2025 Perp DEX Battle: Hyperliquid, Aster, Lighter

Author: Stacy Muur Translator: Shan Opa, Golden Finance

For most of the past year, Hyperliquid dominated the market — but now its market share has plummeted to just 20%, with new challengers rapidly capturing market share. This article will delve into the four major mainstream decentralized exchanges for perpetual contracts.

In 2025, the decentralized perpetual contract (perp DEX) market experienced explosive growth. In October 2025, the monthly trading volume of decentralized exchanges for perpetual contracts surpassed $1.2 trillion for the first time, attracting widespread attention from retail traders, institutional investors, and venture capitalists.

For most of the past year, Hyperliquid held an absolute dominance, with its on-chain perpetual contract trading volume reaching a peak market share of 71% in May. However, by November, as new challengers entered the arena, its market share had plummeted to just 20%:

• Lighter: 27.7%
• Aster: 19.3%
• EdgeX: 14.6%

At this point, in this rapidly iterating ecosystem, the four major leading platforms have already emerged and are competing for industry dominance:

• Hyperliquid - The veteran king of on-chain perpetual contracts
• Aster—— A rocket-like platform with astonishing trading volume yet constant controversy
• Lighter—— The native disruptor with zero fees and zero-knowledge proof
• EdgeX - A low-profile and pragmatic dark horse that meets institutional needs.

This in-depth investigation will clear away the fog of market hype, analyzing the technical architecture, core data, points of controversy, and long-term viability of each platform.

Part One: Hyperliquid - The Undisputed King

Why Hyperliquid Can Dominate

Hyperliquid has established its position as the industry-leading decentralized perpetual contract exchange, with a peak market share exceeding 71%. Although competitors briefly grabbed headlines with explosive trading volume growth, Hyperliquid remains a structural pillar of the decentralized perpetual contract exchange ecosystem.

![GcqCSfjJcQaZt6KUKbqSQ1Nnk3bRVgbmsTzQpZjf.png]###https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-4bc99cd8a772046a35c908c7d10e3c39.webp “7414352”(

) Technical Foundation

Hyperliquid's dominance stems from a revolutionary architectural decision: to create a Layer 1 blockchain specifically designed for derivatives trading. The platform's HyperBFT consensus mechanism achieves sub-second order finality, with a transaction processing capacity (TPS) of 200,000 per second, which can rival centralized exchanges and often surpasses them.

Verification of the authenticity of open contracts

Competitors often publish eye-catching 24-hour trading volume data, but the metric that truly reflects the actual capital deployment situation is open interest (OI) - the total value of outstanding perpetual contract positions.

Trading volume reflects activity level, while open interest reflects capital commitment.

According to 21Shares data, September 2025:

• Aster accounts for about 70% of the total trading volume
• Hyperliquid has temporarily declined to about 10%

However, this dominance is only reflected in trading volume, which is the easiest metric to distort through incentives, rebates, frequent trading by market makers, or wash trading.

Recent 24-hour open contract data shows:

• Hyperliquid: $8.014 billion
• Aster: 2.329 billion USD
• Lighter: 1.591 billion USD
• EdgeX: $780.41 million
• Total open contract amount on the four major platforms: 12.714 billion USD
• Hyperliquid Market Share: Approximately 63%

This means that on mainstream perpetual contract trading platforms, Hyperliquid holds nearly two-thirds of the open positions, surpassing the total of Aster, Lighter, and EdgeX.

24-hour unclosed contract market share:

• Hyperliquid: 63.0%
• Aster: 18.3%
• Lighter: 12.5%
• EdgeX: 6.1%

This indicator reflects the scale of funds that traders are willing to hold overnight, rather than simply for the purpose of obtaining incentives or frequent trading fund flows.

![HSDRmjfQFuc6auYF8cq8AgrG4nDlBDMhidal37vh.png]###https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-ed212082194a2004621a6edb1e6a1094.webp “7414353”(

) Key Ratio Analysis

• Hyperliquid: Open Interest / High Trading Volume Ratio (approximately 0.64), indicating that a large amount of trading flow is converting into active continuous positions.
• Aster and Lighter: The ratios are relatively low (approximately 0.18 and 0.12 respectively), indicating a high trading turnover but actual holding capital is low. This is typically a characteristic of incentive-driven trading rather than sustainable liquidity.

