Author: Biteye core contributor Viee
We systematically compare the leading Perp DEXs by trading volume on Defillama from six dimensions: features, participation methods, capital background, etc. Projects are graded by popularity as S+, S, and A, allowing you to quickly grasp the core strategies of each project.
01 Overview
Binance ecosystem (Aster, StandX), Amber ecosystem (edgeX), Paradigm ecosystem (Paradex), Solana ecosystem (BULK/Backpack/Jupiter/Drift), Base ecosystem (Avantis)... each has its own territory.
Hyperliquid remains the leader, but new players are using points and APY to carve out market share.
For retail investors: for projects that have not yet TGE, you can select a few to interact and earn points; for projects that have already TGE, you need to consider market cap and trend, and it’s best to buy on the right side.
02 S+ Level Popularity
1. @HyperliquidX, $HYPER
Features: Hyperliquid is undoubtedly the current leader among PerpDEXs, with a self-developed L1 + fully on-chain CLOB, leading in both liquidity and trading depth. For example, HyperEVM supports transaction latency below 1 second and top-tier depth.
Participation opportunity: The Hyperliquid team airdropped about 31% of HYPE to early users, making it one of the largest airdrops in history. More importantly, nearly 40% of the supply is reserved for future community rewards. Users who missed the first round of airdrops can consider increasing trading volume, staking liquidity, etc., to strive for future opportunities.
2. @Aster_DEX, $ASTER
Features: Aster is the PerpDEX strongly promoted by the Binance camp, and $ASTER’s price surged 20x in the first week. The platform offers simple one-click/grid trading, up to 1001x leverage, and is a traffic gateway for the BNB chain.
Participation opportunity: The main opportunity is currently through trading, participating in trading competitions to obtain the second round of airdrops.
3. @Backpack, not yet TGE
Features: Backpack emphasizes compliance and security, introducing KYC mechanisms to ensure user authenticity, and even operates in a style somewhat similar to CeFi exchanges.
Participation opportunity: The trading points program rewards active users. It is said that after the launch of Season 3, the weight of trading volume has increased.
4. @edgeX_exchange, not yet TGE
Features: edgeX is incubated by Amber Group and uses StarkEx ZK-Rollup technology. edgeX also provides a carefully crafted user experience: integrating MPC wallets to lower the threshold for private key management and other features, approaching the experience of CEX platforms.
Participation opportunity: Trading, with weekly points weight = trading volume + activity, minimum 10U to participate.
5. @Lighter_xyz, not yet TGE
Features: Lighter is still in invite-only private beta. By building a dedicated EVM-compatible network (based on Starknet), it ensures both privacy and high efficiency at low cost. The LLP market-making vault APY is also relatively high, about 63%. Note that APY requires a certain number of points to fully unlock.
Participation opportunity: An invite-only points reward program has been launched, with each trade accumulating points, which will be related to future airdrops.
6. @avantisfi, $AVNT
Features: Offers up to 500x leverage, supporting trading in cryptocurrencies, forex, gold, crude oil, and other diversified markets.
Participation opportunity: Currently, users holding AVNT can share platform profits by staking tokens, with an annualized return of up to about 23%.
03 S Level Popularity
7. @tradeparadex, not yet TGE
Features: Paradex is built on Ethereum Layer2 Starknet, implementing a unified account mechanism for perpetual contracts + perpetual options + spot. Paradex also adopts a zero-fee strategy to encourage trading volume growth.
Participation opportunity: XP is on a quarterly basis, with points for holding, trading, and market making.
8. @OrderlyNetwork, $ORDER
Features: Builds high-performance order book infrastructure, already integrated by many wallets and DEXs, becoming a "backend matching engine" layer, allowing one-click frontend deployment.
Participation opportunity: Holding ORDER and staking can earn a share of trading fees, achieving passive income similar to dividends.
9. @BasedOneX, not yet TGE
Features: Equivalent to a Hyperliquid frontend, dealer model, building an omni-channel trading platform for Hyperliquid.
Participation opportunity: Ecosystem airdrops, trading competitions.
10. @StandX_Official, not yet TGE
Features: Developed by core members of the former Binance Futures team, has launched the DUSD auto-yield stablecoin, providing "trade while mining" yield-bearing margin. The PerpDex function is currently in internal testing, and the platform operates with its own funds, not relying on VC.
Participation opportunity: PerpDex function is in internal testing, you can apply to join the waitlist. There is currently a pre-deposit event.
11. @_bulktrade, not yet TGE
Features: Solana native, with extreme matching speed. BULK embeds the matching engine into validator nodes. When a user places an order, it does not go through Solana’s regular "transaction queue" but directly enters the Bulk-Tile module built into the validator node. Thus, matching can be completed within 20ms and confirmed within 40ms.
Participation opportunity: Mainnet is not yet live; currently, testnet interactions are available.
04 A Level Popularity
12. @reya_xyz, not yet TGE
Features: Modular derivatives and margin engine logic, users have a margin account that can be used across multiple exchanges.
Participation opportunity: Uses a points system to reward users; trading and staking USDC, with weekly leaderboard settlements.
13. @DriftProtocol, $DRIFT
Features: Drift is one of the earliest perpetual contract DEXs on Solana, introducing yield-bearing margin, where users’ collateral assets can earn interest while serving as margin.
Participation opportunity: Future opportunities mainly lie in token staking and governance. You can also use the platform’s vault function, with annualized returns ranging from 20%-50%.
14. @JupiterExchange, $JUP
Features: Previously the largest DEX aggregator on Solana, with business expansion, Jupiter has now launched GMX-style perpetual contracts and GLP-like liquidity pools, allowing both spot swaps and perpetual trading on one platform.
Participation opportunity: Future airdrops will continue to be distributed based on users’ trading and interaction activities on the Jupiter platform.
