Lightervs
QFEX
Funding rates, fees, liquidity and airdrop status compared for perpetual-futures traders.
Funding setups between these venues
Across 27 liquid markets shared by Lighter and QFEX, the best funding setup over the past 7 days is $GOOGL (long QFEX, short Lighter): it paid 20.1% APR, 9.7% after costs, and held 71% of the time.
27 common liquid markets. Ranked by what the setup actually paid over 7 days after entry and exit costs — not by the instantaneous APR.
“7d avg” is the funding spread the pair actually paid over the last 7 days. “After costs” subtracts taker fees for opening and closing both legs over a 7-day hold. “Holds” is the share of hours the spread kept the same sign and at least 5% APR.
| Lighter | QFEX | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | DEX | CEX |
| Taker fee | 0%✓ | 0.1% |
| Maker fee | 0%✓ | 0.05% |
| Open Interest | $624.8M✓ | $79.1M |
| 24h Volume | $817.0M✓ | $14.6M |
| Avg Funding APR | 14.27% | -0.00% |
| Markets | 183✓ | 111 |
| Airdrop / token | Listed | — |
Lighter and QFEX are both perpetual-futures venues tracked on ORBIT. On fees, Lighter is cheaper (0% vs 0.1% taker). On liquidity, Lighter is deeper with $624.8M open interest, which means less slippage at size.
For a funding-arbitrage trader the practical answer is rarely “one or the other” — you often use both, going long on whichever venue has the lower funding for a given asset and short on the other. Open the Funding Screener to see where Lighter and QFEX diverge right now, then verify the pair in the backtester.
Frequently asked questions
- Which funding setup between Lighter and QFEX pays most?
- Across 27 liquid markets shared by Lighter and QFEX, the best funding setup over the past 7 days is $GOOGL (long QFEX, short Lighter): it paid 20.1% APR, 9.7% after costs, and held 71% of the time. Ranking is by the 7-day payout after costs, not by the instantaneous APR.
- Is Lighter or QFEX cheaper?
- Lighter charges 0% taker / 0% maker; QFEX charges 0.1% taker / 0.05% maker. Lighter has the lower taker fee, which matters most for funding arbitrage since entries and exits are taker orders.
- Which has deeper liquidity, Lighter or QFEX?
- Lighter has $624.8M open interest across 183 markets; QFEX has $79.1M across 111. Lighter is deeper, which means lower slippage at size.
- Can I run funding arbitrage between Lighter and QFEX?
- Yes — when an asset's funding diverges between the two, go long on the lower-funding venue and short on the higher one. Find live divergences on the ORBIT screener and backtest the exact pair before sizing it.