Overview Summary

• 24-hour trading volume: reflects short-term activity
• 24-hour open contract: reflects the scale of funds at risk.
• 24-hour Unsettled Contract / Trading Volume Ratio: Reflects the authenticity of trading (rather than incentive-driven)

From all indicators based on open interest, Hyperliquid is structurally the leader:

• The largest size of open contracts
• Commitment of the highest proportion of funds
• The healthiest ratio of open contracts to trading volume
• The size of open contracts exceeds the sum of the next three major platforms.

The trading volume ranking fluctuates, but the open interest reveals the true market leader - that is Hyperliquid.

has stood the test of time

In the liquidation event of October 2025, $19 billion worth of positions were liquidated, and Hyperliquid maintained zero-failure operation while handling peak trading volumes.

Institutional Recognition

21Shares has submitted an application for Hyperliquid (HYPE) related products to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has listed the regulated HYPE exchange-traded product (ETP) on the Swiss Exchange (SIX). These developments reported by market data platforms such as CoinMarketCap signify an increasing institutional access to HYPE. The HyperEVM ecosystem is also expanding, although public data cannot confirm the specific claims of over 180 projects or a total value locked (TVL) of 4.1 billion dollars.

Conclusion

Based on the current regulatory applications, exchange listings, and ecosystem growth reported by platforms such as CoinMarketCap, Hyperliquid is gaining strong momentum, with increasing institutional recognition, solidifying its position as a leading platform in DeFi derivatives.

Part Two: Aster - Explosive Growth Amid Scandals

Aster is a multi-chain perpetual contract exchange that will launch in early 2025. Its core goal is to provide high-speed, high-leverage derivative trading services for users in the BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Ethereum, and Solana ecosystems, without the need for cross-chain asset transfers.

The project is not built from scratch, but originates from the merger of Asterus and APX Finance at the end of 2024, integrating APX's mature perpetual contract engine with Asterus's liquidity technology.

explosive rise

Aster was launched at a price of $0.08 on September 17, 2025, and surged to $2.42 within a week, an increase of 2800%. At its peak, the daily trading volume exceeded $70 billion, dominating the entire decentralized exchange market for perpetual contracts.

The driving force behind it? Zhao Changpeng (CZ). The founder of Binance supports Aster through YZi Labs and releases related tweets, driving the price of its token to soar. In its first month of launch, Aster's trading volume exceeded $320 billion, briefly capturing over 50% of the decentralized exchange market share for perpetual contracts.

![6lqBxdAruaJxKgcDG5aBnNti58ZvAy9YD67oeyVc.png]###https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-957ab433b3f2138fd8fbd14347ec53d3.webp “7414354”(

) DefiLlama Delisting Incident

On October 5, 2025, DefiLlama, the most trusted data platform in the cryptocurrency sector, found that Aster's trading volume closely matched Binance's trading volume — with a correlation of 1:1, and subsequently delisted Aster's data.

The trading volume of a real exchange will naturally fluctuate, and a complete match only signifies one thing: data fabrication.

key evidence

• Trading volume patterns are exactly the same as Binance (all trading pairs including Ripple, Ethereum, etc.)
• Aster refuses to provide trading data to verify the authenticity of transactions.
• 96% of ASTER tokens are controlled by only 6 wallets.
• The trading volume / open interest ratio is as high as 58 (a healthy level should be below 3)

The ASTER token has suddenly plummeted by 10%, dropping from $2.42 to its current level of around $1.05.

Aster's defense

CEO Leonard claims that this correlation is merely due to airdrop arbitrageurs hedging on Binance. But if this is true, why refuse to provide data to prove it?

Weeks later, Aster was re-listed, but DefiLlama warned: it is still a black box, and the authenticity of the data cannot be verified.

actual value

Fairly speaking, Aster has some real features: 1001x leverage, hidden orders, multi-chain support (BNB, Ethereum, Solana), and interest-bearing collateral. It is building Aster Chain based on zero-knowledge proof technology to achieve privacy protection. However, excellent technology cannot compensate for the flaws of false data.

Conclusion

Conclusive evidence:

• Complete correlation with Binance = Wash trading
• Refusal to be transparent = Concealing problems
• 96% of tokens are concentrated in 6 wallets = centralized control
• DefiLlama delisted = Reputation destroyed

Aster has gained enormous value by leveraging the popularity and false trading volume of Zhao Changpeng (CZ), but has failed to build a genuine infrastructure. Although it may survive due to Binance's support, its reputation has suffered permanent damage.

• For traders: High risk. You are betting on the narrative of Zhao Changpeng (CZ), not on actual growth. Set strict stop-losses.
• To investors: Avoid. Too many red light signals, there are better options (such as Hyperliquid).

