Decentralized Perpetual Trading Sector Sees Shift in Market Dynamics
A sharp decline in the Aster token has brought attention to the decentralized perpetual trading sector, despite overall derivatives activity remaining historically high. The ASTER token fell by approximately 75% from its peak, highlighting the growing gap between platforms that generate sustained trading interest and those that struggle to compete once incentives wear off.
The decline has come as Hyperliquid widens its lead over its rivals, raising questions about whether the race among perpetrator-focused decentralized exchanges is already tipping decidedly in one direction. At the time of writing, ASTER was trading at around $0.62, down more than 13% in the last 24 hours. The decline follows weeks of sustained weakness, with the token down over 11% in the past seven days and down nearly 74% from its all-time high of $2.41.
Source: Coingecko
Hyperliquid’s Lead in Trading Volume and Open Interest
Trading activity increased sharply during the selloff, with 24-hour volume increasing by more than 300% to over $300 million, indicating increased short-term positioning rather than a rebound in confidence. Data from DefiLlama shows that overall activity in the industry continues to explode, with cumulative perpetrator volume exceeding $803 billion in 30 days.
The perpetrators’ total trading volume in the last 24 hours was about $19.9 billion, while open interest reached about $20.6 billion. Market data shows that Hyperliquid is further ahead in both trading volume and open interest, two metrics that traders tend to treat differently.
Source: DefiLlama
Hyperliquid’s Dominance in Perpetual Futures Volume
According to figures compiled by CryptoRank and DefiLlama, Hyperliquid has transacted around $40.7 billion in perpetual futures volume over the past seven days. This compares to approximately $31.7 billion for Aster and $25.3 billion for Lighter over the same period.
The divergence becomes even more pronounced when looking at open interest, which reflects where traders are willing to keep leveraged positions open rather than simply rotating their trades. Hyperliquid recorded around $9.57 billion in open interest in the last 24 hours, surpassing the $7.34 billion total on rival platforms including Aster, Lighter, Variational, EdgeX, and Paradex.
Buybacks and Token Unlocks
To support its token, Aster recently activated a so-called strategic repurchase reserve. The program builds on a broader repurchase framework announced in December, under which up to 80% of daily fees can be used for automatic and discretionary repurchases, all executed on-chain.
Source: Coingecko
However, the scale of upcoming token unlocks remains a key market concern. Significant token unlocks are planned for Aster through 2026, including quarterly releases of approximately 183 million ASTER in January and April, followed by further large mid-year releases and ongoing monthly releases.
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