2025 Popular Perp DEX Overview: Who Will Become the Next Airdrop Goldmine?

Introduction

In recent years, decentralized perpetual contract exchanges (Perp DEXs) have risen rapidly, with various projects encouraging community participation through airdrops. Currently, projects that have performed well in the market and issued tokens include Hyperliquid, Avantis, Orderly, Drift, and Jupiter. Projects that have not yet issued tokens or are highly popular include Aster, Backpack, edgeX, Lighter, Paradex, BasedOneX, Bulk, Reya, and StandX. This article will systematically review these projects’ product features, token mechanisms, airdrop schedules, user participation methods, capital backgrounds, and ecosystem alliances. We will provide interaction suggestions based on popularity/expectations, and summarize future trends and risk warnings.

Source: https://defillama.com/perps

According to DefiLlama data, as of September 2025, Aster’s 24-hour trading volume reached about $35 billion, while Lighter and Hyperliquid both exceeded $10 billion, and edgeX was about $5.856 billion. These massive volumes indicate that projects like Aster have sparked huge trading through incentives. Let’s introduce each project in detail.

Overview of Projects That Have Issued Tokens

• Hyperliquid (HYPE): A high-performance perpetual contract platform based on self-developed HyperCore chain + HyperEVM dual-layer architecture. Completed GENESIS issuance on November 29, 2024, with a total supply of 1 billion tokens; 31% (310 million tokens) distributed to early users (instantly unlocked), 38.888% for subsequent community rewards, 23.8% for core team/contributors (locked until 2027-2028 with phased release), and the rest for foundation and ecosystem grants. The token adopts a governance + staking mechanism and can be used to launch white-label exchanges and other applications. After issuance, HYPE price quickly rose more than tenfold (market cap increased from less than $2 billion at the end of 2024 to over $12 billion in September 2025). As of now, Hyperliquid has about 10,000-20,000 daily active users (cumulative about 600,000), over 100 tradable assets, and an average daily trading volume of nearly $7 billion. The platform’s proprietary liquidity (Hyperliquidity) mechanism and innovations like Builder Core have attracted many experienced traders. In terms of user feedback, many heavy traders praise its low fees and full-chain transparency, while some point out current shortcomings in mobile experience and high fiat channel fees. Participation method: Users who missed the first round of airdrops can accumulate points through continuous trading, staking liquidity (USDC, etc.) to compete for subsequent reward opportunities.

• Aster (Aster, 2nd and 3rd phase activities ongoing): Aster has completed token issuance, with the second phase of incentives fully distributed, and is now entering the third phase “Dawn” incentive period. It has also opened trading pairs on multiple mainstream exchanges to enhance liquidity. The platform is deployed on BNB Chain, supports simple/professional interfaces with up to 1001x leverage, and issues yield-bearing stablecoin USDF (which can be staked to get asUSDF). Users seeking rewards can accumulate points by depositing BNB/USDF, participating in ALP multi-asset pool, trading perpetual contracts, and joining official point competitions; also pay attention to official snapshots and reward claim rules to avoid missing eligibility. Risk warning: High-intensity incentives boost short-term trading volume, and volume may decline when incentives fade or rules change, so be sure to control positions and calculate trading and cross-chain costs.

• Drift Protocol (DRIFT): An early perpetual contract DEX on Solana, launched DRIFT token in 2023 with a total supply of 250 million (specific allocation percentages omitted). Its feature is interest-earning collateral assets: users’ margin simultaneously earns interest, improving capital efficiency. Drift’s airdrops and rewards have ended, current participation methods mainly include token staking and governance participation, as well as using functions like Vault to earn yields (20% * 50% APY). DRIFT’s market performance has fluctuated greatly, with current market cap at a relatively low level. It is recommended to participate moderately after confirming market timing and project progress.

• Avantis (AVNT): The largest derivatives DEX on Base chain, raised funds through public offering and launched mainnet in February 2024. AVNT token completed TGE on September 15, 2025, and surged after listing on Coinbase, Binance, Upbit, etc.; total supply of 1 billion, with 12.5% (125 million tokens) released at issuance for airdrop rewards to active users, remaining tokens locked with phased unlocking. Avantis adopts a “zero fee + profit sharing” model: traders don’t pay opening and closing fees, only sharing a certain percentage of profits with the platform when profitable; the platform also offers loss rebates and positive slippage incentives to balance trader and LP earnings. It supports 80+ markets including crypto, forex, commodities, indices, with up to 500x leverage; as of writing, Avantis has processed over $18 billion in total trading volume, with over 25,000 LPs and $23 million. Participation method: Holding and staking AVNT tokens can share platform fee dividends (current staking yield about 23%), and participate in various trading activities organized by the platform to earn rewards.

