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Lighter DEX Secures $68 Million Funding Round, Achieves $1.5 Billion Valuation Ahead of Token Launch
## Decentralized Exchange Lighter Secures Substantial Funding Round **Lighter**, an **Ethereum**-based trading protocol, has successfully secured **$68 million** in a recent funding round. This capital infusion has propelled the decentralized exchange's (**DEX**) valuation to approximately **$1.5 billion** in anticipation of its token generation event (**TGE**). The funding round was spearheaded by prominent venture capital firms **Founders Fund** and **Ribbit Capital**, with additional participation from **Haun Ventures** and **Robinhood**. Lighter operates as both an **Ethereum Layer 2 network** and a specialized **decentralized exchange** facilitating **perpetual futures contracts**. Its core technological offering combines on-chain verification with a high-throughput matching engine, a design choice aimed at delivering performance metrics comparable to centralized exchanges while maintaining full decentralization. The platform has demonstrated significant operational scale, reporting a **seven-day perpetual volume** of **$73.77 billion**. This figure notably exceeds that of direct competitors such as **Aster**, which recorded $72.03 billion, and **Hyperliquid**, at $70.42 billion. On November 11, Lighter's **24-hour trading volume** reached **$10.08 billion**, further underscoring its market presence. ## Market Receptiveness to Decentralized Derivatives Infrastructure This substantial funding round signals a renewed and robust interest from venture capital in the infrastructure supporting the burgeoning cryptocurrency derivatives market. The investment in Lighter reflects a strategic belief in the continued growth and maturation of decentralized finance (**DeFi**) platforms specializing in complex financial instruments. The market for **perpetual futures** has witnessed an accelerated expansion across both centralized exchanges (**CEXs**) and decentralized platforms. As of October 2025, perpetuals constituted approximately **75% of the total CEX trading volume**, accounting for nearly **$49 trillion**. This significantly overshadows traditional spot trading volumes, which stood at $14.8 trillion, and options trading at $1.3 trillion. On DEXs, the share of perpetuals in total trading volume has expanded from 50% in the preceding year to over **56% in 2025**. Total on-chain perpetual trading volumes reached a record **$1.2 trillion** in October, a surge attributed to factors including liquidations, platform incentives, and the ongoing migration of trading activity from centralized to decentralized venues. ## Broader Implications and Strategic Positioning Lighter's strategic roadmap includes an expansion into **spot trading** and **staking services** later this year. These initiatives, coupled with liquidity programs designed to attract professional market makers, position Lighter as a potential formidable competitor to established DEXs such as **Uniswap**, thereby potentially reshaping the competitive landscape of the broader DeFi market. The funding round also incorporated **token warrants**, providing investors with allocations of the forthcoming **Lighter token**. This structure aligns investor interests directly with the platform's governance and long-term incentive mechanisms. The project intends to conduct a **Q4 token airdrop**, with **25–30%** of the token supply allocated to the community, a common strategy to foster decentralized governance and user engagement. The high market anticipation for the **Lighter token** is evident in speculative trading on platforms like **Polymarket**, where traders are already betting on its fully diluted valuation (**FDV**) post-launch. This pre-launch market activity underscores the significant investor and user interest in the project. ## Future Outlook and Key Watch Factors The successful launch of the **Lighter token**, currently speculated for a 2026 rollout, along with its planned diversification into spot trading and staking, represents critical milestones for the platform. The ability to attract and retain professional market makers will be paramount to ensuring competitive liquidity and robust trading environments across its expanded offerings. Beyond Lighter's specific trajectory, the evolving regulatory environment for digital assets and the ongoing shifts in trading preferences between centralized and decentralized platforms will remain pivotal factors influencing the broader DeFi ecosystem. Continued innovation in Layer 2 scaling solutions and security will also be crucial for sustaining the growth and adoption of decentralized derivatives exchanges.

ChipMOS Shares Advance on Robust Quarterly Results and AI Sector Optimism
## Technology Sector Gains Following ChipMOS Earnings Report U.S. equities saw a notable uplift in the technology sector, with **ChipMOS Technologies Inc.** (**IMOS**) shares advancing significantly following the release of its latest quarterly results. The company's stock reached a 52-week high, signaling strong investor confidence driven by robust financial performance and increasing market optimism surrounding demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. ## Detailed Quarterly Performance and Market Activity **ChipMOS** reported solid results for its recent quarter. The supplier of back-end testing services for memory, mixed-signal, and display driver semiconductors posted revenue of **$201.7 million**, representing a 7.1% increase year-over-year. This revenue figure aligns with the **NT$6,143.7 million** reported, indicating consistent growth. Notably, the company's gross profit expanded by 101% sequentially, a significant improvement that underscores operational efficiency. Overall utilization rates for its services also increased to 66%. Net profit attributable to equity holders was **$11.6 million**, or **$0.33 per basic ADS**, a notable turnaround from a loss in the prior quarter. In a broader context, the company's memory packaging revenue grew 16% sequentially and 24.9% annually, now accounting for 48.9% of total revenue. This highlights the increasing importance of the memory segment to **ChipMOS**'s overall business trajectory. ## Market Reaction and Underlying Factors The positive market reaction to **ChipMOS**'s earnings is intrinsically linked to the burgeoning demand for memory and AI-related chips. Management expressed a bullish outlook for the global memory industry, anticipating a promising year ahead, primarily driven by the escalating demand for chips used in AI data centers. This sentiment resonates with the broader technology market, where AI-driven applications are fueling a significant increase in demand for advanced semiconductor components. ## Broader Market Context and Sector Performance **ChipMOS**'s strong performance is not an isolated event but rather indicative of a powerful trend within the memory and data storage sector, largely propelled by AI. Peers in the industry have also experienced substantial gains. For instance, **Micron Technology** (**MU**) shares were up 7% in recent trading, making it a top performer in the **S&P 500**. Other data storage giants like **Western Digital** (**WDC**) and **Seagate Technology** (**STX**) have also seen considerable appreciation, with **Western Digital** shares nearly quadrupling and **Seagate** up approximately 240% in 2025. These movements underscore the profound impact of AI hardware demand on the valuations of companies providing memory and data storage solutions. Analyst commentary reinforces this optimistic outlook. Bullish analysts at Mizuho, for example, have noted that demand for **Micron**'s high-bandwidth memory chips is expected to remain strong into the coming years, with potential for margin upside due to robust pricing. This favorable environment benefits suppliers to key AI players like **NVIDIA Corp.** (**NVDA**) and **Advanced Micro Devices** (**AMD**), suggesting sustained momentum for the entire AI supply chain. ## Forward-Looking Outlook Looking ahead, **ChipMOS** is strategically positioning itself to capitalize on the sustained demand. The company plans to moderately expand its DRAM and flash memory packaging capacity, primarily by enhancing the productivity of existing manufacturing equipment. This proactive approach aims to meet anticipated customer demand. The continued development of AI infrastructure, coupled with ongoing trends in memory pricing and upcoming earnings reports from leading technology companies, will be key factors to monitor in the coming quarters, as they are likely to further shape the trajectory of **ChipMOS** and the broader semiconductor market.