Part Three: Lighter - Broad Technical Prospects, Questionable Data

Technical Advantages

Lighter is unique. Founded by engineers from Citadel, it has the backing of Peter Thiel, a16z, and Lightspeed (with a $15 billion valuation and $68 million in Series B funding), and it uses zero-knowledge proofs to cryptographically verify each transaction.

As a Layer 2 network for Ethereum, Lighter inherits Ethereum's security through escape routes – if the platform fails, users can recover their funds through smart contracts. Application chain type L1 does not have this security guarantee.

Launched on October 2, 2025, the total value locked (TVL) surpassed 1.1 billion USD within weeks, with a daily trading volume of 7-8 billion USD and over 56,000 users.

Zero Fees = Aggressive Strategy

Lighter charges 0% fees for both makers and takers, truly zero fees. This makes all competitors lose their competitive edge against fee-sensitive traders.

The strategy is simple: seize market share through unsustainable economic models, establish user loyalty, and then realize profit monetization.

![Gl4RMeBK24eLL19ZloyCOnKFsrNguf1o4iyV2ogC.png]###https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-0148184c04506d52c622ad07c522784c.webp “7414357”(

) Test on October 11

Ten days after the mainnet launch, the largest liquidation event in the cryptocurrency space occurred, with $19 billion in positions being liquidated.

• Highlights: The system withstood 5 hours of market turmoil, with the Liquidity Providing Pool (LLP) still providing liquidity while competitors withdrew.
• Insufficient: The database crashed after 5 hours, and the platform was offline for 4 hours.
• Question: The liquidity provision pool (LLP) has incurred losses, while Hyperliquid's HLP and EdgeX's eLP have both made profits.

Founder Vlad Novakovski stated that they originally planned to perform a database upgrade on Sunday, but the market fluctuations on Friday caused the old system to crash ahead of schedule.

trading volume issue

The data clearly shows the existence of points mining behavior:

• 24-hour trading volume: $12.78 billion
• Open Interest: 1.591 billion USD
• Trading Volume / Open Interest Ratio: 8.03

Health level = below 3, above 5 = suspicious, 8.03 = extremely abnormal.

Comparison reference:

• Hyperliquid: 1.57 (natural trading)
• EdgeX: 2.7 (Mild Level)
• Aster: 5.4 (Concerning)
• Lighter: 8.03 (Mining Behavior)

For every 1 dollar of capital deployed by traders, 8 dollars of trading volume is generated — frequently closing positions to earn mining points, rather than holding real positions.

30 days of data confirms: $294 billion in trading volume vs $47 billion in total open contracts = a ratio of 6.25, still far above a reasonable level.

Airdrop Questions

The Lighter points program is very attractive. Points will be exchanged for LITER tokens during the Token Generation Event (TGE, Q4 2025 / Q1 2026). The pricing of points in the over-the-counter (OTC) market is between $5 and $100+. The potential airdrop value could reach tens of thousands of dollars, making explosive trading volume reasonable.

Key question: What will happen after the TGE? Will users stay or will trading volume collapse?

Conclusion

Advantages:

• Top-notch technology (Zero-knowledge proof validation effective)
• Zero fees = a real competitive advantage
• Inherit Ethereum's security
• Top teams and funding support

Concern:

• 8.03 trading volume / open interest ratio = significant mining activity
• Loss in the Liquidity Providing Pool (LLP) during Stress Testing
• 4 hours offline raises trust issues
• User retention after airdrop has not been verified

The core difference with Aster: no accusations of wash trading and not delisted by DefiLlama. The high ratio reflects aggressive but temporary incentives, rather than systemic fraud.

Summary

Lighter has world-class technology, but the data indicators are concerning. Can it convert mining users into real users? Technically feasible, but historical experience suggests a high probability that it cannot.

• A great opportunity for miners before the TGE.
• For investors: Observe whether the trading volume can be sustained 2-3 months after TGE.

possibility

40% chance to become a top three platform, 60% chance to become a technically excellent but lacking real users' points mining project.

Part Four: EdgeX - Enterprise-Level Professional Platform

Advantages of Amber Group

EdgeX operates in a unique model. Originating from the Amber Group incubator (managing $5 billion in assets), it brings together professionals from Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and Bybit. This is not about crypto-native practitioners learning finance, but rather traditional finance professionals bringing institutional-level expertise into decentralized finance.

Amber's market maker genes are directly reflected on EdgeX: deep liquidity, narrow bid-ask spreads, and trading execution quality comparable to centralized exchanges. The platform is set to launch in September 2024, with a core goal of providing CEX-level performance without sacrificing the advantages of self-custody.

