ExchangeAltcoins
|2 min ReadPerp DEX boom looks fragile beneath the hype
Maya Chen
Senior Analyst
Published
Jan 16, 2026
Everybody is screaming about DEX. Hyperliquid is hailed as the new king. Aster printed instant millionaires. Lighter pulled in liquidity with free trading. But do not get fooled. Most of this boom is smoke, not fire.
Hyperliquid was lightning in a bottle
Hyperliquid’s rise was not destiny. It was timing. CEX trust collapsed. A custom trading chain gave better speed. A no-VC airdrop kept the community engaged. All of this stacked perfectly. That mix is rare. Copycats will not get the same run. Hyperliquid took two years to win 70 percent of the market. Nobody else has that window left.
Aster’s rally was hype, not proof
Aster’s explosion looked beautiful. CZ tweets, Binance whispers, KOL noise. The coin surged in days. But where is the foundation? No long-term product strength has been tested. The numbers that matter are open interest, TVL stability, revenue, and fee buybacks. Without those, the growth engine stalls. With VCs, influencers, and possible Binance listings all adding sell pressure, calling Aster the next Hyperliquid is reckless.
Farming heat hides weak core
Other new DEXs lean on subsidies. Lighter’s zero-fee model pulls TVL and volume. People shill it as a Hyperliquid killer. But free rides do not last. Once the airdrop ends or fails expectations, the flow dries up. Real power comes from fees and sustainable buybacks. To survive a cycle, a DEX must balance traders, market makers, and retail all at once. That takes years, not months.
The bigger risk for DeFi
Hyperliquid proved that building a chain just for trading works. But that draws liquidity away from general-purpose L1s and L2s. Attention is finite. If more single-purpose chains rise, other ecosystems lose out. That is not the dream of composable DeFi. Worse, many “DEXs” are just CEX plays with new wrappers. Is that the decentralized future people wanted?
Perp DEXs are not doomed. They push exchanges to evolve, and some will thrive. But the frenzy right now is not lasting wealth. Be sharp. Know the difference between noise and signal. Retail just wants a fair bite. Do not let illusions blind you.
Disclaimer: This document is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed in this document are not, and should not be taken as, investment advice or recommendations. Recipients should do their own due diligence, taking into account their specific financial circumstances, investment objectives and risk tolerance, which are not considered here, before investing. This document is not an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any of the assets mentioned.