Aster claims perp DEX lead from Hyperliquid as Lighter fades post-airdrop

Hyperliquid briefly reclaimed the top position among perpetual decentralized exchanges (Perp DEXs), recording an average of more than $5 billion in daily trading volume within the past seven days as rival platform Lighter experiences a decline following its token airdrop last month.

However, its crown is being threatened by Aster’s perp DEX, which has recorded over $4.1 billion in perp volume, while Hyperliquid’s perp DEX has done approximately $2.8 billion.

Lighter’s weekly trading volume has decreased nearly threefold from its peak, according to data from CryptoRank, as users who had been farming points for the airdrop seem to have departed the platform.

According to CryptoRank, Hyperliquid led the perpetual futures market by both volume and open interest in the just-concluded 7-day perp DEX run. Hyperliquid had a 7-day perp DEX volume of over $40.7 billion and a reported open interest of $9.57 billion in 24 hours.

However, within 24 hours, that data has changed slightly, with DeFiLlama showing that while Lighter is suffering from a predictable volume drain, Aster is giving Hyperliquid a run for the first spot.

DeFi platforms offering token incentives often see volumes collapse once rewards are distributed.

Data as of January 19, 2026, on DeFiLlama shows that Aster now controls 17.45% of the market share. Hyperliquid controls 11.89%, while Lighter comes in third with 9.59% of the market.

As of the time of writing, Hyperliquid still leads in terms of open interest with over $8.89 billion in the past 24 hours. It was over $9.6 billion as of January 18. Aster comes second with over $2.6 billion, and Lighter follows with over $1.3 billion.

While volume shows trade activity, open interest reveals actual capital commitment.

What happened to Lighter?

Lighter distributed its LIT token in late December, with the token opening around $3.25 and valuing the protocol at approximately $2.5 billion. In the 30 days leading up to the airdrop, Lighter recorded over $213 billion in trading volume as users rushed to accumulate points.

However, once the tokens were distributed to eligible accounts that had farmed points during Seasons 1 and 2 throughout 2025, activity on Lighter started to decline. The token now trades at $1.7, which is over a 57.5% drop from its all-time high of $4.04, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Variational enters as a dark horse in Perps DEX race

While Hyperliquid consolidates its position and Lighter retreats, another competitor has quietly entered the fray. Apart from Aster, Variational, currently in closed beta, is recording $1 billion in daily volume. As of the time of writing, it has done over $1.65 billion in trade volume in the past 24 hours.

The birth of Variational and other competitors reflects the maturing perpetual futures space. Perpetual DEXs collectively stand at over $12.56 trillion in cumulative trading volume as of January 15, 2026, per DeFiLlama data.

Will Hyperliquid maintain its dominance?

Hyperliquid used to control around 70% market share for much of early 2025. However, it has ceded ground as competitors like Aster launched aggressive incentive campaigns.

However, the platform’s core user base remained sticky, with open interest levels holding steady even as some volume migrated to rivals offering token rewards.

Currently, Aster leads the board in volume, while Hyperliquid still commands the lion’s share in open interest. Observers will be watching to confirm if Hyperliquid retains the crown in the next seven days or Aster holds onto its newfound leadership.