Why Hyperliquid Beats Aster as the Most Investible Perp DEX

The perpetual futures decentralized exchange (perp DEX) sector has seen unprecedented growth in the past few months, with monthly trading volumes surpassing $1 trillion for the first time in September 2025.

Aster has captured the majority of this activity, even surpassing established players like Hyperliquid. Despite this, one analyst maintains that Hyperliquid remains the ‘most investible’ perp DEX in the market.

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Hyperliquid vs. Aster: Why an Expert Still Favors Hyperliquid Despite Market Shift 

BeInCrypto recently reported that perpetual futures trading volume surged past $100 billion for the first time on September 28 amid heightened market momentum. Furthermore, data from DefiLlama showed that total monthly volume reached a record high of $1.143 trillion in September. This marked a 49% increase compared to August’s $766 billion.

Most of this activity was driven by Aster, which overtook Hyperliquid, the former segment leader. Moreover, on October 2, perp DEXs hit another record, with daily trading volume reaching an all-time high of $118.7 billion. 

Yet again, over the 24-hour period, Aster accounted for $81.88 billion, while Hyperliquid managed only $10.28 billion. The shift has dramatically reshaped market dynamics. 

Hyperliquid’s share of perp DEX volume has plunged from 45% to just 8%, while Aster’s volume has skyrocketed.

“Over the past few weeks, Hyperliquid’s share of Perp DEX volume has fallen from 45% to 8%. Aster’s volume has grown more than 100X to $300b+ last week. Lighter and edgeX have risen to have comparable volume to Hyperliquid,” DeFi analyst Patrick Scott highlighted.

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Still, Scott maintains that despite Aster’s explosive growth, Hyperliquid continues to stand out as the best-positioned perp DEX thanks to its fundamentals. 

“Perp DEXs are in a long-term uptrend. As a percent of CEX perps volume, they’ve grown from less than 2% in 2022 to over 20% last month. 10X in 3 years. Hyperliquid has been both the driver and beneficiary of that trend. The challenge recently and why some market participants have questioned Hyperliquid’s is that Binance-related perp DEX Aster has exploded in volume, claiming over 50% market share last week,” he added.

The analyst noted that, unlike rivals relying on airdrop incentives, it has built a sustainable revenue model. The platform trades at a 12.6x revenue multiple and dominates open interest with a 62% share. Open interest is a key metric for liquidity and shows the stickiness of its user base.

“The fact of the matter is that Hyperliquid has managed to not just maintain, but grow its usage in the 12 months since its HYPE airdrop. This speaks to the loyalty of its users and stickiness of its products. This user retention can’t be replicated by incentive programs; it can only be replicated by better products,” Scott added.

He noted that Hyperliquid’s advantages extend beyond perps. As a Layer 1 blockchain, HyperEVM hosts over 100 protocols with $2 billion in TVL and $3 million in daily app revenue. The ecosystem includes native projects like Kinetiq and Hyperlend, as well as big names such as Pendle, Morpho, and Phantom.

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Hyperliquid has also launched USDH, a stablecoin backed by BlackRock and Superstate reserves. Its market cap is around $25 million, and its yield supports ecosystem growth. 

Furthermore, Scott pointed out that the upcoming HIP-3 initiative will allow builders to create new perp markets by staking 500,000 HYPE.

“This turns creates another supply sink for HYPE, expands the variety of tradeable assets on Hyperliquid, and turns Hyperliquid into infrastructure for other builders to create businesses on,” he remarked.

Lastly, Scott acknowledged that risks remain. A sustained drop in Hyperliquid’s absolute volume, a fall in open interest, or USDH failing to scale could weaken its position. For now, though, strong revenue, loyal users, and expanding growth channels keep it the most investable perp DEX.

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Perp DEX Launches Surge Across Ecosystem

Meanwhile, as debate continues over Hyperliquid’s market position, a wave of recent launches has further intensified the perp DEX space. BeInCrypto reported yesterday that Lighter launched its perp DEX mainnet.

Moreover, TRON founder Justin Sun unveiled SunPerp, the network’s native perp DEX. It officially went live on October 1 during the Token2049 event.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of Binance, has endorsed this influx. He highlighted the surge of new perpetual DEXs entering the market, pointing out that increased competition will help expand the overall sector.

“More players will grow the market size faster. Rising tide lifts all boats. Long term, the best builders win. DYOR. Perp Dex era!” the post read.

As more perp DEXs enter the market, the coming time will tell whether they can maintain sustained interest and growth—or if the current hype will eventually fade.