• Orderly Network (ORDER): A full-chain liquidity infrastructure and trading chain built on OP Stack + Celestia, using built-in order book matching. Launched ORDER token on August 26, 2025, with a total supply of 1 billion: 55% (550 million) for community rewards (including 13.3% airdrop), 20% for team/advisors, 15% for strategic investors/early supporters, 10% reserved for foundation for liquidity and ecosystem building. On the first day of token issuance (TGE day), all airdrop portions (92 million tokens rewarded to about 230,000 addresses) were released without lock-up. The platform pioneered the “Merits points competition” form of airdrop, with $15 million daily revenue dividends in August’s trading peak paid in advance to ORDER stakers. Orderly has achieved profitability: cumulative trading volume exceeds $80 billion, protocol revenue $17.4 million, net income $7.4 million; daily trading volume reached $1.8 billion at peak during August’s market crash, ranking top 3 in DEX sector. Community views Orderly as having strong advantages as a full-chain matching engine, potentially driving multi-year trader participation (once described by renowned analyst DefiSquared as “currently valued at about $25 million, huge potential, market underestimating ORDER”). Participation method: Original rules have ended, now can stake ORDER tokens to unlock earnings (60% of protocol revenue distributed to stakers, current APY about 50%). Additionally, Orderly supports six major chains including Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, and cooperates with over 20 market makers, future attention can be paid to integrated DEX applications in the ecosystem.

• Jupiter (JUP): A well-known DEX aggregator in the Solana ecosystem, issued JUP token in January 2024 (total supply of 10 billion, with 50% for community rewards, 50% allocated to the team). Jupiter maintains supply-demand balance by charging transaction fees and using 50% for token buybacks. As of mid-2025, JUP’s circulating supply is about 3.1 billion (circulating market cap about $1.5 billion), price has fallen from a high of $2.04 to about $0.47. Jupiter continues to expand functionality: launching perpetual contracts with up to 100x leverage, advanced limit orders, one-click strategies, and plans to launch Jupiter Lend for borrowing and yield-bearing stablecoins. The token’s main use is for community governance, staking JUP can receive airdrops from partner projects and benefits from Launchpad projects. Since Jupiter has completed its airdrop, current participation suggestions mainly focus on subsequent ecosystem (such as Jupiter Lend) rather than farming points again.

Popular Projects Without Tokens Yet

Official Website Link: https://backpack.exchange/

Backpack (no token yet): A multi-chain trading platform based on Solana and Ethereum, recently announced plans to launch perpetual contract functionality. Backpack emphasizes compliance and security, introducing KYC identity verification mechanisms to meet regulatory requirements, with some operational processes similar to centralized exchanges. Its user reward program includes accumulating points based on trading volume/coin deposit activities, with multiple seasons of point competitions already held. After the third season, it’s rumored that trading volume weighting increased, improving farming efficiency. Participation method: After KYC registration, users can participate in coin deposits (similar to staking BNB, USDT, etc.) to earn points, or directly farm trading volume. Due to KYC requirements, it’s suitable for users willing to undergo identity verification. Participation suggestion: Accumulate Backpack points through small-amount transactions and continuous interactions while ensuring security, in preparation for future token distribution.

Official Website Link: https://www.edgex.exchange/en

edgeX (no token yet): A multi-chain Perp DEX incubated by Amber Group, using StarkEx ZK-Rollup technology (balancing speed and privacy). edgeX’s user interface provides a CEX-like operating experience, integrating MPC wallet support to reduce user operation difficulty. The incentive model is a weekly point system: users’ trading volume and activity determine the weekly point weight, with a minimum investment of only $10 to participate in farming. Participation method: Use trading pairs for wash trading, placing orders, etc. to increase activity, automatically accumulating points for each transaction. The community is attracted by Amber’s background, can focus on its incentive rhythm and participate in weekly activities. Given the low threshold, it’s relatively friendly to retail investors.

Official Website Link: https://lighter.xyz/

Lighter (no token yet): An invite-only private beta exclusive Starknet L2 (EVM compatible), focusing on privacy and efficient trading. Lighter is still in the invitation-only internal testing phase, with no official announcement of specific token issuance time. The platform’s feature is an open liquidity aggregation (LLP) pool with extremely high APY (about 63%); full earnings need to be unlocked through points. Participation method: Participate in internal test trading through invitation, accumulate points for each transaction, which will be linked to future token airdrops. Currently relies on invitation mechanism, limited to reservation or community channel joining. Participation suggestion: Strive to obtain test invitation code and conduct small-amount real transactions to accumulate points, while paying attention to any open or reward plans announced by officials.

Official Website Link: https://app.paradex.trade/trade/BTC-USD-PERP

Paradex (no token yet): The first StarkNet “Appchain” built on StarkNet Stack, incubated by Paradigm’s institutional liquidity team. Paradex plans to integrate trading, perpetual contracts, and perpetual options into a unified account system, and adopts zero transaction fees to incentivize growth. Participation method: Divides “XP” activity seasons by quarters, users can earn points through position holding, trading, market making, etc. In the future, attention can be paid to the test version of Paradex’s first fully functional DEX (Plan) to participate in volume farming and point accumulation.