Built on StarkEx (StarkWare's battle-tested zero-knowledge proof engine), EdgeX can handle 200,000 orders per second with a latency of less than 10 milliseconds, comparable to Binance's speed.

The transaction fee is lower than Hyperliquid

EdgeX excels in transaction fees compared to Hyperliquid:

Fee Comparison:

• EdgeX trading fee: 0.038% vs Hyperliquid: 0.045%
• EdgeX Order Fee: 0.012% vs Hyperliquid: 0.015%

For traders with a monthly trading volume of 10 million dollars, they can save 7,000 to 10,000 dollars per year compared to Hyperliquid.

In addition, for retail-sized orders (below 6 million USD), EdgeX offers better liquidity - narrower spreads and lower slippage compared to competitors.

Real income, health indicators

Unlike Lighter's zero-fee model or Aster's questionable data, EdgeX generates real, sustainable income:

Current core indicators:

• Total Value Locked (TVL): 489.7 million USD
• 24-hour trading volume: 8.2 billion USD
• Open Interest: 780 million USD
• 30 days revenue: 41.72 million USD (up 147% from the second quarter)
• Annual Income: 509 million USD (second only to Hyperliquid)
• Trading volume / Open interest ratio: 10.51 (seems concerning, but requires in-depth analysis)

At first glance, a ratio of 10.51 seems extremely poor, but the context is crucial: EdgeX launched an aggressive points program to kickstart liquidity during its initial rollout. As the platform has matured, the ratio has steadily improved.

More importantly, EdgeX consistently maintains a healthy level of revenue - proving the existence of real traders, rather than just mining users.

![P81HchWsxDQA8eIEMC6K20WzbIvUiv5h0PCqF7C6.png]###https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-71c3585399b99630b3edcf2f4caab229.webp “7414358”(

) October stress test performance

During the crash event on October 11, where $19 billion in positions were liquidated, EdgeX performed exceptionally well:

• Zero Fault (Lighter offline for 4 hours)
• eLP fund pool remains profitable (Lighter's LLP incurs losses)
• Annual Percentage Yield (APY) for liquidity providers reaches 57% (highest in the industry)

EdgeX Liquidity Pool (eLP) has demonstrated exceptional risk management capabilities at critical moments, achieving profitability during extreme volatility while competitors faced difficulties.

EdgeX's differentiated advantages

Multi-chain Flexibility:

• Supports Ethereum Layer 1 network (L1), Arbitrum, Binance Smart Chain (BNB Chain)
• Supports USDT and USDC as collateral
• Supports multi-chain deposits and withdrawals (Hyperliquid only supports Arbitrum)

Best Mobile Experience: Official iOS and Android apps launched (Hyperliquid has no mobile app), allowing users to conveniently manage their positions anytime and anywhere, with a simple and smooth user experience.

Focus on the Asian Market: Strategically layout in the Korean and Asian markets through localized support and events like Korea Blockchain Week. While Western competitors vie for similar users, seize the underserved regional markets.

Transparent Points Program

• 60% trading volume
• 20% referral reward
• 10% Total Value Locked (TVL) / Liquidity Pool
• 10% Liquidation / Open Contracts

Clear statement: No rewards for wash trading.

The data also confirms this point - the trading volume / open interest ratio continues to improve, rather than deteriorating like pure mining projects.

Challenges Faced

Market Share: Only accounts for 5.5% of the open interest in decentralized perpetual contract exchanges. To achieve growth, either aggressive incentive measures (facing mining risks) must be taken, or significant collaborations must be reached.

Lack of Killer Features: EdgeX performs well across the board but lacks standout highlights. It is a business class level choice, fully reliable but lacking revolutionary breakthroughs.

Insufficient Fee Competitiveness: Lighter's zero-fee model undermines EdgeX's fee advantage over Hyperliquid.

TGE Timing is Late: Expected to launch in Q4 2025, later than competitors, missing the early airdrop hype.

Conclusion

EdgeX is the choice of professionals - replacing flashy hype with robust excellence.

Advantages:

• Institutional Background (Amber Group provides liquidity)
• Real Income (Annualized $509 million)
• Best liquidity pool returns (57% annualized yield, profit during market crash)
• Lower fees than Hyperliquid
• Data compliance (no wash trading scandals)
• Multi-chain flexibility + Best mobile application
• Small market share (unsettled contracts account for 5.5%)
• Trading Volume / Open Interest Ratio 10.51 (Although improving, it is still relatively high)
• No unique differentiating highlights
• Unable to compete with zero-fee platforms

Suitable for the crowd

• Asian traders seeking localization support
• Institutional users value the liquidity of Amber Group.
• Prioritize conservative traders with mature risk management
• Mobile-first traders
• Liquidity provider investors seeking stable returns

Summary

EdgeX is expected to capture 10%-15% of the market share, serving the Asian market, institutional users, and conservative traders. While it does not threaten Hyperliquid's dominance, it does not need to — it is building a sustainable and profitable niche.

