite index with up to 10x leverage, without holding the actual shares. This move bridges traditional finance and DeFi by enabling crypto-style perpetual trading of equity assets. The development follows South Korea’s recent regulatory shift allowing corporations to invest in crypto, fostering a more supportive environment for such products. Despite a global crypto slowdown, South Korea remains a significant market, accounting for nearly 10% of global spot trading volume.

Lighter, an on-chain perpetual futures exchange, has expanded its offerings by linking major South Korean stocks to its platform, marking an important step in the convergence of traditional finance and decentralized markets.

The announcement was shared through X post on February 11, and mentions, “We are excited to be the first DEX to offer Korean equity perps!” The platform now enables perpetual derivatives tied to some of South Korea’s largest publicly traded companies, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, and the Korean Composite index, with up to 10x leverage on the platform

Korean Stocks Move Into the DeFi Ecosystem

Among South Korea’s most influential firms, the mentioned companies, such as Samsung, SK Hynix, and Hyundai, have strong links to worldwide semiconductor, automotive, and technology supply chains.

The current Lighter’s move allows traders to open a position worth 10 times their actual capital and speculate on price movements without directly holding the underlying shares.

Even though the underlying assets are traditional stocks, they are offered in the form of a crypto-style perpetual derivative that allows users to trade Korean corporate giants and the market index just as they would trade cryptos.

This announcement comes after the decision of South Korea’s FSC to remove the 2017 restriction on crypto-corporate investment and update the guidelines to allow corporations to invest in crypto assets. Which is different, though it is creating a more supportive environment for decentralized products such as stock perpetuals.

In addition, this morning, CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju shared a post and said South Korea remains an active crypto market. Despite a broader crypto slowdown, South Korea’s exchanges still account for about 9.54% of global spot trading volume.

Altogether, the development with access to Korean stocks through DEX strengthened its role at the intersection of traditional finance and decentralized markets.

Highlighted Crypto News:

UK Launches Blockchain Pilot for Digital Government Bonds

TagsKorealighter

Related Questions

QWhat is Lighter and what new offering has it introduced?

ALighter is an on-chain perpetual futures exchange. It has introduced perpetual derivatives linked to major South Korean stocks, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, and the Korean Composite index.

QWhat leverage does the Lighter platform offer for trading these Korean stock perpetuals?

AThe Lighter platform offers up to 10x leverage for trading these perpetual derivatives tied to South Korean stocks.

QHow does the recent decision by South Korea's FSC relate to this development?

ASouth Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) recently removed its 2017 restriction on crypto-corporate investment and updated guidelines to allow corporations to invest in crypto assets. This creates a more supportive regulatory environment for decentralized products like the stock perpetuals offered by Lighter.

QWhat advantage does trading these perpetuals offer compared to holding the actual stocks?

ATrading these perpetuals allows users to speculate on the price movements of the underlying stocks without having to directly own or hold the shares. It also offer the ability to use leverage.

QAccording to the article, what does the data from CryptoQuant's founder say about the South Korean crypto market?

ACryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju stated that despite a broader crypto slowdown, South Korea remains an active market, with its exchanges still accounting for about 9.54% of global spot trading volume.

Related Reads

9.42 Million Retail Investors Compete for Changxin Technology, Who Got Allotted?

Evergreen Technology's IPO subscription results are now available. On July 20, the domestic memory chip giant announced the offline preliminary allotment results and online lottery results for its IPO. A total of approximately 9.43 million retail investors participated in the online subscription, generating 770,000 winning lots with a final winning rate of about 0.4714%, setting a record for new shares on the STAR Market. After triggering a clawback mechanism from institutional to retail investors, the online retail allocation was significantly increased to 3.851 billion shares. Simultaneously, 285 institutional investors participated in the offline subscription, ultimately receiving 2.173 billion shares at an allotment rate of approximately 0.1756%. Leading insurers and public funds were among the major recipients. Notably, Liang Wenfeng, founder of the major AI model company DeepSeek, through his quantitative investment firms Ningbo Huanfang Quantitative and Zhejiang Jiuzhang Asset, secured the largest share among private funds, with a total allotment worth approximately 175 million yuan. Estimates suggest potential profits could reach 730 million yuan if Evergreen Technology's market capitalization reaches 3 trillion yuan post-listing. The company is expected to list on July 27 and could become the highest-valued tech stock on the A-share market, with various brokerages providing valuations ranging from 1 trillion to over 4 trillion yuan. However, recent significant corrections in global tech stocks may impact its post-listing performance. (Character count: 1,196)

marsbit44m ago

9.42 Million Retail Investors Compete for Changxin Technology, Who Got Allotted?

marsbit44m ago

L2 'Recalibration': When L1 Becomes Its Own Rollup, What Is Ethereum's Endgame?

The article discusses the evolving relationship between Ethereum's Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) solutions, moving beyond the initial "L2 for scaling" model. As Ethereum L1 itself scales (increasing Gas Limit, statelessness, zkEVM), the unique value proposition of L2s shifts from merely providing cheap execution to offering differentiated features like application-specific optimization, privacy, and flexible governance. The piece explores three key themes: 1. **L2's New Role:** L2s are transitioning from a pure scaling technology to a spectrum of execution environments with varying degrees of security inheritance from Ethereum L1. 2. **Interoperability as State Trust:** Solving L2 fragmentation is less about cross-chain bridges and more about enabling faster, trust-minimized state verification between environments. This involves initiatives like faster L1 finality, intent-based architectures (Open Intents Framework), and native account abstraction. 3. **Blurring Layers:** With the potential integration of zk-proofs into L1 validation (making L1 akin to its own "Rollup") and the concept of "Native Rollups," the rigid boundary between L1 and L2 may fade. The future could be a unified system with multiple execution domains (for DeFi, gaming, privacy, etc.) sharing a common security, settlement, and state framework. In conclusion, Ethereum's goal is not to abandon L2s or re-centralize everything on L1, but to re-integrate the fragmented user experience—liquidity, accounts, applications—while preserving the scaling benefits of a multi-environment ecosystem. The endgame is a cohesive "one chain" feeling for users, powered by diverse but securely interconnected execution layers.

marsbit1h ago

L2 'Recalibration': When L1 Becomes Its Own Rollup, What Is Ethereum's Endgame?

marsbit1h ago

Trading

Spot
活动图片