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Perp DEX Monthly Trading Volume Tops $1 Trillion as Aster Overtakes Hyperliquid
Perpetual DEXs crossed a major milestone in September, recording over $1T in monthly trading volume for the first time ever.
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Monthly perpetual swap trading volume through onchain exchanges surged past $1T in September, marking the first time the sector has breached the milestone. Aster, Hyperliquid, and Lighter led the pack, all individually posted over $100B of trading volumes.
What’s the Scoop?
- New Market Leader: Aster, a BNB Chain-based protocol backed by YZi Labs, stole the month with $420B in trading volume, seizing the top spot from former favorite Hyperliquid.
- Hyperliquid’s Decline: The long-dominant Layer 1 dropped to second with $282.5B of trading volumes, down 29% from August. Despite the fall, Hyperliquid remains the largest perp DEX by token market cap, valued at an approximately $50B FDV.
- Lighter’s Quiet Rise: Ethereum Layer 2-based exchange Lighter also ascended to prominence, with volumes topping $160B in September; the previously invite-only platform went public yesterday.
According to DeFiLlama, in September, monthly trading volume on Perp DEXs surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in history, reaching $1.143 trillion, nearly a 50% month-over-month increase. In the past 30 days, protocols with over $100 billion in Perp trading volume included… pic.twitter.com/85VaVrJ0h0
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 2, 2025