Gold Perpetual · XAU
Trade the XAU perpetual on Lighter DEX — zero-fee, USDC-margined, up to 25x leverage on a fully verifiable ZK order book.
Live XAU candles from Lighter's public API. For trading, verify on app.lighter.xyz.
About Gold (XAU)
Gold (XAU) is the benchmark safe-haven asset and a classic inflation hedge. On Lighter you can trade gold as a 24/7 perpetual — long or short, zero-fee, with USDC margin.
Trading Gold Perpetuals on Lighter
On Lighter, Gold trades as the XAU perpetual — no expiry, with collateral and PnL settled in USDC. Standard accounts pay 0% maker and taker fees, and Lighter offers up to 25x leverage on this market. Every fill is matched on a fully verifiable ZK order book, so matching and liquidations are proven rather than trusted — see what Lighter DEX is for how that works. Because it's a perpetual, you can trade Gold long or short around the clock — including when the underlying market is closed.
How is the XAU perp different from owning Gold?
Holding Gold through a broker gives you the asset itself, settled in the traditional system and tradeable only when that market is open. The XAU perpetual gives you the price exposure instead, quoted continuously and margined in USDC, which is the practical difference: you can open, adjust or close a position at 3am on a Sunday, and you can be short as easily as long without borrowing anything. What you give up is ownership. There is no dividend, no voting right and no share certificate, and you carry funding on the position for as long as you hold it. That funding is the running cost of holding synthetic exposure instead of the asset.
What should you know before trading XAU?
The numbers that decide whether a XAU position survives are the margin ones, not the fee ones. Trading is free at 0% maker and 0% taker on a standard account, so the cost of being wrong is entirely margin and funding. 25x is this market's ceiling, which means you post at least 4.0% of notional as initial margin; go to the ceiling and a move of roughly that size against you wipes the position. Liquidation carries a 1% fee on top of the forced exit, so planning your own exit is materially cheaper than being closed out. The minimum order is $10 of notional, which makes it cheap to size a first position small.
XAU perps on Lighter are zero-fee for standard accounts, USDC-margined, and matched on a verifiable ZK order book with up to 25x leverage. Sign up with referral code LIGHTERPEDIA to attach the code at sign-up.
How to Trade Gold on Lighter in 4 Steps
- 1Connect a wallet — open app.lighter.xyz and connect MetaMask, Rabby, or any Web3 wallet. No KYC required.
- 2Deposit USDC — fund your account with USDC to use as margin collateral. See our getting-started guide.
- 3Open the XAU market — select Gold, choose your leverage (up to 25x on this market), and set your margin mode.
- 4Place your order — market or limit, all zero-fee for standard accounts. Manage risk with stop-loss and take-profit.
Gold Perpetual — Contract Specs
| Market | XAU (Perpetual) |
|---|---|
| Margin asset | USDC |
| Maker / taker fee | 0% / 0% (standard account) |
| Max leverage | 25x (4.0% initial margin) |
| Minimum order | $10 notional |
| Liquidation fee | 1% of position value |
| Order matching | Verifiable ZK order book, settles to Ethereum |
| Trading hours | 24/7 |
| Settlement | Settled in USDC |
| Sign-up bonus | One-week Premium fee rebate with code LIGHTERPEDIA |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it cost to trade the Gold perpetual on Lighter?
Standard accounts on Lighter trade the XAU perpetual at 0% maker and 0% taker fees — it is a zero-fee market. Premium tiers with LIT staked can unlock rebated rates. You still pay network gas on deposits and withdrawals.
What is the maximum leverage for Gold on Lighter?
The XAU market caps out at 25x. That is a per-market limit rather than a platform-wide one: only BTC and ETH reach Lighter's 50x maximum, most alts sit between 10x and 25x, and the pre-IPO markets are capped at 5x because they are internally priced with no price caps. Collateral is USDC either way, and 25x means an initial margin requirement of 4.0% of notional.
Can I trade Gold around the clock on Lighter?
Yes. Lighter lists Gold as a perpetual, so you can go long or short at any time — including nights and weekends when the underlying market is closed — settled in USDC.
Do I need KYC to trade Gold on Lighter?
No. Lighter is a self-custody DEX — connect a Web3 wallet and trade directly, with no identity verification required. Signing up with referral code LIGHTERPEDIA attaches the code at account creation; see /referral for what Lighter documents that it does.
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Ready to trade Gold on Lighter?
Trade the XAU perpetual zero-fee on a standard account, USDC-margined, up to 25x leverage on a verifiable ZK order book. Code LIGHTERPEDIA is applied automatically through the link.
Trade XAU on Lighter