Lighter Strikes $920 Million Deal With Circle

Decentralized perpetuals trading platform Lighter saw its native token LIT surge nearly 10% during the early hours of the US session.

It follows news that it had struck a major revenue-sharing deal with USDC issuer Circle.

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LIT, the powering token for the Lighter ecosystem, exploded by nearly 10% on the news, and was trading for $1.46% on the news.

Lighter (LIT) Price Performance. Source: TradingView

The agreement covers approximately $920 million in USDC deposits on Lighter’s platform, marking a significant milestone for the young DeFi exchange.

Under the partnership, interest income generated from Circle’s USDC reserves will be shared between Circle and Lighter.

[ ZOOMER ]

LIGHTER STRIKES DEAL WITH CIRCLE TO SHARE REVENUE GENERATED ON THE $920M OF USDC DEPOSITED ON THE PLATFORM

— zoomer (@zoomerfied) February 12, 2026

This aligns with Circle’s broader revenue-sharing model, which it has previously implemented with leading exchanges such as Coinbase and Bybit.

For Lighter, the deal offers a fast and capital-efficient path to grow its yield engine, fund user incentives, and support platform features such as funding rate rebates and rewards programs.

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Unlike some of its competitors, Lighter has opted to lean on USDC rather than launching a proprietary stablecoin.

Hyperliquid, for instance, introduced its native stablecoin USDH in late 2025 after a competitive governance auction. The move diverted billions in deposits and yield away from Circle and other stablecoin issuers.

It allowed Hyperliquid to capture revenue internally and reduce centralization risks, but required significant capital and infrastructure investment.

honestly I love the way lighter is expanding and experimenting with different things

especially since those things are just copy pasta of what hyperliquid tried to do before them

funding fee rebates, korean stocks, LIT staking as prerequisite for LLP, rev share from deposited… https://t.co/ClfMJxF5hg

— Shual (@0xShual) February 12, 2026

Lighter Leverages Circle Partnership to Boost Adoption, Liquidity, and LIT Token Sentiment

Lighter’s approach, by contrast, allows the platform to tap directly into Circle’s established reserves while still benefiting from shared yield.

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This could accelerate adoption by leveraging Circle’s USDC ecosystem, enabling Lighter to scale more efficiently while delivering value to traders and token holders.

The deal represents a potential win-win scenario:

Circle benefits by locking in a large volume of USDC on a growing DeFi platform, incentivizing adoption and circulation.

Lighter gains access to a steady revenue stream, which could enhance platform sustainability, attract more liquidity, and increase user engagement.

Moving forward, interest will be on on-chain USDC flows to Lighter contracts as this could show early signs of the agreement’s impact on liquidity and token sentiment.

Lighter has been gaining traction in the DeFi perpetuals market, with growing trading volumes, loyalty points programs, and community engagement.

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Token listings on popular platforms like Robinhood have also contributed to its growing bullish sentiment.

The revenue-sharing announcement is expected to boost confidence, perhaps further than during its LIT token event in December.

Nevertheless, it is impossible to forget past controversies surrounding Lighter, including allegations of secret token sales.

Is it true that 2.7 M $LIT (~$7.18 M) has already been sold since TGE from team wallets or wallets closely associated with the team?

If this is correct, that’s a serious concern for every $LIT holder, especially given the lack of transparent communication from the Lighter team.

— Henrik (@Henrik_on_HL) December 31, 2025

While official details on the exact share split of USDC interest have not yet been disclosed, even a conservative arrangement could provide a meaningful boost to LIT holders.

Crypto investors are advised to monitor announcements from both Lighter and Circle for updates, as revenue-sharing agreements of this scale can change quickly.

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