Official Website Link: https://based.one/

BasedOneX (no token yet): Positioned as a “channel trading platform” frontend for Hyperliquid, with a team built by industry veterans. It’s described as functionally similar to Hyperliquid’s frontend and dealer model, building multi-channel access for Hyperliquid. Participation method: Expected to distribute airdrop points through ecosystem trading competitions and community activities. Currently, pay attention to official announcements to participate in activities.

Image: https://standx.com/

StandX (no token yet): A project developed by the core team of the original Binance Futures. Has launched yield-bearing stablecoin DUSD (trade-to-mine), with mining rewards included in the trading process. Perp DEX functionality is still in internal testing, and the platform operates with self-raised funds without relying on external capital. Participation method: Currently can only apply to join the test list and participate in internal testing; there may be pre-deposit activities for potential early rewards. Users can prepare funds in advance to participate in testnet trading, earn points and wait for subsequent airdrops.

Official Website Link: https://www.bulk.trade/

BulkTrade (Bulk, no token yet): A Solana-native perpetual contract platform, known for ultra-low latency matching. Its matching engine is embedded in Solana validator nodes (Bulk-Tile module), capable of completing order matching within 20ms and confirmation within 40ms. Participation method: Currently mainnet is not online, can pay attention to testnet opening and participate in on-chain interactions. Due to its highly innovative architecture design, it’s suitable for users interested in low-latency trading. When participating, it’s recommended to pay attention to official test activities and tasks.

Official Website Link: https://www.reya.network/

Reya Network (Reya, no token yet): A modular L2 focused on trading optimization, using Arbitrum Orbit technology, aiming to create a dedicated chain for DeFi trading. Reya introduces network-wide shared liquidity pools and cross-exchange margin accounts, significantly improving trading depth. Has secured tens of millions of dollars in funding from Framework, Coinbase, Wintermute, etc. Participation method: Reya adopts a point system, accumulating points weekly based on trading volume and USDC staking. Officials have held a Liquidity Generation Event (LGE), where points can be earned by depositing funds, and attention should be paid to participating in trading on Reya Exchange (the first platform) to earn more points when it launches. Participation suggestion: Pay attention to its LGE and future exchange launch, participate in trading or stake USDC to accumulate weekly ranking points.

Project Capital Background and Ecosystem Alliances

Different projects show significant differences in capital and ecosystem support behind them. The Binance system camp (Aster, StandX) has strong resources; the Amber group (EdgeX) is incubated by Amber Group; the Paradigm system (Paradex) originates from the Paradigm team; Solana ecosystem projects (Jupiter, Drift, Bulk, Backpack, Lighter, etc.) mostly develop around Solana; Base ecosystem (Avantis) is the leading derivatives platform on Coinbase’s Base chain; others like Hyperliquid develop their own specialized chains; Orderly is supported by multiple renowned investors including OKX Ventures, Pantera, Dragonfly, Sequoia, etc. The following table lists the main camps and notes for each project:

Participation Priority Grading and Interaction Suggestions

Based on factors such as market heat and expected token issuance time, the above projects can be roughly classified into S+, S, A grades:

• S+ Grade (Ultra-high heat, strongly participate): Hyperliquid, Aster, Avantis, Backpack, edgeX, Lighter. These projects have either already issued tokens and quickly occupied the market’s top positions, or although not yet issued tokens, have become key focus objects due to huge trading volumes and incentive plans. It is recommended that users prioritize attention: actively register, deposit coins, trade, and accumulate as many points or lock-ups as possible. If funds are limited, allocate appropriately, focusing on securing more airdrop qualifications and subsequent early returns.

• S Grade (High heat, good opportunities): Paradex, Orderly, BasedOneX, StandX, Bulk, Reya. These projects have certain recognition and foundation, but slightly less heat than S+. Participation suggestions: Reasonably participate in community activities (trading for points, holding and staking tokens), pay attention to official information releases, and claim airdrops and rewards according to rules. Especially for Orderly and Paradex which have already issued tokens, consider staking for dividends; for those that haven’t issued tokens, follow up on point competitions. Avoid overexposure, diversify with small amounts of participation.

• A Grade (Average heat, relatively high risk): Drift, Jupiter, and other emerging projects. Drift and Jupiter have entered a mature stage (tokens already issued), can be treated as ordinary investment targets, no need for large-scale point farming. For other early-stage projects, try with small amounts based on personal preferences. Overall, control positions, avoid excessive fee farming, and focus on risk management.

Interaction Suggestions

• Diversify across multiple projects: Don’t bet on a single project, choose 2-3 favorites from different categories