# Lighter review: KYC policy, privacy and safety grades

> Lighter is an exchange. Its terms put it at KYC level 1 of 4: no ID mentioned. NoKYC Score grades it 7.5/10 for privacy (strong) and 6.2/10 for safety (fair). In its favour: no account needed, no email needed and no phone number. No incidents are on record.

Source: NoKYC Score, "Lighter review", reviewed 23 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/lighter

## Key facts
- **Category:** No-KYC Exchanges
- **KYC level:** 1 of 4: No ID mentioned
- **Grades:** Privacy 7.5/10, Safety 6.2/10
- **Sign-up:** No account needed
- **Custody:** non-custodial
- **Fees:** Standard accounts: 0% maker and taker on regular orders, 0.01% on TWAP/advanced orders and RFQ; Premium/Advanced from 0.004% maker / 0.028% taker
- **Incidents on record:** 0
- **Last reviewed:** 23 Oct 2026
- **Official website:** https://lighter.xyz

## What it is
Lighter is an order-book exchange for perpetual futures and spot that runs as a protocol on an Ethereum layer 2, accessed through app.lighter.xyz with a connected non-custodial wallet. Its documentation says Standard (default) accounts pay no maker or taker fees on regular orders, while opt-in Premium and Plus accounts pay fees in exchange for lower latency and higher rate limits. The terms (last updated 29 December 2025) are with Elliot Technologies, Inc., governed by Florida law, and say the services are not available to persons in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela or Syria. The terms let the company monitor usage and suspend access for suspicious activity; they contain no identity-verification clause.

## What the terms say about ID
Terms contain no identity-verification requirement; they state the company "may monitor your usage" and may suspend access for suspected manipulation or other suspicious activity.

## Features and warnings
- **Identity:** ID never required: not stated; No account needed: yes; No email needed: yes; No phone number: yes
- **Payment:** Accepts Monero: not stated; Accepts Lightning: not stated; Accepts cash: not stated
- **Access:** Tor onion address: not stated; Works without JavaScript: not stated
- **Trust:** Never holds your funds: yes; Own liquidity: not stated; Refund without ID: not stated; Independent audit: not stated; Company named: not stated; 5+ years operating: not stated
- **Warnings:** May ask for ID: not in terms; Screens deposits: not in terms; Passes orders to partners: not in terms; Holds your funds: not in terms; Email required: not in terms; Phone number required: not in terms; Nobody accountable: not in terms

## Questions
### Does Lighter require KYC?
Lighter is rated KYC level 1 of 4 on this site: no ID mentioned. Terms contain no identity-verification requirement; they state the company "may monitor your usage" and may suspend access for suspected manipulation or other suspicious activity.

### Is Lighter safe to use?
Lighter has a Safety grade of 6.2 out of 10 and a Privacy grade of 7.5 out of 10. No incidents are on record. Evidence level: documentation reviewed.

### Is Lighter legit?
Lighter is a working exchange. Being real is not the same as being safe: its Safety grade here is 6.2 out of 10, built from custody, liquidity, track record and incidents.

### Is Lighter a scam?
NoKYC Score does not label services as scams; it records documented incidents with their sources and outcomes. No incidents are on record for Lighter.

### Do I need an account or email to use Lighter?
No account needed.

### What fees does Lighter charge?
Standard accounts: 0% maker and taker on regular orders, 0.01% on TWAP/advanced orders and RFQ; Premium/Advanced from 0.004% maker / 0.028% taker. Fees were recorded from Lighter's own pages and can change; check before you send.

### Does Lighter have a Tor onion address?
No official onion address was found on Lighter's own pages.

### Which cryptocurrencies does Lighter support?
Lighter supports USDC, ETH, BTC, LIT.

### Is Lighter custodial?
No. Lighter is non-custodial: the operator does not control user funds.

### Can I use Lighter over Tor?
Lighter does not publish an official onion address.

## Sources
- https://lighter.xyz/terms
- https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees
- https://github.com/elliottech

How grades are calculated: https://nokycscore.com/methodology