Although the entire cryptocurrency market seems to have returned to a "bear market," enthusiasm for new sectors has not diminished significantly.

Especially in the derivatives sector, many traders and community users are focusing more on high-frequency, structured, and tokenized perpetual markets. This is why the yet-to-be-launched Perp DEXs can still achieve impressive data in a sluggish environment.

This momentum is expected to culminate in December: two top-tier, yet-to-be-launched Perp DEXs are about to have their Token Generation Events (TGE). Will they be able to replicate the frenzy seen during the launch of Aster, or even recreate that phenomenal market wave? Many users, including myself, are looking forward to it.

Rhythm BlockBeats has compiled a list of the current top-ranked Perp DEXs by trading volume and topic relevance, summarizing their key events and dynamics from the past two to three weeks to help everyone deepen their understanding of the Perp DEX sector.

edgeX: The Seal Meme is Here

1. Community Memecoin Seal $MARU is Here

The most notable event for edgeX is undoubtedly the launch of the community memecoin $MARU. This token, based on the edgeX seal mascot, has attracted considerable attention since its announcement.

With a total supply of 10 billion tokens, it is expected to launch after the Open Season ends, specifically after December 3rd. The overall distribution allocates 70% directly to airdrops and ecological incentives, 20% for liquidity pools (unlocked upon launch for trading convenience), and the remaining 10% reserved for core contributors (fully locked for long-term incentives).

How to get $MARU? There are mainly two channels:

First is the Open Season points, which is the primary channel. These points will be converted into $MARU airdrops after December 3rd. It is important to note that the platform has a minimum trading volume requirement, and any volume manipulation will be identified and excluded. The weight for earning points is as follows:

Trading perpetual contracts: Weight 60%, the bulk of points;

Referral rewards: Weight 20%;

TVL/Liquidity provision: Weight 10%;

Position size/Liquidation: Weight 10%;

Second is creator activities, which can be simply understood as a way for Kaito to earn rewards by creating content. There are many forms of tweets: creating tweets, videos, memes, etc., and tagging @edgeX_exchange. Original high-quality content that passes official screening (AI-generated content does not count; supports multiple languages including English, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese) will have the chance to share a prize pool of 500,000 USDT + 20 million MARU.

Some users have already seen temporary rewards on the dashboard (for example, 21,370 MARU + 464 USDT), where USDT can be claimed first, and MARU will be distributed after the official launch.

2. edgeX Messenger Upgrade

Related to the previous point is the upgrade of edgeX Messenger. Announced on November 13, this plan aims to upgrade edgeX Messenger from a simple communication tool to a global DeFi collaboration center.

Core direction: Provide a collaboration platform for traders and influencers; deeply integrate with the $MARU incentive mechanism. In simple terms, it aims to create a platform that combines a trader community, content creation, and incentive mechanisms.

3. edgeXFlow Ecosystem Launch

On November 19, edgeX unveiled another major initiative: the launch of the edgeXFlow ecosystem.

In simple terms, edgeXFlow is a new modular execution layer that operates in parallel with the existing StarkEx. Technical specifications include: execution delay: 10ms; order processing capacity: 200,000 orders/second; ZK proofs ensure transparency, etc.

The first partner is Ave.ai, and both parties jointly launched the XPIN trading event (November 19-26). The design of this event is quite interesting—not just a traditional PnL competition, but a mixed incentive model: airdrop rewards based on trading volume tiers; a leaderboard with 200 spots (expanding the winning pool); a 1.1x edgeX points bonus.

edgeX has ambitious goals, aiming to onboard 30 ecosystem partners by Q2 2026. It seems they intend to establish this infrastructure as a modular execution layer industry standard.

4. Points Countdown

The Open Season has entered the countdown phase! We are currently in weeks 20-24, and it is expected to end in 2-4 weeks. In recent weeks, 300,000 points have been distributed weekly, covering 13,000-14,000 addresses.

