Aster, Lighter… strong enemies besiege, the siege battle of Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid is facing fierce competition from the new generation of sustainable DEXs, and its liquidity is challenged, but with its infrastructure and ecosystem layout, it is still expected to maintain its leading position in the market. This article is from Ponyo, an article written by Four Pillars and compiled, compiled and written by ODIG Invest, PANews. (Synopsis: Hyperliquid launches HIP-3 upgrade: allows anyone to create a 'perpetual contract market', $HYPE responds) (Background added: 10x surge in two days, which is probably the most abstract Perp DEX on Solana) Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are one of the most revolutionary innovations in the crypto market. It has not only changed the perception of “trading”, but also redefined the role of liquidity, trust and financial intermediation. With the improvement of performance, Perpetual DEX (decentralized perpetual contract trading platform) is becoming an important part of the mainstream market. Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual contract trading platform, moves the Orderbook model on-chain, which is a different route from the traditional AMM (Automated Market Maker) model: In most DEXs (such as Uniswap), the price is determined by the liquidity pool and algorithm, and the matching mechanism is based on the automatic pricing of the pool; The Orderbook model is closer to the experience of centralized exchanges (CEX), where buyers and sellers can trade through pending orders and matchmaking, showing more accurate market depth and lower slippage. In the Perp DEX space, Hyperliquid is also experiencing challenges. On the one hand, a new generation of sustainable DEXs – such as Aster, Lighter, EdgeX, etc. – is rapidly emerging with high incentives, point mining and airdrop strategies, seizing trading volume and attention; On the other hand, market liquidity is highly dependent on incentive mechanisms, and long-term community cohesion is being tested. Emerging competitors are rising rapidly through incentives, but the real test is: Will users stay when the subsidies end? This article aims to sort out the current situation and challenges of Hyperliquid in the face of competition, analyze liquidity dynamics, giant strategies and market rules, and explore how Hyperliquid can stay ahead and resilient under volatility and uncertainty. It reminds investors that market success is never permanent, and that only by understanding probability and returning to fundamentals can we gain insight into opportunities in turmoil. Hyperliquid is facing fierce competition from a new generation of perpetual contract DEXs – Aster, Lighter, EdgeX and others are on the rise. Liquidity is strongly incentive-dependent, and short-term funds and volumes flow quickly to the new platform, but Hyperliquid remains ahead of the curve in terms of open interest and active users. The sustainable DEX market may move towards consolidation, eventually forming a minority winner landscape. With infrastructure, ecosystem layout and HyperEVM, Hyperliquid is still expected to be at the core. In the market, success does not mean permanent. Whenever a company exhibits an attractive business model, competitors flock to it—they either imitate, attract users with greater incentives, or come with their own innovations. This rule is repeated in all walks of life: no advantage will remain unchallenged for long. This principle is as old as capitalism, and today it is playing out in the emerging field of perp DEX. Hyperliquid is under siege. After successfully verifying that the CLOB model (centralized order book) based on the self-developed blockchain can operate safely and efficiently, it quickly attracted users and liquidity, and became a recognized leader in the industry. But recent developments have proven once again that leadership inevitably attracts challengers. A new wave of perpetual DEX projects (such as Aster, Lighter, EdgeX, Pacifica, Avantis, etc.) have emerged, using almost the same core play: point mining, aggressive airdrop promises, and attractive high incentives. 1. The competition is coming On one day at the end of September, Aster and Lighter reached $42.8 billion and $5.7 billion, respectively, surpassing Hyperliquid's about $4.6 billion. Other new projects such as EdgeX followed, with $3.3 billion in turnover. To outside observers, this “seems” to mean that Hyperliquid has been pulled off the throne. Just a few months ago, it controlled more than 70% of the entire on-chain perpetual contract market, and now it has dropped to second or even third place. But context matters. In the same month alone, Hyperliquid's trading volume was still close to $300 billion, a size that no new entrant has been able to get close to for long. In terms of the number of active users and open interest (which better reflects the level of capital investment than a single day trading volume), Hyperliquid is still far ahead. 2. The Nature of Liquidity Liquidity is inherently transferable. Traders are looking for not only the best execution efficiency, but also the best incentive returns. In the crypto market, token incentives often far exceed transaction fees, which makes funds “mercenary-like” – going to the most profitable venues at the moment. But this does not mean that all liquidity is the same. Part of the liquidity is opportunistic, coming for the sake of profit, and will leave quickly; The other part is more “sticky”, stemming from trust in the platform's infrastructure, reputation and long-term value. The key question for Hyperliquid is: How much of its liquidity is “mercenary” and how much is “durable”? The conventional wisdom is that once incentives are reduced, “farmers” will leave the market, and established platforms will eventually regain their share. But it also leads to a new kind of thinking: what if “nomadic liquidity” (constantly cycling between untapped platforms) becomes the new market norm? In that environment, platforms that have already issued coins may fall into a paradox - the original advantage may become a burden. 3. The role of giants Hyperliquid's challenges come not only from emerging competitors, but also from well-resourced strategic rivals – most notably Binance and its founder CZ. Binance has always been known for its aggressive competitive style. Many believe that its tactics somehow accelerated the collapse of FTX. Today, Hyperliquid's trading volume has steadily reached more than 10% of Binance's, and it's only natural that CZ has taken note. His first move was to launch $JELLYJELLY perpetual contracts at the height of the event — a move seen by the market as an attempt to exacerbate volatility and put pressure on Hyperliquid's liquidity pool (HLP) by raising margin and clearing risk. Subsequently, CZ further supported Aster, the BNB Chain decentralized exchange in which he invested. Aster's success, though, may be a secondary goal. It is more reasonable to speculate that CZ's real intention is to disrupt the growth momentum of Hyperliquid and make the market capital.