Robinhood confirmed plans to route its U.S. crypto perpetual-futures product through Bitstamp, not Lighter's infrastructure. The announcement at Robinhood's Sept. 29 HOOD Summit sent Lighter's native token, LIT, into a rapid decline.

LIT fell more than 14 percent intraday Sept. 30, hitting $3.89 on one exchange and dropping to $3.70 on another, with 24-hour trading volume reaching $254 million.

Robinhood Derivatives, a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, will issue U.S. crypto perpetual contracts via Bitstamp. Initial tradable assets include Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Hyperliquid's HYPE token.

BTC and ETH contracts allow up to 10x leverage; the remaining six tokens are capped at 3x. Robinhood will charge 0.01 percent trading fees through the end of 2026.

The perpetual contracts carry no expiration date, with profit and loss settled every 15 minutes. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said on X: "Robinhood is bringing America its first true perps. No expiry, with P L settled every 15 minutes. A new chapter for US derivatives."

Robinhood acquired Bitstamp for $200 million in June 2025. Bitstamp already supported Robinhood's perpetual futures products outside the U.S. including its European crypto perps, which launched with 3x leverage. By July 2026, Robinhood had expanded its international derivatives lineup through Bitstamp to include perpetual contracts on gold, silver, crude oil, ETFs, and currency pairs, some carrying leverage up to 10x.

Robinhood did not announce an exact U.S. launch date, only indicating a rollout in the coming months. The announcement did not tie the product to any particular CFTC staff action, though the CFTC opened a broader pathway for true perpetual contracts earlier this year.

Lighter had previously powered similar offerings for eligible Robinhood users. The market had priced in expectations that Lighter could leverage its partnership with Robinhood to access its retail user base. The shift to Bitstamp has dashed those expectations, forcing traders to reassess Lighter's role in Robinhood's derivatives ecosystem.