- \n
- If you go long on Bitcoin perpetual futures at $140,000<\/strong>, you\u2019re betting the price will rise.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If it does, you profit on the difference.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If it falls instead, you take a loss.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s the essence of perps: flexible tools for traders who want exposure to market moves without holding the asset itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perps went from side-quest to main arena<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Perp DEX volumes set a record >$1T<\/strong> in September 2025, led by a handful of projects. That\u2019s not noise\u2014that\u2019s institutional-sized flow learning to live Onchain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of today, DeFi Llama\u2019s perp dashboard shows ~$929B<\/strong> 30-day<\/strong> volume, exceeds $100 billion by the first week of October 2025 and ~$17B<\/strong> Open Interest across DEX perps\u2014a scale that used to be \u201cunder CEX only.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So far in 2025, perpetuals account for 75%<\/strong> of total CEX trading volume, generating nearly $49 trillion<\/strong> \u2014 far ahead of $14.8 trillion in spot and $1.3 trillion in options, compared with 72% in 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Open Interest :<\/strong> the total size (usually in USD ) of all live derivatives positions (perpetuals\/futures) that haven\u2019t been closed or liquidated yet) it varies for oracle type\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tde.fi\/founder-resource\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-6-1024x521.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPerpetual Protocol Trade Volume<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Perp Wars: Hyperliquid vs. Lighter vs. Aster<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In this explosive evolution over the last 12 months for Perp Dex, Hyperliquid was the undisputed leader, commanding around 70% of market share. But by October 2025, its dominance had declined as Aster and Lighter entered the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perp DEXs have started in September 2025 with a major shift in dynamics. Hyperliquid\u2019s share slipped to about 10%<\/strong>, Aster dominated with nearly 70%<\/strong>, and Lighter, still in private beta but newly live on mainnet as of October, captured 15%<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Hyperliquid<\/strong> sustains daily volumes of $10\u201315 billion<\/strong>, signaling consistent though moderated activity. Still, its open interest remains more than four times greater than Aster\u2019s as it offers $13.5 billion<\/strong> vs $3 billion<\/strong> for Aster.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tde.fi\/founder-resource\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-16-at-16.04.20_a89cf53f.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n- \n
- Aster<\/strong> surged dramatically, leaping from around $1 billion<\/strong> in late September to more than $70 billion<\/strong> by the end of the month, making it the clear market leader by raw trading volume.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tde.fi\/founder-resource\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-16-at-16.04.19_94822384.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n- \n
- Lighter<\/strong>, which remains invite-only but launched its mainnet on October , processes roughly $8 billion <\/strong>each day, highlighting strong momentum before a wider rollout.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tde.fi\/founder-resource\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-16-at-15.08.01_8c3de447-2.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhy did this much volume change? traders are actually choosing perps Onchain !!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Execution<\/strong>: As Perps bring innovation it matures the infrastructure beneath it, faster settlements, less slippage etc, because of which traders have a much more smooth trading experience, compared with other DEXs like dydx which still are not able to scale. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Fees\/funding: <\/strong>In CEXs hefty amount is being allocated to the exchange to list the token, but in perp dex all that amount directly goes to the community pool.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- No middle layer:<\/strong> No KYC is required & the funds are in self-custody<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Aster Dramatic Growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Despite Aster\u2019s remarkable rise, Onchain data suggests its volumes may be artificially inflated. The protocol\u2019s volume to TVL ratio of >70 to 1<\/strong> is far beyond the healthy 3 to 7<\/strong> range seen across other DeFi platforms, signaling possible wash trading. (this raises lots of concerns<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tde.fi\/founder-resource\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image-7-1024x608.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSource: DeFi lama<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
This concern is reinforced by its sudden 10 times spike in daily volume<\/strong> within a single week<\/strong>, an adoption curve difficult to reconcile with organic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tde.fi\/founder-resource\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image6.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nRisk engines & liquidations (How was there performance in the latest crash!!)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As we all know the recent liquidation was one of the largest liquidations in crypto history let\u2019s see how major perps performance was affected!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) Hyperliquid \u2014 \u201cheld up\u201d (but autodeleverage triggered)<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Operations: The team says 100% uptime and zero bad debt through the chaos; they also noted it was the first cross-margin ADL event since launch. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Why it survived: On-chain orderbook with strict margining and a documented ADL queue that closes winners at prior mark to prevent platform loss (see formula above). <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
2) dYdX v4 \u2014 \u201cstumbled\u201d (chain halt during peak)<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Operations: dYdX mainnet halted on Oct 10\u201311 and later resumed after validator coordination. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Risk model: dYdX\u2019s default flow is liquidation \u2192 insurance fund (liquidation penalties feed that fund), with a fallback ADL if insurance can\u2019t cover. The v4 docs\/blog explicitly describe this ladder. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
3) Lighter \u2014 \u201cmessed up\u201d (hours-long outage, buttons not working)<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Operations: Lighter reported a ~4.5-hour outage during the selloff and later outlined compensation for affected users. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Why it failed: Database \/ throughput bottlenecks under extreme TPS\u2014classic infra scaling pain during liquidation cascades. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Practical routing: how to choose where to trade or list<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Perps are getting VC attention now, VC interest in perp DEXs isn\u2019t new \u2014 but it\u2019s heating up again because of the recent volume figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe infrastructure stack itself has matured \u2014 faster execution layers, more reliable oracles, cheaper settlement. “The space finally has proof a DEX can scale to billions \u2014 that unlocks venture appetite in a way we didn\u2019t see last cycle,” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boris Revsin, general partner and managing director of Tribe Capital said. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perp DEX fundraising momentum is increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt least a couple of new perp DEXs a week are popping up,\u201d. “There will definitely be more raises from the VCs that don’t already have at least one bet and feel like they’ve missed out.” said M\u00f3nica of Haun Ventures<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you need CEX-like speed with on-chain receipts: Hyperliquid\u2019s L1 CLOB is battle-tested and still widely seen as the \u201cfundamentals leader,\u201d despite narrative swings. The project built a genuinely comparable experience to centralized trading \u2014 combining deep liquidity, high-frequency execution, and active community participation \ufffc<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you prioritize verifiable operations and Ethereum custody: Lighter\u2019s zk-verified matching & liquidations are a meaningful step for operational integrity. Early days, but the design targets \u201ctrust-but-verify\u201d at the engine level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the long run, the perp DEXs that endure will combine liquidity, sustainable tokenomics, and strong communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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- Fees\/funding: <\/strong>In CEXs hefty amount is being allocated to the exchange to list the token, but in perp dex all that amount directly goes to the community pool.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Execution<\/strong>: As Perps bring innovation it matures the infrastructure beneath it, faster settlements, less slippage etc, because of which traders have a much more smooth trading experience, compared with other DEXs like dydx which still are not able to scale. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Lighter<\/strong>, which remains invite-only but launched its mainnet on October , processes roughly $8 billion <\/strong>each day, highlighting strong momentum before a wider rollout.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Aster<\/strong> surged dramatically, leaping from around $1 billion<\/strong> in late September to more than $70 billion<\/strong> by the end of the month, making it the clear market leader by raw trading volume.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n