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|9 min ReadPerp DEXs race for the next Aster
Maya Chen
Senior Analyst
Published
Jan 16, 2026
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You saw Aster rip after TGE. Near 6000% at peak. Avantis hit a 155% high after Binance Alpha. Today the whole perp DEX lane caught a bid. Money is chasing the new story. The market is rewarding speed and execution.
Everyone loves leverage. It juices capital in a bull market. On chain perps tried before with dYdX and GMX. Then Hyperliquid arrived and took the crown.
Hyperliquid now commands roughly 78% of the perp DEX market. Its perp volume equals 5.3% of CEX perps. That is Bybit’s 27% and up to 11% of Binance, eaten by an on chain venue. The message is simple. Share is moving. Fast.
This lane is not closed. It never is. New challengers are here. They bring different angles, new mechanics, fresh incentive engines. That is where early users get paid.
How winners are built
Hyperliquid wins on depth, product speed, and a ruthless buyback machine. It runs a two layer stack, Hypercore and HyperEVM. It supports 180 plus markets and even pre-market listings. It pushes catalysts like HIP-3 and USDH.
Depth and fairness. Traders care about spread and depth. Tests using one hour websocket data from Lighter, EdgeX, and Hyperliquid show this. Hyperliquid still holds depth on a 16 million dollar BTC order. At 6 million it matches EdgeX. That is whale grade liquidity.
A speed bump helps. The chain inserts a 210 millisecond delay on taker orders during block building. Market makers can cancel fairly. More stay. Depth grows. Some argue about whale front-run risk. Transparency and repeatable rules attract pros. Network effects compound.
Volume, OI, and the buyback flywheel. Daily perp volume sits near 8 to 10 billion dollars. Open interest runs above 15 billion. The volume to OI ratio is about 0.55. That is healthy. It suggests organic flow.
Fees do not sit idle. Hyperliquid directs 99% of maker and taker fees to buy back HYPE. No liquidation fee. On an average day it buys 2 to 3 million dollars of HYPE. Cumulative buyback size is about 1.8 billion dollars. Roughly 630 million already spent. About 1.17 billion in net profit.
Listing velocity and pre-market. In three months Hyperliquid added 11 pairs to top 180 plus. Binance added about 60 in the same span including Alpha. Pre-market grabs first flow. Listings like XPL, Pump, and WLFI pulled in millions in volume, OI, and funding. Thin books need risk controls. That is part of the job.
Ecosystem engines. HyperEVM TVL is 2.6 billion dollars with almost 100 projects. Buildercode shares fees with app builders. Partners such as
,
, and
have generated over 23 million dollars.USDH is coming as a native stable. HIP-3 lets anyone stake 1 million dollars worth of slashable HYPE to bid for markets and deploy new assets. That widens coverage. More pairs. More trades. More buybacks. The flywheel turns.
Users got paid. Hyperliquid ran one of DeFi’s largest airdrops. 31% went to users. The initial valuation was about 3 billion dollars. That set the tone. It anchored mindshare.
Lighter enters with shock tactics. Backed in 2023 by a16z, Lightspeed, and Coatue. Led by ex-Citadel HFT trader
. It pivoted from spot DEX to perps. It cut fees to zero for makers and takers. That pulls volume and market makers. Depth on mega orders still trails Hyperliquid. But free is loud.A warning sign shows up in ratios. Volume to OI sits near 3.5. About seven times Hyperliquid. Wash risk rises. Lighter added self-trade protection to fight sybil games.
Under the hood it built custom zk circuits and an order book tree. Sequencers pre-commit results for instant feel. Proofs batch later. If proofs ever diverge from pre-commits, users can trigger an exit. That exit guarantee adds a safety backstop.
Hype is building around Lighter points. OTC screenshots show about 33 dollars per point. Roughly 363 thousand dollars traded. Total supply is unknown, so token value is unclear. People compare to Hyperliquid’s path. It airdropped 30% and listed near a 3 billion dollar valuation. If Lighter copies that split, you can guess the bracket.
EdgeX focuses on traders in the real size bands. For BTC orders under 6 million dollars, EdgeX often shows tighter spreads and better depth. That covers most retail and many desks. It also layers yield and incentives without breaking the book.
It does not have a token yet. Still, on DefiLlama it ranks second in perp DEX revenue. The past 30 days brought about 18 to 20 million dollars. That is roughly 5% of Hyperliquid. Fees are 0.015% maker, 0.038% taker, plus liquidation. Volume to OI is about 2.3. Some farming exists. It is not extreme.
It runs on StarkEx perps with trustless settlement and forced withdrawal. Trades execute off chain, proofs land on Ethereum, funds sit in contracts. If withdrawals stall beyond the grace window, users can force exit using Merkle proofs. EdgeX never custodies assets.
Asia cares about mobile first. EdgeX shipped a native app on the App Store. It makes trading simple through the phone. That matters.
Amber Group incubated EdgeX. The team includes veterans from Goldman and Jump. Core contributors show up as
and
.
is a partner.What it means right now
Perp DEX is a growth engine. Hyperliquid leads on depth, listings, ecosystem, and the buyback loop. It also built brand equity with a 31% user airdrop. That is a high bar.
Challengers must stand out. Tighter spreads. Zero fees. Smoother mobile. Extra yield on margin. Easier access. Points that convert cleanly. Those are real hooks that move users and keep them.
The truth lands after TGE. Watch OI, volume, and protocol revenue. That shows stickiness. Airdrops can cut both ways. Poor design can kill momentum. A clean drop with minimal farming can create real pull and start the right flywheel.
There is always room for the strongest number two. In this market that seat fills fast. Move early. Use the products. Track the data. The next Aster is born in execution, not noise.
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.