In this episode I’m joined by Vladimir Novakovski, founder and CEO of Lighter, a decentralized crypto exchange.

To kick off the conversation, we explore Lighter's three big design choices: it’s built as a custom Layer-2 on Ethereum, it relies on zero-knowledge circuits for proving transactions, and it runs with a private sequencer. Don't worry – if that sounds like gibberish, Vlad explains it all. Each of those decisions comes with trade-offs — but also big potential advantages.

We discuss why Ethereum remains the natural home for new rollups, from inheriting its security to tapping into DeFi’s growing composability. We also break down what zk circuits actually are, why they matter for trust and security in a derivatives exchange, and how they’re verified in practice.

From there, we tackle the business side: how you bootstrap liquidity in a brand-new DEX, why Lighter went with an unusual fee model and the key lessons learned during an extended private beta.

Finally, we zoom out to the bigger picture. What might DeFi look like if composability really takes hold? Could specialized rollups like Lighter become the backbone of an on-chain financial system, rather than just another venue for speculation?

Please enjoy my conversation with Vlad Novakovski.

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