It can be seen as the “Kraken of decentralized exchanges for perpetual contracts”—not the largest or the flashiest, but robust and professional, trusted by seasoned users who value trading execution quality over hype.

• For miners: Medium opportunity, lower level of competition compared to other platforms.
• For investors: Small allocations can be made to diversify risk; low risk corresponds to low returns.

Comparative Analysis: The Battle of Decentralized Exchanges for Perpetual Contracts

![OgXC49NTdRUmAwTV2LRy9Tzs1YuHdrEE6ibJ3dkc.png]###https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-1fc0b78c93399373f4be7ee40a9a4f60.webp “7414364”(

(Data estimated based on existing information)

) Trading Volume / Open Interest Ratio Analysis

Industry standard: Health ratio ≤3

• Hyperliquid: 1.57 indicates a strong natural trading pattern
• Aster: 4.74 is relatively high, reflecting a large number of incentive-driven transactions.
• Lighter: 8.19 High ratio suggests points-driven trading
• EdgeX: The 10.51 points program has a significant impact but is gradually improving.

Market Share: Open Interest Distribution

Market Total: Approximately 13 Billion USD in Open Contracts

• Hyperliquid: 62% - Market Leader
• Aster: 18% - Second largest share
• Lighter: 12% - Market presence continues to increase
• EdgeX: 6% - Focus on niche segments

Platform Overview

Hyperliquid - Mature Leader

• Occupying 62% market share with stable data
• Annual income of 2.9 billion USD, with an active buyback plan.
• Community self-governance model, performance record is good
• Advantages: Market dominance, sustainable economic model
• Rating: A+

Aster - High Growth, High Controversy

• The Binance Smart Chain has strong ecosystem integration capabilities, supported by Zhao Changpeng (CZ)
• Encountered data doubts from DefiLlama in October 2025
• Multi-chain strategy promotes application adoption
• Advantages: Ecological support, broad coverage of retail investors
• Need to pay attention: data transparency issues
• Rating: C+

Lighter - Technology Pioneer

• Zero-fee model, advanced zero-knowledge proof verification technology
• Top-tier funding support (Thiel, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners)
• TGE is expected in the first quarter of 2026, with limited performance data.
• Advantages: Technological innovation, security of Ethereum Layer 2 network
• Need to pay attention: sustainability of the business model, user retention after airdrop
• Rating: Incomplete (Pending performance after token generation event)

EdgeX - Institutional Focused

• Endorsed by Amber Group, professional trading execution capabilities
• Annual income of 509 million USD, the fund pool performs steadily.
• Asia market strategy, mobile-first layout
• Advantages: Institutional credibility, steady growth
• Need to pay attention: Small market share, competitive positioning
• Rating: B

Investment Considerations

Trading Platform Selection

• Hyperliquid - Deepest liquidity, reliability verified by real-world testing
• Lighter - Zero fees, suitable for high-frequency traders
• EdgeX - Lower fees than Hyperliquid, excellent mobile experience
• Aster - Multi-chain flexibility, integration advantages of the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem

Token Investment Timeline

• HYPE - Trading has been launched, current price 37.19 USD
• ASTER - Current trading price is $1.05, need to keep an eye on the dynamics.
• LITER - Token Generation Event (TGE) is expected in Q1 2026, data will need to be evaluated after launch.
• EGX - Token Generation Event (TGE) expected in Q4 2025, initial performance needs to be evaluated.

Core Conclusion

Market Maturity: The perpetual contract decentralized exchange industry has shown clear differentiation, with Hyperliquid establishing a leading position through sustainable data and community consensus.

Growth Strategy: Different platforms target different user groups — Hyperliquid (professional traders), Aster (retail / Asian market), Lighter (tech-oriented users), EdgeX (institutional users).

Indicator Focus: Compared to pure trading volume, the trading volume / open interest ratio and income generation capability better reflect the platform's true performance.

Future Outlook: The performance of Lighter and EdgeX after their token generation events will play a crucial role in their long-term competitive positioning. The future of Aster depends on whether it can address transparency issues and maintain ecological support.