According to estimates from community influencers, based on edgeX's revenue being approximately 16% of Hyperliquid's, if the FDV reaches around $2-7 billion at TGE, the value of a single point could be in the range of $30-300. Of course, this is just an estimate, and the actual value will depend on market conditions. Currently, the probability of edgeX's FDV on the first day of launch on Polymarket is as follows:

5. Strategic Partnership with Polymarket

This is also a significant piece of news. Yesterday, edgeX announced a strategic partnership with Polymarket: Polymarket's prediction scenarios will be seamlessly integrated into the edgeX mobile app; users can participate in event predictions with one click; both parties will jointly develop innovative leveraged prediction products.

As this was announced yesterday, there are no further details yet, but we can keep an eye on future developments. It is expected that the products developed in collaboration will be one of the key projects in the edgeXFlow ecosystem.

Lighter: The Joys and Woes of a King

1. Major Financing

On November 11, Lighter announced the completion of a $68 million financing round, entering the ranks of DeFi unicorns. This financing round features a very impressive lineup:

Financing details:

Amount: $68 million (equity + token subscription rights)

Valuation: $1.5 billion (post-money valuation)

Lead investors: Founders Fund (Peter Thiel), Ribbit Capital

Participating investors: Haun Ventures, Robinhood (a rare broker VC participation)

Total financing: Approximately $90 million (previously raised $21 million in 2024, led by Haun/Craft)

There are several highlights in this financing round:

First, the investor lineup is top-notch. Founders Fund is one of Silicon Valley's leading VCs, and Robinhood's direct investment in a perp DEX is quite rare in the industry, indicating a growing recognition of decentralized derivatives by traditional finance.

Second, the founder's background is impressive. Novakovski is a legendary figure—he entered Harvard at 16, graduated at 18, and was personally recruited by Citadel founder Ken Griffin, later working as an engineer and trader in several financial institutions for nearly 15 years. Founders Fund partner Joey Krug stated that 85%-90% of the investment rationale is due to founder Vladimir Novakovski and his team.

2. The Only Perp DEX with Daily Trading Volume Exceeding $10 Billion

Recently, Lighter's growth data has been explosive.

24-hour trading volume: Approximately $7.9-11.2 billion (fluctuates based on time, previously the only perp DEX to exceed $10 billion);

TVL: Approximately $1.15 billion (2000x growth in 6 months! Up from about $500,000 at the end of March);

Position size: Over $17 billion;

L2 ranking: It has ranked among the top in Ethereum L2 protocols and is considered the first native perp DEX on Ethereum;

However, some analysts have raised concerns: Lighter's trading volume/position size ratio once reached 27 (the industry healthy value is usually ≤5), suggesting that some trading volume may come from incentive-driven wash trading. The trading volume before TGE often includes wash trading, which is a characteristic of the industry. The true trading volume of Lighter may be revealed after TGE. But considering the platform has just graduated from beta, its overall performance is still very impressive.

3. Oracle Integration + RWA Expansion, Targeting Traditional Financial Assets

Lighter recently announced a partnership with Chainlink to integrate real-time oracle data, officially expanding into the real-world asset (RWA) derivatives space.

Supported asset classes include: commodity futures contracts (gold, oil, etc.); stock index derivatives; foreign exchange trading pairs; other real-world assets.

Additionally, since RWA price sources are not available 24/7 (for example, gold and stocks only have prices during trading hours), Lighter has implemented some special measures: entering a "liquidation only" mode during non-trading hours, where users can only submit liquidation orders; funding rates continue to be calculated normally during non-trading hours; the RWA market only supports isolated margin mode (considering experimental nature and volatility); a dedicated XLP (experimental liquidity provider) pool is established to provide liquidity for the RWA market, isolated from the main pool LLP.

Hyperliquid: The Joys and Woes of a King

1. HIP-3 Upgrade, Fees Plummet by 90%

On November 19, Hyperliquid released a major upgrade: HIP-3 Growth Mode.

HIP-3 itself allows anyone to deploy their own perpetual contract market on Hyperliquid without permission by staking 500,000 HYPE tokens. This "Growth Mode" is a further optimization based on HIP-3—specifically designed to provide ultra-low fee incentives for new markets.

