What to Know:
- Aster’s futures open interest hits $1.2B, surpassing rival Hyperliquid for the first time.
- ASTER token surges 38.5% in 24h, boosted by leverage listings and community momentum.
- Hyperliquid struggles as traders shift attention, despite stronger fundamentals in revenue and volume.
Aster, the fast-growing DEX, has just pulled ahead of rival Hyperliquid ($HYPE) after its futures market reached a record level. According to data, the total open interest in Aster ($ASTER) futures has crossed $1.2 billion, marking an all-time high and jumping 41.23% in the last 24 hours.
In simple terms, open interest is the amount of money tied up in futures contracts that traders have opened but not yet closed. For Aster, that number now stands at 544 million ASTER tokens in play, with a market value of $1.223 billion.
Binance is leading with 101 million ASTER tokens locked in futures contracts, worth around $227 million. Bybit comes in second with 76.3 million tokens, valued at $171 million.
Hyperliquid Tops in Volume, Aster Draws Market Attention
For months, Hyperliquid has been one of the most talked-about platforms in the decentralized trading space. It boasts an FDV of $46.7 billion and collects about $1.1 billion in annualized fees. Its 30-day perpetual futures volume recently touched $300 billion.
By comparison, Aster is still much smaller on paper: its FDV sits at $16.5 billion, annualized fees are about $110 million, and 30-day perp volume is $27.7 billion. In other words, Hyperliquid still makes more money and moves more trading volume. But the market doesn’t always move based on fundamentals.
What has caught traders’ eyes is momentum. Aster’s valuation relative to the fees it generates is trading at about 150 times, while Hyperliquid is around 42.5 times. That means speculators are betting heavily on Aster’s future growth, even if its current revenues don’t yet match up to its rival.
The Leverage War
The battle between the two platforms escalated earlier this week. On September 22, Aster DEX announced it was adding perpetual futures trading for Hyperliquid’s $HYPE token with up to 300x leverage. This move came after the Aster community requested more aggressive listings to compete with Hyperliquid.
The timing raised eyebrows, since Hyperliquid had recently listed Aster’s own $ASTER token, but only allowed 3x leverage. The back-and-forth sparked plenty of chatter on crypto Twitter. Former Binance CEO CZ even weighed in with a lighthearted tweet, which added fuel to the fire.
The effect was immediate: Aster’s trading volumes shot up, reaching $13 billion in a single day and beating Hyperliquid for the first time. Traders, on the other hand, are also more likely to lose money, especially because HYPE’s prices change so quickly and there are so many ways to use leverage.
Price Action and Listings
The surge in futures activity has gone hand-in-hand with a major rally in ASTER’s price. According to CoinMarketCap, ASTER rose 38.5% in the last 24 hours and has jumped more than 2,600% over the last week. According to the latest data, Tether, Aster, and Circle ranked in the top three for revenue in the past 24 hours. Among them, Tether generated $21.99 million, Aster generated $8.56 million, and Circle recorded a 24-hour revenue of $7.72 million.
Aster is migrating tokens from APX to ASTER in a 1:1 swap that must be finished by October 1. Support from Binance has increased confidence, and CZ’s mention of Aster as a top BSC-USDT holder has brought it more attention. Recently, ASTER was added to Binance Perpetuals with 50x leverage and to OrangeX with 25x. These listings have made it easier for traders to get exposure and have improved liquidity.
Hyperliquid (HYPE) Price Slips
Hyperliquid’s token HYPE, on the other hand, has been having a hard time. It fell 10% in the last 24 hours, going below important price support levels. Analysts point to high liquidations, reduced open interest, and the shift in attention toward Aster as reasons for the weakness.
Even though Hyperliquid still has stronger fundamentals in terms of revenue and trading activity, the narrative has shifted. Aster is riding a wave of hype, deep incentives, and community energy that has pushed its daily revenue to nearly three times that of Hyperliquid.
Looking Ahead
The story of Aster vs. Hyperliquid shows how quickly stories can change in crypto. Aster’s rise could keep going as long as open interest stays at record highs and more traders join in. However, the risks are also getting bigger. Extreme leverage, token swaps, and prices that change quickly can all make gains turn into losses very quickly. In the futures market, though, Aster has been able to beat its bigger competitor for now.
Also Read: Whale Bets Pile Up as Aster Price Struggles Near $2 Resistance
