US Onshore Perpetuals Await Approval as Lighter Cuts Fees
Bankless guest Will Price says the US onshore perpetual market remains untapped because US “perps” licensing does not exist yet. He argues regulatory approval could unlock tens of billions in fees and trading flows, especially if compliant platforms win major brokerages like IBKR and Charles Schwab.
A key competitive lever is Lighter’s zero-fee model. Price frames US onshore perpetuals as a distribution war where zero fees reduce friction for onboarding and retention, potentially reshaping market competition around trading costs.
On the tech side, Price highlights Lidar (linked to Lighter’s architecture) as a zk rollup design intended to reduce trust requirements and strengthen user “exit rights.” He also notes an “escape hatch” to Ethereum L1, positioning this as improved security and verification.
The interview further discusses exchange mechanics: retail flows are described as highly profitable for market makers, and centralized sequencers may offer lower latency while still using verifiable logic to keep the matching engine auditable on-chain.
Overall, the US onshore perpetual market is portrayed as a major regulatory and product inflection point. In the short term, traders may watch for policy signals. In the long term, a licensed rollout could concentrate volume and change fee structures across compliant trading venues.
Bullish
The article’s central theme is that the US onshore perpetual market is still blocked by the absence of a perps license. If approval arrives, it implies a large new venue for regulated derivatives demand, which typically boosts industry-wide volumes and liquidity. That structural tailwind is bullish for crypto-linked trading activity and for any infra providers positioned for onboarding major brokerages.
Technically, Lighter/Lidar’s zero-fee push could accelerate user acquisition, while zk rollup verification and Ethereum L1 “escape hatch” reduce trust and improve safety narratives—factors that can support retention and institutional comfort. Historically, similar “regulatory unlock” moments (e.g., major jurisdictional approvals for crypto derivatives or exchange products) often trigger a short-term sentiment rally and a liquidity migration toward compliant platforms.
Short-term: traders may front-run policy expectations, tightening spreads and increasing speculative activity once credible signals emerge. Long-term: winning broker partnerships could concentrate flow, shaping fee benchmarks and potentially raising competitive pressure on existing venues.
Key risk: if regulatory timelines slip or terms are restrictive, expectations can reverse quickly—so the bullish case is most dependent on concrete approval milestones.