Hyperliquid Reclaims Perp DEX Crown as Lighter’s Volume and Token Price Slide

The perpetual decentralized exchange market is undergoing another reshuffle. Hyperliquid has reclaimed the top spot, while Lighter’s weekly perpetual trading volume has dropped nearly threefold from its peak.

At the same time, Lighter’s LIT token fell to a record low on Monday, weighed down by broader market weakness and an exodus of airdrop holders.

Hyperliquid Reclaims Perpetual DEX Dominance

Hyperliquid has returned to the lead among perpetual DEXs. CryptoRank data showed Hyperliquid recording about $40.7 billion in trading volume last week. Aster came in second with $31.7 billion, while Lighter fell to the third position at $25.3 billion.

“As Lighter’s airdrop is distributed, the platform’s volumes have started to fade – weekly volume has decreased nearly 3x from its peak,” CryptoRank noted.

The shift is also clear in 24-hour open interest. Open interest is a derivatives market metric that represents the total number of outstanding derivative contracts (such as futures or options) that remain open and have not been settled, closed, or expired.

Hyperliquid leads with roughly $9.57 billion in open interest, surpassing the combined open interest of all major DEX platforms. Others in this group, Aster, Lighter, Variational, edgeX, and Paradex, together hold $7.34 billion, with Lighter specifically at just $1.42 billion and Aster at $2.73 billion.

The post added that Variational has also become a notable competitor, currently posting $1 billion in daily volume and placing in the top five perpetual DEXs.

Lighter (LIT) Token Plunges to All-Time Low

The post-airdrop slowdown has weighed not only on volume but also on the LIT token’s price. Since its launch, the altcoin has experienced substantial volatility. An analyst noted that roughly 40% of the airdrop was sold within the first week.

“Airdrop holders are leaving. In a very short time, the percentage of tokens held by original recipients dropped from 51% to 36% (and I’m sure at the moment you are reading this, it’s even lower)…FUD comes and goes, and even Hyperliquid has gone through months of it. Always look at the internal metrics; they don’t look that bad.” the post added.

BeInCrypto Markets data showed that the token has lost 37% of its value in the past month. Today, LIT plunged to $1.68 on OKX, marking a new all-time low.

At the time of writing, the altcoin was trading at $1.71, representing a decrease of over 14% in the past day alone.

Lighter’s latest struggles come amid a broader market downtrend. The total market cap fell by 2.6% in the past day. Furthermore, another perp DEX token, Aster, the native Aster token, tumbled over 12% to a record low, even after launching its Stage 5 Buyback Program.

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