Author: fiyalkin, Crypto KOL
Compiled by: Felix, PANews
Original Title: 9 Perp DEX Projects Poised for Airdrops in 2026
Recently, crypto KOL fiyalkin compiled a list of Perp DEX projects that might conduct token launches in 2026, including brief introductions and key data. These projects are all in the early stages of development and have not yet issued tokens. Details are as follows.
1. Variational
Variational is a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) derivatives trading protocol built on Arbitrum, focusing on the on-chain trading, settlement, and clearing of generalized derivatives such as perpetual contracts, options, and futures.
Multiple applications have been developed based on the Variational protocol, including Omni for simple perpetual contract trading and Pro for advanced traders and institutions.
Unique tech stack:
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Zero fees on all position trades, only $0.1 fee for deposits and withdrawals
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Loss Rebate: When users close losing trades on the Omni platform, there is a 2-4% chance of an immediate full rebate of the loss.
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Extensive market coverage: Omni supports emerging markets like RWA, volatility (485 markets total)
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Ample liquidity: Omni's liquidity management system aggregates liquidity from CEXs, DEXs, DeFi, and OTC channels.
The project's points program has been live for less than a month. Early traders have already shared 3 million points, with an additional 150,000 points distributed weekly. The current circulating points are about 3.3 million. Considering points programs typically last about six months, this is still a very early stage.
Currently, the Variational protocol's Open Interest (OI) is $670 million; daily trading volume is $1.5 billion; weekly traders number 12,000.
Additionally, Variational raised $11.8 million from institutions including Coinbase, Dragonfly, and Bain Capital Ventures between 2024-2025.
2. Ethereal
Perp DEX platform Ethereal is deeply integrated with Ethena Labs' synthetic dollar USDe, aiming to build a "one-stop DeFi application" centered around USDe.
Furthermore, Ethereal is the first DEX where margin earns daily yield, meaning users' margin earns yield even while holding open positions, thus compounding returns on every trade.
Ethereal is deployed as an EVM appchain with the following configuration:
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Settlement via Arbitrum One
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Arbitrum execution environment
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Celestia data availability
Current Ethereal Open Interest is $45 million, daily trading volume is approximately $80 million, and the total number of traders is 8,000.
3. Hibachi
Hibachi is a privacy-focused trading platform. Raised a $5 million seed round in March 2025 from Dragonfly, Electric Capital, and Echo. Team members are from Citadel, Tower Research, IMC, Meta, Google, Hashflow, etc.
Hibachi has now launched social features and upgraded chart annotation functions, among others. Since the beta release last June, cumulative trading volume has exceeded $6.7 billion, daily trading volume is $7 million, Open Interest (OI) is approximately $1.5 million, and daily active traders exceed 2,000. It has launched a new points system and has not yet issued a token.
4. Cascade
Cascade is a 24/7 neo-broker offering perpetual markets covering cryptocurrencies, US stocks, and private assets, with zero trading fees. Currently, access is available to some invited depositors, with a public launch expected in early 2026. Initially, the platform will offer over 10 perpetual markets, with the product lineup to be expanded gradually.
The project has raised $15 million from investors including Polychain Capital, Variant, Coinbase Ventures, and Archetype, and has established partnerships with Arbitrum, Base, Chainlink, and Pyth Network.
5. Pacifica
Perp DEX platform Pacifica is built on Solana, aiming to combine CEX speed with DeFi transparency and non-custodial security. Pacifica was founded in January last year, is completely self-funded, and has no venture capital. Team members are from companies like Binance, FTX, Coinbase, NFTperp, as well as financial institutions like Jane Street, Fidelity, and AI companies like OpenAI, DeepMind, ByteDance.
Current Pacifica Open Interest is approximately $71 million, daily trading volume is $600 million, and the total number of traders is 33,000.
6. Extended
Extended is a Perp DEX built by the former Revolut team, aiming to integrate cross-asset collateral, unified margin, Perps, spot, and lending into one application. Besides cryptocurrencies, Extended also offers RWA/TradFi markets like EUR, S&P 500, using USDC as collateral.
