Zero fee perp DEXs are treated as commoditized infrastructure but this could miss the bigger picture. Curated flow enables pricing power. Market makers don't pay for flow that's mercenary or sophisticated. They pay for benign flow because their profitability odds are higher against less informed counterparties. This dynamic gives curated flow exchanges real leverage. They can raise maker fees at the margin, introduce tiered access, and gate premium products like options behind paid tiers. Meanwhile, any premium product that fee exchanges offer will ultimately be copied and undercut. The only reason to use a fee charging exchange is superior execution or unique products. But once execution becomes commoditized, retail could migrate to the cheapest venues which could make product differentiation irrelevant. The goal is to attract the most users first, then selectively monetize once users are locked in.(Delphi Digital)