Perp DEX new contenders, waiting for the next "Aster" moment

2025.09.23

Perp DEX new contenders, waiting for the next "Aster" moment

Who can replicate the "Aster" miracle?

2025.09.23 - 12:07:33

DEX

Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights

Who can replicate the "Aster" miracle?

Author: KarenZ, Foresight News

In the 2025 cryptocurrency market, decentralized perpetual contract exchanges (Perp DEXs) have become one of the hottest sectors with unstoppable momentum.

Hyperliquid led this wave, while the surges of Aster and Avantis further ignited market enthusiasm and user engagement.

So, at this stage, which other Perp DEX platforms are worth paying attention to and interacting with?

Before reviewing Perp DEXs and introducing relevant strategies, the author solemnly reminds that although participating in Perp DEX interactions comes with airdrop expectations, participants must remain vigilant, fully consider potential risks, and comprehensively weigh the following key factors:

Inherent Contract Risks: Perpetual contracts are known for their high leverage characteristics. Users must always manage position sizes carefully and set stop-losses appropriately to mitigate potential market volatility risks.
Differences in Platform Backing: Beyond product design and user experience, the strength of a platform's backing is equally important. Aster’s rise was partly driven by strong endorsement from Binance and support from CZ; AVNT is backed by Coinbase and Peter Thiel. Such strong institutional backing makes it difficult for future projects to replicate similar price surges.
Sustainability of the Perp DEX Narrative: Despite current popularity, the longevity of this narrative depends on regulatory developments, market volatility, and other factors. Users should maintain rational judgment and avoid blindly following trends.
Increasing Difficulty in Earning Points: Most Perp DEX point programs are now in mid-to-late stages, making point accumulation significantly harder. Blindly chasing "airdrop expectations" may lead to a situation where interaction costs exceed potential rewards.
Future Token Incentive Mechanisms: Whether there will be token buyback and burn mechanisms in the future.

Aster

Aster emerged at the end of 2024 from the merger and rebranding of Astherus and APX Finance, positioning itself as a multi-chain perpetual trading platform. Previously, Astherus was selected into Binance Labs' seventh incubation cohort and received investment from Binance Labs (now YZi Labs).

In simple mode, Aster offers MEV-resistant one-click execution. In Pro mode, it adds 24/7 stock perpetuals, hidden orders, and grid trading functions, supporting BNB Chain, Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum.

In terms of performance data, according to Dune, Aster currently has over 1.97 million cumulative users, more than 720,000 trading users, total revenue reaching $51.89 million, and a 24-hour trading volume hitting $6 billion—approximately 40% of Hyperliquid’s volume.

Aster Genesis Phase 2 will end on October 6 at 07:59. 4% of the total ASTER supply is allocated as rewards for Phase 2. Key factors for Phase 2 rewards include:

Trading Volume Score: Higher trading volume on Aster Pro earns more Rh points. Takers receive double the points compared to makers.
Holding Duration Score: Longer holding periods earn more Rh points (capped at twice the user’s weekly trading volume).
Aster Asset Holding Score: Using Aster assets (e.g., asBNB or USDF) as margin on Aster Pro earns Rh points (capped at twice the user’s weekly trading volume).
Realized PnL Score: Daily realized profit and loss (excluding funding fees and other charges) contributes to Rh points.
Referral and Team Points: Inviting others earns 10% (first level) or 5% (second level) of their base score.

Lighter

Lighter originally started as a decentralized spot orderbook exchange on Arbitrum before transitioning into an application-specific ZK-Rollup focused on perpetual contract trading, using custom zero-knowledge proof circuits for verifiable matching and liquidation. Lighter does not charge users any trading fees.

According to Lighter’s official website, its investors include a16z and Lightspeed Faction. Currently, Lighter has launched its private testnet mainnet (invitation code required).

In terms of data, on September 21, Lighter’s TVL surpassed $500 million, with a 24-hour derivatives trading volume reaching $6.9 billion—approximately 46% of Hyperliquid’s volume.

The author has not found specific details regarding Lighter’s point distribution rules. Based on community feedback, earning Lighter points has become increasingly difficult, and users should assess the cost-benefit ratio independently.

edgeX

edgeX is an orderbook-based derivatives trading system incubated by Amber Group. edgeX Exchange is the first MVP within the edgeX ecosystem, with future plans to launch additional applications and modular components such as edgeX Telegram Bot, edgeX Leverage (supporting U.S. stocks, forex, and commodity futures), edgeX Epool, edgeX Lend, and edgeX Insurance.