Core changes include: Taker fees plummeting by over 90%, from the original 0.045% to 0.0045%-0.009%; high-staking users benefit more, with fees potentially as low as 0.00144%-0.00288% if they reach the highest staking and trading volume levels; rebates and trading volume contributions can also be reduced by over 90%, etc.

However, to prevent "parasitic trading volume," the growth mode market has some exclusion rules: it cannot include BTC or existing validator-operated markets, cryptocurrency baskets/ETFs, synthetic price indices, or any assets that duplicate existing markets (for example, gold already has PAXG-USDC).

The purpose of this upgrade is clear: to lower the entry barrier for new markets. New markets often start with few traders and thin liquidity, and a 90% fee discount can effectively attract early users, further helping Hyperliquid transition from "a Perp DEX" to "a permissionless financial infrastructure layer."

2. Another Whale "Reaches the Same Destination"

Internet celebrity trader Andrew Tate recently lost all his funds on Hyperliquid, earning him the nickname "Hyperliquidated."

According to Arkham on-chain data, Andrew Tate's liquidation can be traced back nearly a year. On December 19, 2024, there was a collective liquidation of long positions in BTC, ETH, SOL, LINK, HYPE, PENGU, and others.

On November 18, when BTC fell below $90,000, Andrew Tate's final position was completely liquidated, and his account was wiped out. This incident quickly became meme material, especially since he often presents himself as a financial master.

Some analysts have directly listed him as "one of the worst traders in crypto history," alongside other large traders who lost significant amounts on Hyperliquid (James Wynn lost $23 million, Qwatio lost $25.8 million, and 0xa523 lost $43.4 million in a month).

3. POPCAT Manipulation Attack

On November 12, Hyperliquid experienced its second major attack of the year, the last being XPL, and this time the target was the memecoin POPCAT.

The attacker withdrew $3 million USDC from OKX and distributed it to 19-26 new wallets. They opened leveraged long positions in POPCAT worth about $20-30 million (approximately 5x leverage) on Hyperliquid, then placed a buy wall of about $20 million at the $0.21 price level, creating a false appearance of strong demand. Other traders saw the buy wall and assumed there was support, leading them to follow suit and go long. The attacker suddenly withdrew the buy wall, causing the price of POPCAT to plummet from $0.21 to $0.13.

Ultimately, a large number of leveraged longs were liquidated, with at least 26 liquidated accounts totaling $25.5 million in positions, resulting in a loss of $2.98 million in margin, and the HLP treasury was forced to absorb $4.9 million in bad debt. The strange part of this attack is that the attacker also lost $3 million, seemingly not aiming for profit.

The community has two main speculations about this: one is that this attack was purely a "stress test" to damage Hyperliquid's reputation, with Binance/CZ being the main suspect. The other is that the attacker opened hedged positions on centralized exchanges, thus overall profiting, with on-chain analysis pointing to BTX Capital, although founder Vanessa Cao has denied involvement.

Aster: Spending Money While Buying Back

1. Fourth Phase "Aster Harvest" Airdrop of 120 Million ASTER

On November 10, Aster officially launched the fourth phase of its airdrop, codenamed Harvest. The distribution scale is 120 million ASTER (accounting for 1.5% of the total supply) and will last for 6 weeks (from November 10 to December 21), with a distribution method of 0.25% per week, evenly spread across 6 epochs.

Compared to previous phases (S2 distributed 4%, S3 distributed 2.5%), the allocation ratio for S4 has indeed shrunk. However, community analysis suggests that due to a potential decrease in participants, individual user earnings may actually be higher, and a halving of inflation could drive up the token price.

Some tips for earning more points in this phase include: $ASTER can be used as collateral for perpetual contracts, and using $ASTER as collateral can earn additional points; using $ASTER to pay fees enjoys a 5% discount; spot trading is also eligible for points; additionally, anti-wash trading measures are now emphasized, with Aster focusing on quality trading by setting maker orders and a symbol accelerator multiplier mechanism to filter out wash trading behavior.

