Aster and Lighter surpass Hyperliquid, the power shift in the perpetual contract DEX track has been decided.

The perpetual contract DEX track in 2025 is experiencing explosive growth. According to DeFiLlama data, the total trading volume in this track reached $12.09 trillion by the end of 2025, nearly doubling from $4.1 trillion at the beginning of the year. Notably, just in 2025 alone, it generated $7.9 trillion in trading volume, accounting for 65% of the historical total. Even more interesting is that the market landscape of this track is undergoing significant changes—once-dominant Hyperliquid is being surpassed by new players.

A True Reflection of the Track’s Explosion

The concentration of trading activity speaks volumes. In the second half of 2025, trading volume reached $5.74 trillion, accounting for 73% of the annual total. This indicates that the entire track’s popularity was concentrated in the last six months. Even more extreme, the monthly trading volumes in October, November, and December all surpassed $1 trillion, creating peaks unprecedented in the history of perpetual contract DEXs.

What is behind this rapid growth? According to the latest information, key factors include:

• Plenty of capital: Daily trading volumes reach tens of billions of dollars, with ample funds
• Active users: Huge number of new contracts opened daily, strong user stickiness
• Backed by big investors: These projects all receive institutional-level support

Power Shift in the Market Landscape

The most interesting change occurred in Q4. Aster and Lighter both surpassed the former track leader Hyperliquid in monthly contract trading volume from November to December. This marks a crucial turning point in the competitive landscape of the track.

Based on the latest data from December 29, the current ranking of Perp DEX platforms by trading volume over 24 hours is quite clear:

The Rise of Aster

Aster’s ability to top the trading volume rankings relies on continuous user incentives. According to the latest news, the associated wallet of the Aster team has been daily repurchasing tokens over the past week, currently holding $2.5 million worth of ASTER. This ongoing buyback signals a clear message to the market—project team members are confident in the ecosystem and are willing to put real money on the line.

Meanwhile, Aster’s points system and fee rebate mechanisms attract a large number of active users, directly translating into increased trading volume.

Lighter’s Regulatory Breakthrough

Although Lighter currently ranks second in trading volume, its approach is noteworthy. Lighter recently officially issued the LIT token, with the issuer registered as a C-corp in Delaware, defining Lighter as an “American derivatives infrastructure company.” More importantly, Lighter publicly committed not to profit from the protocol; all net revenues will be used for buybacks or dividends distributed to token holders.

This is the first time in the crypto track that a protocol has directly established an American entity and treated tokens as the sole value bearer. This reflects a changing regulatory environment—America’s new government is shifting its attitude toward cryptocurrencies.

Relative Decline of Hyperliquid

Interestingly, although Hyperliquid still has the largest open interest ($7.45 billion), its 24-hour trading volume ($1.84 billion) has been surpassed by new players. This may indicate that while Hyperliquid’s users hold large positions, their trading activity is declining.

The Track May Have Reached a Stage of Peak

According to industry observers, after the success of three major projects (Hyperliquid, Aster, Lighter), the current wave of Perp DEX may have reached a stage of plateau. Market hotspots are constantly rotating, and some observers are already looking toward the next potential trend, such as prediction markets.

This doesn’t mean Perp DEX has no future; rather, the track’s explosive growth phase might be entering a plateau period. It will become increasingly difficult for new entrants, and market share will further concentrate among the leading players.

Summary

The explosion of the 2025 Perp DEX track is real—$7.9 trillion in annual trading volume says it all. But what’s more noteworthy is that the power dynamics within this track are shifting. Aster and Lighter, two new players employing differentiated strategies—one relying on continuous incentives and user engagement, the other on US compliance and zero-profit commitments—have successfully overtaken the former leaders.

For participants, the key is to understand the logic behind these changes. The red-hot phase of the track’s growth may have passed, and future competition will become more intense, testing projects’ long-term operational capabilities. Meanwhile, the rotation of market hotspots reminds us to stay vigilant and keep an eye on where the next opportunities might emerge.