USDCZ Declares “Perp DEX Era” as Aster Surges Past Rivals, Hyperliquid ETF Filing, and Record $104.5B Daily Volume
A volatile race unfolds across perpetual decentralized exchanges
TL;DR
- Changpeng Zhao declared perpetual decentralized exchanges the next growth phase, as Aster logged $115B in volume and Plasma’s XPL token launch secured $2.5B in TVL.
- Hyperliquid lost nearly 30% of TVL after Aster’s rise, faced fallout from a $3.6M Hypervault rug pull, yet became the basis for a new Spot Hyperliquid ETF filed by Bitwise.
- SunPerp entered the competition by cutting fees to the lowest levels in the market, escalating an already aggressive battle for liquidity and traders.
Changpeng “CZ” Zhao signaled what he called the “perp DEX era,” describing perpetual decentralized exchanges as the next dominant growth engine for digital assets. He argued that the crypto price index will increasingly be shaped by trading on permissionless, transparent markets, marking a structural shift away from centralized platforms. The declaration arrived as trading volumes and liquidity incentives surged, revealing a sector caught between explosive adoption and fragile infrastructure.
Data shows perp DEX volume reached an all-time high of $104.5 billion on Sept. 26, underscoring how quickly the sector has scaled beyond expectations. Aster has become the most prominent example of this volatility. Aster has become the standout, recording $46.98 billion in trading over a single 24-hour stretch, more than doubling rival platforms. Its cumulative 30-day volume stood at $115.8 billion, with a weekly tally of $101.7 billion, consolidating its lead. The platform’s rise was tied to Plasma’s mainnet and the launch of its XPL token, which secured $2.5 billion in deposits within 24 hours.
The early momentum was disrupted, however, when the XPL token experienced abnormal price movements from $1 to $4 within seconds. Aster refunded affected traders in USDT, stating, “Rest assured, all user funds are SAFU.” Critics noted that Aster’s public transparency was limited, with only the most recent 1,000 trades visible through an API, drawing comparisons to a centralized exchange without KYC.
Hyperliquid, previously the sector leader, saw TVL drop from $2.8 billion to $2 billion as Aster’s incentives pulled users away. Its reputation was further hit when PeckShield reported that Hypervault, a yield farm built on Hyperliquid, was drained of $3.6 million. The funds were bridged to Ethereum, swapped for ETH, and laundered through Tornado Cash before Hypervault’s website and social accounts went offline.
Despite these setbacks, Bitwise filed for a Spot Hyperliquid ETF in the United States, aiming to provide institutions with direct exposure to decentralized perpetual markets. If approved, it would represent the first Wall Street product tracking a protocol that has simultaneously been central to both innovation and controversy.
New entrants have seized the moment to undercut incumbents. SunPerp, positioning itself as a low-cost alternative, announced it now offers the lowest trading fees in the perp DEX space. The strategy directly challenges both Aster’s incentive-driven growth and Hyperliquid’s remaining liquidity base, accelerating what analysts call a “race to zero” in exchange fee structures. The move has placed additional pressure on rivals at a time when broader coin market cap trends reflect heightened volatility, with the crypto price reacting sharply to both protocol incentives and security lapses.
The unfolding battle across perpetual decentralized exchanges has become a defining moment for the sector, blending surging adoption, multi-billion-dollar liquidity commitments, institutional products, technical mishaps, and outright fraud. Zhao’s framing of this moment as the “perp DEX era” encapsulates both the promise and fragility of a market that is drawing record participation while still carrying the unpredictability of a casino floor.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
