What happened?
Aster DEX for perpetual futures suddenly exploded in trading volume, overtaking rivals like Hyperliquid and Lighter. Reportedly Aster did roughly $46 billion in 24‑hour volume and more than $100 billion over the past week, and CoinMarketCap shows it with about a 72% DEX perps market share. The protocol used trader incentives to pull liquidity and its token ASTER has spiked roughly 205% in the last week, peaking near $2.40.
Who does this affect?
Traders in perpetual futures and DEX users are directly affected because liquidity, fees, and execution are shifting to Aster. Competing DEXs like Hyperliquid and Lighter, liquidity providers, and market makers face pressure as volumes move away and incentives compete for capital. Retail and crypto investors, especially those holding ASTER or hunting presales like Pepenode, feel the price volatility and may see big gains or losses as the market rebalances.
Why does this matter?
If Aster keeps this dominance it could reprice competitors’ market caps — ASTER market cap is about $3B vs Hyperliquid’s $13.8B, implying large upside if market share shifts. A sustained move of perps liquidity to a DEX lowers trading costs for users and forces other platforms to raise incentives or improve products, changing where derivatives volume lives. But the rapid rally driven by incentives is risky: it can boost token valuations fast and then reverse if incentives fade, so traders and investors should expect higher volatility and a possible shakeout.