Sea Limited (SE) Stock Advances on Q3 2025 Revenue Beat Amidst EPS Miss
## U.S.-Listed Equities: Sea Limited Posts Revenue Beat, Driving Pre-Market Gains U.S.-listed shares of **Sea Limited** (**SE**) advanced in pre-market trading following the release of its third-quarter 2025 earnings report. The technology conglomerate, with interests spanning e-commerce, digital payments, and gaming, disclosed a mixed financial performance marked by a significant revenue beat that overshadowed an earnings per share (EPS) miss. This outcome appears to have instilled investor confidence, with the stock rising by **2.68%** in pre-market activity. ## The Event in Detail: Strong Top-Line Growth Across Key Segments **Sea Limited** (SE) reported total GAAP revenue of **$6 billion** for Q3 2025, marking a substantial **38%** increase year-over-year. This figure surpassed analyst forecasts of **$5.69 billion** by **5.45%**. Concurrently, adjusted EBITDA reached **$874 million**, reflecting a **68%** year-over-year growth from **$521 million** in Q3 2024. Net income also saw considerable improvement, rising to **$375 million** from **$153 million** in Q3 2022. However, the company's EPS came in at **$0.59**, falling short of the anticipated **$1.02**, representing a **42.16%** miss. The company's core segments demonstrated robust performance: * **Shopee:** The e-commerce arm reported Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) growth of **28%** year-over-year, reaching **$32.2 billion**. Buyer purchase frequency increased by **12%** year-on-year, and average monthly active buyers grew by **15%**. * **SeaMoney:** The digital financial services segment saw its loan book expand by **70%** year-over-year to **$7.9 billion**, while maintaining a stable risk profile. * **Garena:** The digital entertainment division delivered its best quarter since 2021, with bookings rising **51%** year-over-year to **$841 million**, and adjusted EBITDA growing **48%** year-on-year. ## Analysis of Market Reaction: Revenue Strength Outweighs EPS Shortfall The market's positive reaction to **Sea Limited**'s earnings, despite the EPS miss, suggests that investors are prioritizing the company's strong revenue growth and the underlying health of its key operating segments. The significant revenue beat and impressive year-over-year growth across **Shopee**, **SeaMoney**, and **Garena** indicate that the company's expansion strategies are yielding results. The ability to increase adjusted EBITDA and net income substantially further reinforces a narrative of improving profitability and operational efficiency. The consistent growth in buyer frequency and active users for Shopee, alongside the expansion of SeaMoney's loan book with stable risk, points to healthy underlying business fundamentals. The return to strong growth for Garena, after a period of challenges, also contributed positively to market sentiment. ## Broader Context and Implications: Strategic Positioning and Future Outlook **Sea Limited**'s Q3 2025 performance underscores its strategic positioning in the competitive e-commerce, fintech, and gaming sectors, particularly in its Asian and Brazilian markets. The company's focus on delivering price-competitive products, as evidenced by Qualtrics surveys for Shopee, highlights its commitment to market share and customer retention. The discussion of non-GAAP financial measures during the earnings call, while common practice, serves to provide additional insights into the company's cash flows, supplementing the GAAP-compliant financial statements. These measures, while not standardized across industries, are intended to facilitate investor understanding of the company's financial trajectory. ## Looking Ahead: Sustained Growth and Operational Efficiency Moving forward, **Sea Limited** management, led by Chairman and CEO **Forrest Li** and CFO **Hou Tianyu**, indicated a focus on sustained growth across its diverse business units. The strong performance in Q3 2025 suggests that the company is well-positioned to capitalize on opportunities in its target markets. Investors will likely monitor continued improvements in profitability, the maintenance of a stable risk profile within SeaMoney's expanding loan book, and further innovation within Garena to assess the long-term trajectory of the company. Upcoming economic reports and broader market sentiment regarding technology and emerging markets will also play a role in **Sea Limited**'s stock performance in the coming quarters.