Extended is already live on the Ethereum L2 network Starknet mainnet, supports over 50 trading pairs and leverage up to 100x. Open Interest (OI) is approximately $200 million, daily trading volume is about $1.5 billion, and daily active users number 4,200.
Extended has completed a $6.5 million funding round, with investors including Tioga Capital, Semantic Ventures, StarkWare, etc.
7. Nado
Nado is a high-performance central limit order book (CLOB) DEX platform built on Ink L2 (an EVM-compatible L2 network launched by Kraken), developed by the former Kraken team. It combines CEX-level speed with DeFi non-custodial security, offering a unified trading experience for spot, perpetual contracts, and money markets.
Nado's main features:
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Trade spot and perpetual contract markets: Supports major currencies like BTC and ETH, with perpetual contracts offering up to 20x leverage.
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Nado Engine: Nado's core is a high-performance off-chain sequencer and on-chain risk engine, settled via Ink L2. New trades enter the order book instantly with 5-15 ms latency and are batched for on-chain settlement.
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Unified Margin: Use your entire portfolio in one unified margin account as collateral for spot, perpetuals, and money markets.
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Money Markets: Deposits automatically earn yield, borrow for margin using flexible collateral like wETH or USDT0, and easily achieve quick looped positions with spot margin trading.
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Low Fees: Taker fees as low as 1.5 basis points, maker rebates up to -0.8 basis points, with tiered increases based on volume. The more you trade, the lower the fees.
Current Nado Open Interest is approximately $90 million, daily trading volume is $500 million, and daily traders number about 2,000.
8. TradeXYZ
TradeXYZ is a Perp trading platform focused on RWA and traditional financial assets, built on Hyperliquid L1's HIP-3 protocol. Developed by the Unit.xyz team, it aims to realize a 24/7 global capital market for "trading any asset, anywhere, anytime".
Its maximum supported leverage is as follows:
Пов'язані питання
QWhat is the key feature of Variational that allows users to potentially get a full refund on losing trades?
AVariational's Omni platform has a 'Loss Refund' feature where users have a 2-4% chance of receiving a full refund on their losses immediately when closing a losing trade.
QWhich Perp DEX project is built as an EVM appchain and integrates Ethena Labs' synthetic dollar USDe to offer yield on margin?
AEthereal is the Perp DEX that is built as an EVM appchain and deeply integrates Ethena Labs' USDe, allowing users to earn yield on their margin even while holding open positions.
QName the Solana-based Perp DEX that was self-funded and has a team with backgrounds from major CEXs and AI companies.
APacifica is the Solana-based Perp DEX that is completely self-funded, with a team from Binance, FTX, Coinbase, Jane Street, Fidelity, OpenAI, DeepMind, and ByteDance.
QWhat type of assets does the crypto market does the Perp DEX TradeXYZ primarily focus on trading?
ATradeXYZ primarily focuses on trading Real World Assets (RWA) and traditional finance (TradFi) assets, such as silver, Nasdaq-tracking futures (XYZ100), and forex pairs like EUR/USD and USD/JPY.
QWhich project on the list is built on the Hyperliquid L1's HIP-3 protocol and aims to create a 24/7 global capital market?
ATradeXYZ is the project built on Hyperliquid L1's HIP-3 protocol, developed by the Unit.xyz team, with the goal of enabling a 24/7 global capital market for trading any asset.
Пов'язані матеріали
The Impossible Trilemma Is Basically a Pseudo-Problem
The article argues that the core limitation of blockchain technology is not the scalability trilemma, but its fundamental lack of privacy, which acts as a barrier to institutional capital. It defines blockchain as a slow, expensive, shared computer whose primary value is "permissionlessness" (no administrator) and verifiable trust. While this is ideal for native financial assets like stable币, which now process trillions, two critical flaws remain for mainstream adoption: regulatory legitimacy and a default transparency that leaks all financial activity.
