Aster DEX flips Hyperliquid on THIS front – Is HYPE at risk?

Key Takeaways 

How did Aster DEX perform this week? 

The DEX has raked in 3x more perps trading volume than Hyperliquid and 6x more revenue. 

Will ASTER surpass HYPE? 

Analysts were divided on the outlook, but ASTER still has more growth potential in the short term. 

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Aster [ASTER] price rallied nearly 90% this week, reversing an early 30% correction.

Although it erased some gains as of press time, the rally elicited mixed views on its potential impact on Hyperliquid [HYPE].  

Aster flips Hyperliquid

According to Dune data, Aster topped the perp volume in the past 24 hours, which was over $30 billion. Over the same period, Hyperliquid and Lighter did $10 billion each. That’s a 3x outperformance for Aster. 

Aster was crushing it on the revenue and fee fronts, too.

According to DeFiLlama data, Aster raked in $13 million in fees in the past 24 hours, while Hyperliquid saw only $2.4 million. That’s nearly 6x lead for the new CZ-backed perp DEX. 

Although Hyperliquid still dominated the Total Value Locked (TVL), Aster’s apparent traction still divided analysts on its potential to disrupt the incumbent. 

For his part, STIX OTC market founder, Taran Sabharwal, claimed that Aster could ‘kill’ Hyperliquid through CZ backing. 

But Sunny Shi, research analyst at crypto VC Syncracy, downplayed such an outlook. 

He said that Aster’s ‘dark pools’ weren’t fully anonymous, and the Hyperliquid still ranked better in foundation (especially on decentralization). 

He added that, 

“It takes a bit of time, a lot of iteration, and a lot of execution to go from what the Aster experience is today to what Hyperliquid has built over the past 2+ years.”

Another pseudonymous trader, Gumshoe, echoed Shi’s stance, adding that profits from Aster will be rotated to HYPE. 

But Hyperliquid has to deal with another short-term headwind: monthly unlocks from November, worth over $10 billion in the next 24 months.  

Whales double down on ASTER

Meanwhile, whale interest in ASTER isn’t slowing down. Blockchain analytics firm, Lookonchain, found that two whales have accumulated 118 million ASTER worth over $270 million or 7% of the circulating supply. 

These large players have been aggressively buying this week, coinciding with the nearly 90% price upswing in the past few days. But HYPE dropped 32% to $42, erasing its entire September rally. 

Aster is expected to launch its own L1 chain soon, with a scheduled airdrop on the 5th of October.

The airdrop campaign could have partly contributed to the record trading volume as users hunt for rewards. How the price will react to these upcoming developments remains to be seen.