Hyperliquid Takes Lead over DEX Exchange Aster with $40.7 Billion Trading Volume

Decentralized exchange (DEX) Hyperliquid is once again in the limelight after clocking a massive $40.7 billion in trading volumes last week. As a result, it has managed to move ahead of its competitors like Aster and Lighter. This comes as the demand for leverage and decentralization remains a hot thing in the crypto space.

Hyperliquid Grabs Limelight with Sharp Trading Volume Surge

Over the past seven days, Hyperliquid processed roughly $40.7 billion in perpetual futures trading volume, according to CryptoRank. On the other hand, competitors like Aster processed $31.7 billion, and Lighter processed $25.3 billion.

Hyperliquid DEX performance | Source: CryptoRank

Furthermore, as per the image above, the lead is wider in open interest. Hyperliquid recorded about $9.57 billion in open interest, compared with roughly $7.34 billion combined across other major perp DEXs, including Aster, Lighter, Variational, edgeX, and Paradex.

This shows that the Hyperliquid DEX is becoming the key venue for traders. Moreover, the divergence has grown as incentive-driven volume fades on rival platforms. Lighter, which saw trading surge ahead of its airdrop in late December, has slowed sharply since distribution began.

The weekly volume on Lighter dropped nearly threefold from its December peak of more than $600 million. Back during Token2049, BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz said that perp DEXs rely heavily on incentive-based models that struggle to retain liquidity once rewards normalize.

The slowdown in Lighter’s post-airdrop shows that it is facing a similar challenge. As a result, Hyperliquid is once again gaining strength as incentives on other platforms start to fade quickly.

Why Is HYPE Price Dropping?

Despite its operational strength, Hyperliquid’s token HYPE HYPE $24.01 24h volatility: 7.6% Market cap: $5.72 B Vol. 24h: $216.69 M has come under pressure in recent weeks. Although the fundamental demand for Hyperliquid DEX remains intact, the overall tokenomics and unstaking event suggest a different story.

As of press time, the HYPE price is trading 8% down at $24.15, amid a broader crypto market correction. Furthermore, the sell-off also comes due to major unstaking of HYPE tokens ahead.

On-chain data shows that a wallet originally funded via Tornado Cash is set to complete the unstaking of roughly 1.5 million HYPE. In addition, Continue Capital is scheduled to finish unstaking nearly 1.2 million HYPE, with the full amount expected to be received on Jan. 21.

In total, more than 3.2 million HYPE, worth over $80 million, is expected to be unstaked over the next five days. Market participants believe that at least the Tornado Cash-linked tranche could be sold. This has triggered further selling pressure on its price.

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