2. $10 Million Trading Competition "Double the Fish"

On November 17, Aster launched its largest trading competition in history: a total prize pool of $10 million.

The competition is divided into 5 weekly phases (lasting until December 21), with each phase having an independent leaderboard. The first phase has a prize pool of $1 million, with a maximum of $2 million per week; each phase has 1,000 winning spots; only perpetual contract trading is allowed, ranked by trading volume and PnL.

The biggest highlight of this trading competition is the "double the fish" aspect, meaning that the same trade can count towards both the competition and the S4 airdrop. For example, a top trader could earn up to $300,000 in a single week, and if they dominate the leaderboard for 5 consecutive weeks, they could theoretically earn $1.5 million.

3. Ongoing Protocol Buybacks

Aster's buyback efforts are considered quite aggressive in the perp DEX sector. As of November 13, the cumulative buyback amount is approximately $214 million; the number of tokens bought back accounts for 7.11% of the circulating supply.

Recently, CZ publicly purchased over $2 million worth of ASTER, sparking speculative demand; additionally, market makers like Wintermute have been quietly increasing their holdings, leading some analysts to predict that ASTER could rise to $10.

However, some in the community are concerned: there are still about 6.35 billion ASTER tokens locked, and future unlocks could bring selling pressure. It is expected that about $700 million worth of tokens will be unlocked before 2026. Recent changes in unlock timing have caused some panic, but the official stance is that the unlock schedule will not change.

4. "Machi Mode" Feature

This may be the most interesting new feature launched by Aster. On November 19, Aster announced the introduction of "Machi Mode," where liquidated users can receive point rewards, essentially giving a "consolation prize" to losing traders.

Why is it called Machi Mode? It is a jab at the well-known trader Jeffrey Huang, known as "Machi Big Brother."

According to Lookonchain data, since November 1, the three traders with the most liquidations on Hyperliquid are: Machi Big Brother—71 liquidations; James Wynn—26 liquidations; Andrew Tate—19 liquidations.

Machi is far ahead, arguably the unluckiest "liquidation king." He reportedly lost over $53 million in a month, known for his trading style characterized by extremely high leverage and aggressive positions. Aster naming this feature after him is, in some ways, an embrace of the degenerate culture in the crypto space.

Others

Additionally, I would like to introduce two other yet-to-be-launched Perp DEXs that I pay attention to and their recent developments.

1. Pacifica

On November 12, Pacifica announced the launch of the TIF=TOB (Time in Force = Top of Book) order type.

In simple terms, when you submit a post-only limit order, if the price is set too aggressively, it will penetrate the order book (i.e., execute immediately). The traditional approach is to cancel the order directly. However, TIF=TOB will not cancel; instead, it will automatically adjust your order to the top of the order book.

For example, if the current best bid for BTC is $100,000 and the best ask is $100,100, then submitting a TOB buy order at $100,200 (which would penetrate the ask) will cause the system to automatically adjust your order to $100,099—just below the best ask, becoming the new top of the order book. This is a great feature for market makers.

Currently, Pacifica has become one of the most important projects on the Solana chain.

2. Variational

Another is Variational, which has played a significant role in the Arbitrum DeFi revival strategy.

Its features include: an automatic listing engine that eliminates coordination delays through internal market making, currently supporting over 515 tokens, making it the Perp DEX with the most listings; the protocol does its own market making, with hedging costs only 0-2 basis points, while users pay a spread of 4-6 basis points, achieving annualized returns of over 300% during certain periods. Additionally, there are loss subsidies: over $2 million in refunds have been issued, covering over 70,000 transactions, benefiting more than 6,500 users, with individual refunds exceeding $100,000, accounting for about 2% of the platform's total losses.

On November 15, they distributed over $1 million in rewards; on November 17, they launched a retail sentiment index tool, showing that 89% of trading volume comes from long-tail markets. Overall, the data growth is very rapid, and while they have not yet opened a points competition, there may be volume retrospectives in the future.

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