The author contends that transparency is not a feature but a tax, quantified through MEV extraction, making the public ledger unusable for serious institutions. However, modern cryptography, specifically zero-knowledge proofs, now offers a solution: "provable privacy." This allows users to prove compliance (e.g., solvency, KYC) without revealing underlying data. This fusion of privacy and auditability resolves the transparency-compliant privacy-compliance dichotomy, enabling a purely upgraded system where transactions are verified but not broadcasted. Closing these flaws is presented as the essential bridge to onboard the next wave of trillions in capital.
marsbit8 год тому
marsbit8 год тому
The "Impossible Triad" Is Fundamentally a Pseudo-Problem
The article argues that blockchain's fundamental limitation is not the scalability trilemma (decentralization, scalability, security), which has been largely solved, but the lack of **privacy** and, until recently, clear **legitimacy**.
Blockchain is described as a slow, expensive, globally shared computer whose core value is censorship resistance and verifiability. While ideal for native digital assets like money (e.g., stablecoins), its default transparency acts as a **tax**, exposing all transactions and enabling MEV extraction, which deters serious institutional capital. Simultaneously, its permissionless nature created regulatory ambiguity.
The piece contends that **privacy** is the missing critical feature. It rejects the false choice between total transparency and complete anonymity. Modern cryptography (like zero-knowledge proofs) enables **compliant privacy**: users can prove facts (solvency, KYC status, compliance) without revealing the underlying sensitive data (specific holdings, identities). This preserves auditability for regulators and eliminates the leak of financial information.
With recent regulatory progress (e.g., the GENIUS Act) addressing legitimacy, adding default, provably compliant privacy becomes a pure upgrade. It transforms blockchain from a costly, public ledger into a confidential settlement layer, finally bridging the gap to mainstream institutional and individual adoption of on-chain finance.
链捕手8 год тому
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Optical Chips: Collective Capacity Expansion
The global optical chip industry is experiencing a massive wave of expansion driven by surging AI data center demand. Major players across the US, Japan, Europe, and China are aggressively investing to ramp up production capacity.
In the US, Coherent is expanding its 6-inch Indium Phosphide (InP) semiconductor fab in Texas, supported by CHIPS Act funding and a $2 billion strategic investment from NVIDIA. Lumentum is building a new factory for InP optical devices, and Nokia is scaling its advanced photonic chip packaging and testing capabilities. NVIDIA's investments aim to secure future supply of critical lasers and optical interconnect products for AI infrastructure.
Japan's JX Advanced Metals, a leading InP substrate supplier, plans a multi-billion yen investment to increase its capacity 7-10 times, strengthening its grip on the crucial upstream materials market.
In Europe, IQE and Tower Semiconductor settled a patent dispute and signed a multi-year InP epitaxial wafer supply agreement, highlighting that next-generation silicon photonics platforms will integrate high-performance InP components. STMicroelectronics and Sivers Semiconductors are also expanding silicon photonics production and partnerships.
China is rapidly building out its domestic supply chain. Dongshan Precision's subsidiary, Source Photonics, announced a $12 billion project to expand optical chip and module production. Companies like Sanan Optoelectronics and Yunnan Germanium are scaling up InP chip manufacturing and substrate production, moving towards vertical integration from materials to modules.
While debate continues around the exact future architecture—whether CPO (Co-Packaged Optics), NPO, or pluggables will dominate—analysts like Morgan Stanley argue the underlying driver is unchangeable: the explosive growth in bandwidth demand. This will inevitably increase the volume of optical engines, lasers, and related content per GPU, regardless of the final technical path. The competition for "more light" in the AI era has intensified into a global, full-chain capacity race.
marsbit11 год тому
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Stablecoins Finally Find Real Yield: An In-Depth Look at On-Chain Reinsurance Re | A Conversation with Re Founder Karan Saroya
Stablecoin Real Yield Found: A Deep Dive into On-Chain Reinsurance with Re's Karan Saroya
As stablecoin supply exceeds $170 billion, the search for sustainable, non-speculative yield intensifies. Re, an on-chain reinsurance platform, provides an answer: connecting stablecoin capital to the trillion-dollar traditional reinsurance market.
