Bitwise launches first Lighter ETP to compete with Hyperliquid

Bitwise Asset Management, a US-based asset management firm, has launched an exchange traded product (ETP) in Europe that tracks Lighter and allows traditional investors to structure the assets of Hyperliquid's emerging competitor rather than buying its tokens directly.

The first ETP to track LIT landed on the German stock exchange

Bitwise announced on Wednesday that its product Bitwise Lighter Staking ETP (code BLIT) has been listed and traded on the German exchange Xetra, becoming the first exchange-traded product to track LIT.

The product is backed by the full amount of LIT stored in a cold wallet, with an annual management fee of 0.85%. European investors can purchase it through their regular brokerage accounts without having to buy or store LIT tokens themselves.

Name includes Staking but no revenue

It is worth noting that despite the word "Staking" in the product name, BLIT has yet to generate collateral income. Bitwise explains that it will only activate the collateralized function when the asset management scale of the product reaches a certain level and collateralization operations are efficient.

Prior to the launch of Lighter, Bitwise launched Hyperliquid's collateralized ETP in Europe in April. The asset management company is expanding its product lineup to include tokens associated with its decentralized derivatives platform headquarters.

Lighter: a zero-knowledge proof-driven platform for perpetual contracts

Lighter is an Ethereum-based decentralized exchange that focuses on perpetual contract trading. The platform uses zero knowledge proof technology to verify trades, while allowing users to retain control of their own assets without having to deposit them as a centralized exchange does. In addition, Lighter provides retailers with zero commissions for transactions in order to compete with established platforms such as Hyperliquid.

According to data from CoinGecko, Lighter traded close to $1.8 billion in the last 24 hours.

Challenging the market for perpetual contracts

In July of this year, Lighter acquired an important distribution channel Robinhood integrated the exchange into its Ethereum Layer-2 network Robinhood Chain. Eligible Robinhood wallet users can trade perpetual contracts through Lighter, which are settled by a Lighter smart contract deployed on the Robinhood chain.

However, Hyperliquid is still far ahead in terms of volume. Unlike Lighter, which operates as Ethereum's Layer-2, Hyperli liquid has built its own Layer-1 blockchain. According to The Motley Fool cited data, the share of hyperliquid in decentralized perpetuity contract transactions exceeds 61%, and continues to expand through autonomous cooperation.

In May this year, Circle announced a partnership with Hyperliquid to expand the use of USDCs, including providing deeper liquidity and simplifying stablecoin cross-chain transfers.