Missed Aster? Don't miss the airdrop opportunities from these 8 promising perpetual DEXs

Author: Axel Bitblaze

Compiled by: TechFlow

Trading volume on perpetual contract decentralized exchanges (Perp DEXs) is surging... like never before. Tokens such as $ASTER and $AVNT are demonstrating the potential of this trend. If you missed the $HYPE airdrop, now is the perfect time to get involved with tokenless DEXs. Below are my top 8 recommended DEX airdrop projects worth participating in:

For years, centralized exchanges (CEXs) have dominated the crypto industry for several key reasons. First, CEXs offer better user interfaces and are easier to use. Second, they provide deep liquidity and lower fees. This is why exchanges like Binance were able to grow from zero to a valuation exceeding $100 billion within just six to seven years.

Now, however, attention is shifting toward decentralized exchanges (DEXs), for the following reasons:

• CEXs enforce KYC, leading to data privacy concerns.

• CEXs freeze user accounts even when users haven't violated any rules.

• Liquidity on DEXs is approaching levels seen on top-tier CEXs.

• DEXs are becoming simpler to use and offer low-to-zero gas fee trading experiences.

This has fueled rapid growth in DEXs. In Q1 and Q2 of 2025, DEX trading volume surpassed $1 trillion. The spot trading volume ratio between DEXs and CEXs reached 20%, nearly double that of September 2025.

This indicates that DEXs are gradually replacing CEXs, and even major exchanges are noticing. But which DEXs will dominate long-term and are worth participating in for airdrops?

@Lighter_xyz

If you missed the $HYPE or $ASTER airdrops, this opportunity is ideal for you. Lighter enables zero-fee perpetual contract trading. To date, Lighter holds over $1 billion in open positions, with monthly perpetual trading volume exceeding $130 billion.

Why choose Lighter? First, the team confirmed in an AMA that 30%-50% of tokens will be allocated to airdrops. Only 11 million tokens will be distributed by Q4, meaning token distribution will be completed within 2–3 months. Currently, each Lighter token trades above $50 in OTC markets, indicating its significant scale.

In addition, Lighter is still in private beta and requires an invite code to join. Try it here.

@hibachi_xyz

Fast and private perpetual trading powered by zk technology. Raised $5 million from Dragonfly, Echo, and Electric Capital. Still in early stages with a points program live. Current daily perpetual trading volume ranges from $35 million to $40 million, leaving substantial room for participation.

How to participate in the airdrop:

• Visit: Click here

• Register using your wallet

• Deposit USDC and start trading

The pre-season ends on September 30—act quickly.

@tradeparadex

Zero-fee perpetual contract trading with deep liquidity and privacy protection, backed by Paradigm.

Current TVL stands at $100 million, monthly perpetual trading volume at $12.1 billion, and annualized revenue at $20 million.

Supports 15+ chains, currently with only 6,000 monthly active users (plenty of room for participation).

How to participate in the airdrop:

• Visit the link and register with your wallet

• Deposit supported assets and begin trading

• Provide liquidity on your favorite trading pairs

• Deposit into vaults to earn APR and XP

Still in early stages—don’t miss out.

@edgeX_exchange

A high-performance, orderbook-based perpetual DEX. Open interest exceeds $1 billion, monthly perpetual trading volume reaches $60 billion, and annualized revenue stands at $278 million. Its points program is already live.

How to participate in the airdrop:

• Visit: Click here and register with your wallet

• Deposit funds and start perpetual trading

• Deposit into protocol vaults to earn over 30% APR and points.

This exchange has consistently ranked among the top five perpetual exchanges—don’t miss it.

@extendedapp

A perpetual DEX built by former Revolut team members. TVL exceeds $52 million, monthly perpetual trading volume is $5 billion. Backed by Cyber Funds, raised $6.5 million. Extended’s first season points program is live, distributing 1.2 million points weekly to users.

How to participate in the airdrop:

• Visit: Click here and connect your wallet

• Deposit funds, trade, deposit into vaults, and earn points.

• Extended’s current trading volume is nearly 70% of Avantis’ monthly perpetual volume.

If launched at 70% of Avantis’ fully diluted valuation (FDV), each point is expected to be worth $7–$9.

@variational_io

An Arbitrum-based perpetual DEX. Still in private beta and requires an invite code to join. Backed by Coinbase Ventures, raised $11.8 million.

How to participate in the airdrop:

• Visit: Click here and connect your wallet

• Deposit funds from Arbitrum and start trading

User base is very small, making it relatively easy to earn points.

@Aster_DEX

A week ago, no one was talking about $ASTER.

Today, its 24-hour perpetual trading volume and revenue have surpassed Hyperliquid. So what happened?

Like Hyperliquid, Aster offers both spot and perpetual trading. It also plans to launch its own stablecoin and L1 blockchain. Similar to $HYPE, $ASTER will allocate over 50% of its supply to community airdrops and incentives.

But some differences set it apart from Hyperliquid:

Original tweet: Click here

First, Aster uses a hybrid trading model (orderbook + AMM).

In addition, Aster supports 4+ chains and offers stock perps.

Unlike Hyperliquid where everyone can see your orders and liquidate you, Aster includes dark pools to prevent front-running and manipulation.

But can’t other DEXs do this too?

One key factor makes ASTER stand out:

“@cz_binance CZ’s support.”

CZ, founder of Binance, built Binance into a $100 billion company with over 300 million users. Now he supports $ASTER.

This is undoubtedly a strong signal.

The market has felt it too, which is why Aster’s data is exploding:

• TVL: $1.82 billion (380% weekly growth)

• 7-day DEX volume: $3.56 billion

• 30-day perpetual volume: $70.9 billion (700% monthly growth)

• Annualized revenue: $195 million

If these numbers don’t demonstrate ASTER’s potential, I don’t know what will.

How to participate in the airdrop:Click here

@avantisfi

Every chain has a dominant DEX.

Solana has Jupiter, BNB Chain has Aster, and Base has Avantis, with ticker $AVNT. It’s the largest perpetual exchange on Base, backed by Peter Thiel’s crypto fund.

In the past 30 days, Avantis has achieved $7.3 billion in perpetual trading volume.

I believe this growth will continue. Recently, Base announced plans to launch a network token. The $BASE airdrop criteria are simple: use the network and its top applications.

Currently, Avantis is one of the biggest apps, so usage will increase due to airdrop expectations. But that’s not all.

Yesterday, Avantis announced it will distribute 4% of its total supply in Season 3, over five months.

This will clearly drive massive trading volume and increase demand for $AVNT, as staking the token unlocks additional rewards.

Currently, $AVNT is listed on all major exchanges, with a market cap still at $500 million.

How to participate in the airdrop:Click here

That’s all.

If you have any questions about this series, leave a comment—I’d be happy to help!