Tom Lee, chairman of Bitcoin mining giant BitMine (NYSE: BMNR), has thrown his weight behind Lighter (LIT), calling the Ethereum layer-2 perpetual DEX a 'breakout success' and a 'critical infrastructure layer' for Ethereum. The endorsement comes as BitMine, which holds 5.79 million ETH — 4.92 million of it staked — looks to invest in crypto unicorns. Lighter processed $43 billion in trading volume over the past 30 days, with $822 million in open interest and $525 million in deposits.
Why Lee's endorsement carries weight
Lee previously named Robinhood, Coinbase, and Kraken's Ink as Ethereum L2 winners. Adding Lighter to that list signals a shift in perception for a protocol that started life as a networking app called Lunch Club in 2022 before pivoting. BitMine's massive ETH holdings give Lee's praise a strategic angle — the company wants to back promising projects, and Lighter fits the bill.
The numbers behind Lighter
Lighter's token is trading at $2.19, up 4.7% on the day and 23.7% this month. Its market cap sits at $547 million. The all-time high is $7.86; the low is $0.78. But revenue tells a different story: quarterly revenue fell from $39.7 million to $19.7 million to $9.6 million. That's a steep decline, and it raises questions about sustainability even as volume remains high.
A founder with a pivot story
Founder Vlad Novakovski graduated Harvard at 18, worked at Citadel and Addepar, then built a networking app before finding product-market fit in crypto. Lighter uses zero-knowledge proofs for fair trade and liquidation verification — a technical differentiator in the crowded DEX space. The project raised $68 million from Founders Fund, Ribbit Capital, and Robinhood Ventures.
BitMine's investment play
BitMine's interest isn't just cheerleading. The company wants to invest in crypto unicorns, and Lee's public praise could be a prelude to a deeper relationship. Whether that means a direct investment, a staking partnership, or something else remains unclear. For now, Lighter has a powerful backer — but the revenue slide means the real test is ahead.
