edgeX - A Perp DEX Incubated by the Well-Known Crypto Market Maker Amber Group
This generation of Perp DEX has fundamentally differentiated itself from the previous generation represented by “GMX, DYDX.” Since it is still a Perp DEX, the title will continue to discuss it as a Perp DEX.
This article is the concluding piece of a month-long series on Perp DEX, focusing on the last member of Perp DEX F 4 (the top four on DefiLlama's data list) — edgeX, and extending the discussion to the current state and trends of the entire Perp DEX sector.
As the landscape of mainstream players has basically taken shape, the popular narrative phase of Perp DEX may also come to an end, making it increasingly difficult for newcomers.
Today's data from DeFillama is as follows (2025.10.20):
The total 24-hour volume for Perp DEX is 41 B, with an OI of 15 B. Among them, Hyperliquid remains dominant, accounting for about 50% of the OI, Aster about 20% of the OI, Lighter about 10% of the OI, and edgeX about 5.5% of the OI, meaning that F 4 collectively occupies about 85% of the market share.
The remaining hundreds of Perp DEXs share the remaining 15%, clearly showing a head effect.
*Here, the ranking is based on OI rather than Volume to eliminate noise and present a comparison that is closer to the real strength.
Additionally, we can derive the OI/Volume ratio from the OI and Volume data, where a higher value indicates “more real trading volume and users, while a lower value indicates a more serious ‘wash trading’ situation.”
Among them, Hyperliquid is approximately 1.5, Aster and Lighter are approximately 0.19, and edgeX is approximately 0.27.
Hyperliquid has the highest OI/Volume ratio, indicating high user holding stickiness or a large number of long-term positions; Aster and Lighter's high trading volume but low OI indicates active short-term trading and high turnover (many quick in-and-out trades); edgeX is at a middle level, with an OI/Volume close to 0.27, showing a relatively balanced market depth and activity, slightly better but not much, and still a significant gap compared to Hyperliquid.
edgeX Points Trading Reward Program
Similar to Lighter, edgeX Points is a multi-dimensional point system that is “settled weekly (currently at week 20), distributed based on contributions,” used to reward real trading and ecosystem participation;
The current Open Season weightings are: Trading Volume 60%, Invitations/Ambassadors/Events 20%, Treasury and TVL 10%, Liquidation 5%, Positions (OI) 5%; settlements occur every Wednesday at 00:00 UTC, with distributions the following week at 08:00 UTC.
Scoring dimensions include trading volume, invited user trading volume, positions (OI), and frequency of feature usage, with adjustable weights. Five prize pools are set based on the weekly transaction volume across the network, commonly at 150,000 or 200,000 points; actual values may vary.
For example, in Open Season week 20, 300,000 points were distributed to 13,668 addresses. For invitations and rebates, whenever a referred user earns 5 points, the referrer earns 1 point (20%). There are rules against wash trading/self-trading; the platform can exclude abnormal transactions. The official statement clarifies that scoring criteria and weights may be adjusted.
High Cost-Performance Strategy for Earning Points (for reference, not investment advice, risk is self-borne)
Concentrate volume on a single main account to enhance VIP status, reducing fees and costs, and prioritize limit orders for lower rates.
Like Lighter, avoid self-trading and ultra-short reversals; moderately extend holding times to balance “trading volume + OI.”
Participate reasonably in eStrategy/eLP treasury to gain a “Vault/TVL 10%” share and potential returns. Take advantage of official events and ambassador programs to stack “20%” weight. Strictly control leverage and liquidation risks, as liquidation points only account for 5%. Additionally, NFT activities can be participated in at discretion, which is an innovative operational aspect, thumbs up. The official has clearly stated that NFT and governance token airdrops are linked, with a total of only 299. Furthermore, edgeX can also consider airdropping meme tokens like Hyperliquid to give early adopters some incentives.
In terms of data, a total of 3,471,363 Points have been distributed so far (Open Season weeks 1–20).
edgeX User Distribution
User distribution shows that edgeX and Aster have a high overlap, mainly concentrated in Asia, especially in Chinese and Japanese/Korean regions. Although Aster has focused on attracting European and American users, the main force still lies in CN.
As shown in the web traffic data below (source: similarweb), Japan, Korea, and Taiwan account for half, with many VPN users from mainland China dispersed globally. From the community situation, the proportion of CN users is also significant.
