Size and money locked
Lighter holds about $789 million in total value locked, far exceeding Papertrade’s roughly $23 million. This makes Lighter the larger platform in terms of assets under management.
Activity and fees
Lighter processes around $7 million of trade volume each day, whereas Papertrade shows no reported 24‑hour volume. Despite the lower activity, Papertrade users paid about $485 thousand in fees, more than double Lighter’s roughly $176 thousand fee intake.
Networks and reach
Lighter operates on four networks, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Robinhood Chain and zkLighter, giving it broader blockchain coverage. Papertrade is limited to the Hyperliquid network, focusing its services on a single chain.
Who each platform suits
Lighter’s large TVL, multi‑chain support and active trading volume make it suitable for traders seeking deep liquidity and a secure, scalable environment. Papertrade’s higher fee revenue on a single‑chain synthetic perpetual product may appeal to users focused on BTC and ETH synthetic exposure within the Hyperliquid ecosystem.