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A $19B liquidation wave hit crypto 10 days after Lighter’s public mainnet—so we asked founder/CEO Vladimir Novakovski why they built a ZK L2 Perp DEX on Ethereum, how the escape hatch actually protects users, and what really happened under extreme stress. We dig into ADL vs. LLP, trader-first design, and why verifiability (not vibes) should govern order matching and liquidations. Vlad shares throughput targets, why Lighter chose custom ZK circuits over a generalized ZKVM, and what’s next: Spot, universal cross-margin, and a ZKVM sidecar for a broader platform play. We close with lessons from the cascade, realistic tradeoffs of being an L2, and how L2Beat “stage upgrades” fit into the roadmap.

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We’re being compensated by Bit Digital (NASDAQ BTBT) for this segment promoting their company and BTBT. The compensation is paid in cash as a one time payment. You can find additional information about Bit Digital and BTBT on their Investor page at https://bit-digital.com/investors

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
3:04 Guest Intro & ZK L2 “Why”
4:58 L2 Security & Verifiability
11:35 Verifiable Matching & Liquidations
14:02 Mainnet Launch & Liquidation Stress Test
18:16 Outage: Timeline & Make-Good
18:58 Scorecard: Lighter vs Hyperliquid vs Binance
22:20 ADL 101: Why Automated Deleveraging Exists
32:32 “Customer-First” Design Stance
38:32 Takeaways: Transparency, Proofs, Details
41:48 Causes Considered & Vlad’s Market Lens
49:31 Why a Perp DEX: Product & Fit
57:42 L1 vs L2: Tradeoffs, Sovereignty, Incentives
1:06:45 Roadmap: Spot, ZKVM Sidecar, Cross-Margin, New Markets
1:11:21 Points, Token Timing & Transparency
1:15:31 Closing Thoughts

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RESOURCES

Vladimir Novakovski
https://x.com/vnovakovski

Lighter
https://x.com/lighter_xyz

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Not financial or tax advice. See our investment disclosures here:
https://www.bankless.com/disclosures