Re operates as a regulated reinsurer, accepting stablecoin deposits as collateral to back US insurance companies. These insurers pay premiums, generating yield that flows back to on-chain depositors. Currently supporting 35 insurers and underwriting $500 million, Re projects scaling to over $1 billion soon.
Key insights from a Bankless podcast with founder Karan Saroya and investor Avichal of Electric Capital:
1. **Uncorrelated, Real-World Yield:** Re offers stablecoin holders access to reinsurance returns (targeting 12-14%+), an asset class entirely separate from crypto or equity markets.
2. **Operational Efficiency via Smart Contracts:** Re replaces traditional, labor-intensive capital fundraising with smart contracts, allowing a ~12-person team to compete with industry giants.
3. **Regulatory Leverage:** For every $1 of collateral, regulations allow backing $5-7 in written premiums. This leverage amplifies returns from the underlying risk-free rate.
4. **DeFi Integration:** Depositors receive receipt tokens, which can be used in protocols like Morpho for "looping," potentially pushing yields to 18-20%+.
5. **The "DeFi Mullet" Model:** A compliant front-end (regulated reinsurer) paired with a decentralized back-end (smart contracts, DeFi capital markets).
6. **RE Governance Token:** Modeled on Lloyd's of London, the token governs the central capital pool's allocation, counterparty acceptance, and parameters.
7. **Real Economic Impact:** Capital funds real-world productivity (factories, clinics, businesses) via insurance, moving beyond crypto's internal loops.
The discussion highlights a pivotal moment: DeFi's supply-side infrastructure is now met by real demand for productive yield, potentially kickstarting a flywheel where vast on-chain stablecoin capital seeks these real-world returns.
链捕手12 год тому
链捕手12 год тому
1996 or 1999? Walsh's First Test is 'How to View AI'
"1996 or 1999? Wall's First Big Test Is 'How to View AI'"
Federal Reserve Chairman Wall's initial challenge is not whether to raise or cut rates, but a more fundamental judgment: what kind of boom is the current AI boom? This will determine the Fed's policy path and define his legacy.
Economics is split between two opposing views, according to reporter Nick Timiraos. One sees imminent productivity gains that will increase supply and cool inflation, allowing the Fed to hold steady. The other argues that while productivity benefits are distant, demand shocks are here now, and waiting for data confirmation risks missing the intervention window, forcing sharper rate hikes later.
Wall has signaled a leaning toward the first view, echoing 1996-era Alan Greenspan, who embraced strong, productivity-driven growth without fear of inflation. However, Wall faces a different macro environment than Greenspan did, with tariff pressures, expanding fiscal deficits, and diminishing globalization benefits, which could force more significant inflation pressures even if AI benefits materialize.
Wall's logic, expressed before taking office, is that AI-driven productivity gains won't show in official data for years. If the Fed waits for confirmation, it might mistakenly tighten policy and choke off the very growth that could suppress inflation. This argues for using forward-looking narratives over lagging data.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee presents a key counter-argument. He distinguishes between expected and unexpected productivity booms. A widely anticipated boom, like the current AI wave, can cause people to spend future wealth gains in advance, overheating the economy before productivity actually rises, thus requiring preemptive rate hikes. He cites rising costs for AI data centers as evidence of such overheating.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller offers a rebuttal to Goolsbee, noting the "expected spending" mechanism only works if people can borrow against future income, which many households cannot do due to borrowing constraints.
Wall also faces a paradox related to his desire to reduce the Fed's use of "forward guidance" (pre-announcing policy moves). This practice was established in 1999 when Greenspan began signaling hikes to avoid market shocks. If the economy follows a less optimistic path, Wall may be forced to choose between using the guidance he wants to abolish or risking market volatility by staying silent.
The ultimate question defining Wall's first major test remains: Is this 1996 or 1999?
marsbit13 год тому
marsbit13 год тому