On September 23, edgeX contributor @ruiixyz stated that edgeX is currently the second-largest perpetual DEX by monthly revenue ($19 million), with a daily trading volume of $5 billion and over 100,000 active users.

edgeX point allocation primarily emphasizes trading volume (60% of the pool), followed by referrals + ambassador programs + events (20% of the pool), TVL and Vault deposits (10%), and liquidation and OI points each receiving 5% of the pool.

Paradex

Paradex is an appchain and hybrid derivatives exchange incubated by Paradigm, a crypto institutional liquidity platform, built on Starknet. Paradex currently supports futures, options, pre-market, and spot trading, and does not charge users trading fees.

Official data shows Paradex has 32,607 users (those who deposited or traded), with a 24-hour trading volume reaching $964 million.

Paradex’s points program is currently in Season 2. Ways to earn points include trading and maintaining open positions, providing two-sided liquidity, depositing collateral into Paradex Vaults, and referrals. In December 2024, Paradex announced plans to launch the DIME token in 2025, allocating 20% of tokens to a genesis airdrop. However, Season 2 has been extended, and the end date has not yet been announced.

Extended

Originally named X10, Extended began as a hybrid crypto exchange using the StarkEx Layer 2 engine, migrating from StarkEx to Starknet in mid-2025. Extended aims to evolve from a Perp DEX into a full open financial ecosystem supported by native unified margin, integrating perpetuals, spot markets, and comprehensive lending under one margin system.

Led by Ruslan Fakhrutdinov, former Head of Crypto Operations at Revolut, Extended raised $6.5 million in April 2024, with participation from Tioga Capital, Semantic Ventures, Cherry Ventures, StarkWare, Cyber Fund, and angel investor Konstantin Lomashuk, co-founder of Lido.

Extended’s Season 1 points program launched on April 29, 2025, distributing 1.2 million points weekly. Points can be earned through trading, providing liquidity, and referrals.

Ethereal

Ethereal is a USDe-powered decentralized spot and perpetual trading platform to be built on the Converge chain, jointly launched by Ethena and Securitize. Ethereal is即将 launching its mainnet and has opened registration for its mainnet waitlist.

Currently, the strategy available on Ethereal involves depositing USDe to receive eUSDe receipt tokens, which accumulate Ethereal points and unlock up to a 30x Ethena reward multiplier.

GRVT

GRVT is a hybrid trading and investment marketplace currently supporting perpetual contracts, with future plans to support spot, options, and RWA trading and investment.

In September 2025, GRVT announced the completion of a $19 million Series A round led by ZKsync, Further Ventures, EigenCloud, and 500 Global, bringing total funding to $26.1 million.

GRVT plans to conduct its TGE in Q1 2026. Starting September 23, GRVT launched its Rewards 2.0 program, allowing users to earn points via deposits, trading, and referrals. Additionally, GRVT states that deposits earn a 10% annual yield.

Ostium

Ostium is an open-source decentralized exchange based on Arbitrum, supporting trading of stocks, commodities, forex, indices, and crypto contracts, with up to 200x leverage.

Ostium Labs raised $3.5 million in October 2023, co-led by General Catalyst and LocalGlobe, with participation from SIG, Alliance, and Balaji Srinivasan.

Ways to earn Ostium points include trading, referrals, and staking LP tokens.

vooi

vooi is a cross-chain perpetual DEX aggregator, where VOOI Pro is an orderbook trading terminal, and VOOI Light is a chain-abstraction-driven unified trading platform (integrating GMX, Ostium, and KiloEx).

vooi was previously selected into the 7th MVB accelerator program in March 2024 and later received investment from Binance Labs. In March 2025, VOOI announced a $1.25 million community-led fundraising round completed on echo.

vooi distributes 20 million points weekly: 10 million for contract traders on the Light version, 4 million for professional version traders, and 6 million for spot and RWA traders. Additionally, referring friends earns 15% of their trading points.

StandX

StandX supports perpetual contract trading using yield-generating stablecoins as margin. According to StandX’s official documentation, the core team includes former members of Binance Futures and professionals with Goldman Sachs backgrounds. StandX emphasizes that the platform is entirely self-funded and has not accepted any external investment.

Currently, StandX allows users to earn points through pre-deposits—minting and depositing DUSD using USDT or USDC. Additionally, points can be earned through referrals, providing DUSD liquidity, holding LP tokens, holding DUSD YT on RateX, and trading DUSD on DEX Pools.