Treasury Comparison
Like HLP and LLP, eLP (edgeX Liquidity Pool) is edgeX's liquidity treasury. (See the image below)
Currently, the income of edgeX eLP comes from passive market-making profits, liquidation fees, and a portion of the platform's trading fees. In the next phase, eStrategy will introduce customizable pools managed by individual traders or institutions. In this regard, eLP is one step behind HLP and LLP, which currently have both “protocol treasury + user treasury.”
In comparison among the three, Aster's ALP will not be discussed, as ALP is currently only used in the Simple 1001 x model, with only a few million.
Treasury TVL rankings (2025.10.20): HLP $628 m first, LLP $503 m second (user treasury ignored), eLP $147 m third. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that during the significant drop on 1011, both eLP and HLP were profitable, while LLP incurred losses (only a few points were compensated in the end).
Fee Comparison
The fee structures of Perp DEX F 4 have their own characteristics. In terms of scenario selection, retail and low-frequency traders choose Lighter Standard (0 fees), high-frequency traders choose Lighter Premium, passive market-making and large transactions choose Aster or Hyperliquid, and those sensitive to funding fee fluctuations prioritize Aster and Lighter. edgeX's fee structure seems to lack advantages in various aspects.
Finally, Discussing the Perp DEX Sector
The FTX exchange's misappropriation of funds, multiple CEXs betting against users and finding KOLs to lead trades at the expense of customers, as well as arbitrary modifications of K-lines and market manipulation, have continuously eroded users' trust in centralized exchanges (CEX), bringing their trust to an all-time low. Additionally, CEXs are under increasing regulatory pressure globally to transition towards DEX/self-custody structures. On the demand side, users are gradually shifting towards DEX due to trust issues, KYC problems, and the DEX experience increasingly approaching that of CEX.
The essence of Perp DEX is to decompose the matching, liquidation, risk control, and custody of CEX into a verifiable settlement/proof layer, while striving for low latency and depth. The core difference lies in “verifiability”; the order priority, fair matching, and liquidation of CEX are black boxes based on trust; Perp DEX, through on-chain execution and validity proof, allows “price-time priority” and “rule-based liquidation” to self-verify at the cryptographic and contract level, compressing the space for malicious actions. In terms of custody, CEX's custody of funds carries risks of collapse and freezing; Perp DEX is contract-custodied, combined with priority queues/escape channels (priority tx), allowing users to safely exit when there is a loss of consensus while holding private keys.
Trust less in human nature, more in mathematics, in math we trust, code is law is the core narrative of blockchain, Perp DEX represents the spirit of open transparency and immutability of blockchain.
The current landscape of Perp DEX is gradually taking shape. Hyperliquid leads in depth and performance; Aster and Lighter are catching up with incentives and functional innovations; edgeX is differentiating itself, focusing on mobile and stable operations, accumulating a good reputation in Asia. The key to victory lies in usability, ecological resource synergy, and sustainable incentives; users can interact across multiple platforms to earn points in the short term, but in the long term, they need to observe the project's continuous self-sustenance and community stickiness.
In terms of narrative and competition, the popularity of Perp DEX is gradually declining. The window for airdrop wealth is likely to close in 2025, the next wave is prediction markets (for example, YZi Labs has been looking at Prediction Market projects recently, and Hyperliquid's latest HIP-4 is also about prediction markets). Many in the earning community have begun to compare the earning potential of Perp DEX to that of early L2s, where early earners profited from OP/ARB/STRK, but later saw more returns being given back; HYPE, ASTER, LIGHTER, and edgeX's returns may decrease, making it easier for later entrants to be “counter-earned.” It is not impossible for Perp DEX earning to become the “next L2.” On one side, Hyperliquid and Aster are in fierce competition, and the head effect of “F 4” has taken shape; on the other side, the main line may shift towards prediction markets next year. Before the end of this year, Perp DEXs that cannot TGE, have poor initial data, or lack backing in ecological conflicts should be approached with caution. Of course, real contract users can transfer part of their positions from CEX to Perp DEXs that have not yet TGE to maximize benefits.
CEX owners who are developing their own Perp DEX need to accelerate their progress, taking advantage of the remaining airdrop expectation buff, meme airdrops, NFT mints, point trading competitions… to capitalize on the buff… speed is greater than perfection.
For those looking to earn points through Perp DEX trading, focus on interacting with the top players, aggressively pursue quality projects, as it will become increasingly difficult over time. Make a push and then quickly switch to the prediction market track… choice is greater than effort.
Finally, I wish everyone great wealth.
（The above is just personal opinion, not investment advice; please point out any errors.）
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