Robinhood said Sept. 30 that it plans to offer perpetual futures to eligible U.S. customers through Bitstamp, the cryptocurrency exchange it acquired in 2025 for $200 million, shifting expectations that the brokerage would use decentralized trading platform Lighter for its domestic derivatives expansion.
The launch lineup will include perpetual futures tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, Cardano, Chainlink and Hyperliquid’s HYPE token, Robinhood said. Bitcoin and Ethereum contracts will carry leverage of up to 10x, while contracts linked to the six other assets will offer up to 3x leverage.
Lighter’s LIT token fell nearly 20% shortly after the announcement, erasing gains made earlier in the session. The sell-off appeared to follow a reassessment of Lighter’s near-term role in Robinhood’s product strategy rather than a reported change to the firms’ existing wallet integration.
Robinhood’s decision gives Bitstamp, its regulated centralized exchange unit, the principal role in bringing perpetual futures to the U.S. market. Perpetual futures are derivatives contracts that allow traders to take leveraged long or short positions without a set expiry date, with funding payments used to keep contract prices close to the underlying asset.
Bitstamp becomes Robinhood’s U.S. derivatives venue
Robinhood said Bitstamp will support the U.S. perpetual futures offering, extending the exchange’s derivatives operations into a market where regulatory permissions have remained a defining constraint for trading platforms.
Bitstamp had already offered perpetual futures in Europe before Robinhood’s U.S. announcement. Its inclusion in the domestic rollout therefore builds on an existing derivatives setup, rather than creating a new trading venue from scratch.
The product could give Robinhood customers access to leveraged crypto trading within the company’s ecosystem while placing the exchange infrastructure behind the service at Bitstamp. The asset list spans the two largest cryptocurrencies as well as major alternative tokens and HYPE, the token associated with the Hyperliquid decentralized derivatives ecosystem.
Leverage magnifies both gains and losses. A 10x position allows a trader to control exposure worth 10 times the collateral posted, meaning relatively small market moves can lead to rapid losses or liquidation if a position falls below required margin levels. Robinhood did not provide further details in the announcement on margin requirements, funding schedules or the full eligibility criteria for users.
Lighter remains connected to Robinhood wallet
The announcement does not remove Lighter from Robinhood’s wallet products. Robinhood Wallet documentation continues to identify Lighter as the underlying venue for perpetual futures trading, and no public notice has said that integration has been discontinued.
Lighter products were integrated into Robinhood Wallet in mid-2026, allowing eligible wallet users to access perpetual futures and tokenized stock trading in markets where those functions are available. That arrangement was positioned outside the United States, where the regulatory framework for derivatives remains more demanding.
The companies also have financial links. Lighter completed a $68 million Series B funding round in 2025 with Robinhood participating, a connection that had fueled speculation that Lighter could become more deeply embedded in Robinhood’s future trading products.
The two platforms have instead operated in parallel across different regions and product structures. Bitstamp’s role is tied to a centralized exchange framework used for Robinhood’s U.S. rollout, while Lighter has supplied decentralized trading infrastructure through the self-custody-focused Robinhood Wallet.
That distinction limits the case for viewing Bitstamp’s U.S. launch as a direct replacement for Lighter’s wallet role. It also explains why LIT’s market reaction may reflect revised expectations for the token rather than evidence that Robinhood has ended its relationship with the protocol.
Regulatory permissions shape the split
Lighter has not obtained the approvals needed to operate a derivatives business in the United States, according to the information provided around the rollout. That leaves the platform unable to fill the same domestic function as Bitstamp under Robinhood’s current plan.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversees commodity derivatives markets, including many crypto-related futures products. A venue seeking to offer derivatives to U.S. participants may need permissions under the agency’s framework, including potentially designated contract market, or DCM, status depending on its model and products.
Lighter founder and chief executive officer Vladimir Novakovski has served on a CFTC advisory committee and has publicly referred to work related to regulatory licensing. No confirmed outcome has been announced on whether Lighter will secure DCM status or other permissions that could support a U.S.-based derivatives business.
Robinhood’s structure avoids waiting for that process to conclude. By using Bitstamp’s operational setup for the U.S. product, the brokerage can proceed with a domestic perpetual futures plan while maintaining Lighter as a venue integrated into its wallet in supported jurisdictions.
Token market reprices an expected partnership
LIT’s sharp decline followed a period in which the token had benefited from expectations surrounding Lighter’s relationship with Robinhood. The Sept. 30 announcement challenged the idea that Robinhood’s U.S. rollout would be built directly on Lighter’s infrastructure.
The move does not establish that Lighter has lost access to Robinhood’s products internationally or through the wallet. It does place a clearer boundary around the partnership: Lighter’s technology remains relevant to Robinhood Wallet, while Bitstamp is set to handle the regulated U.S. perpetual futures offering.
For Lighter, any expansion into the U.S. derivatives market would depend on regulatory progress rather than its existing commercial ties to Robinhood. For Robinhood, the Bitstamp rollout adds leveraged crypto products to its U.S. offering through an exchange it already owns, using a structure designed for the legal and operational demands of the domestic market.
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