Author: FLB

Compiled by: Tim, PANews

1. A panoramic analysis of perpetual contract DEX airdrops.

I view the current airdrop landscape of perpetual contract DEXs as consistent with my perspective on all airdrop projects: we are deeply entrenched in decision paralysis, facing various mining activities like points programs and SocialFi with no way to choose. The information noise on crypto Twitter is almost impossible to filter. I still insist on participating broadly while focusing on specific projects.

2. Opportunities for participation in perpetual DEX

Over the past few months, I have observed an unprecedented level of popularity for perpetual contract DEXs. This is likely due to two factors: first, market participants trying to replicate Hyperliquid's successful model, and second, significant breakthroughs in areas such as RWA trading.

Below is a brief description of the perpetual contract DEX projects I am participating in, including specific participation methods, corresponding project links (click the title to access), and current progress:

Hyperliquid

  • Undoubtedly, Hyperliquid is the leader in this field and still has significant incentives yet to be distributed.

  • If trading on Hyperliquid, be sure to use Okto for a combined trading + wallet operation.

  • User activity on HyperEVM is currently low but the prospects are particularly promising; we have seen substantial airdrop rewards from projects like Kittenswap.

My current ranking: Unknown

My strategy: Provide $100,000+ in perpetual contract trading volume and $15,000+ in spot trading volume weekly, while allocating some funds to HLP and participating in HyperEVM ecosystem projects like Liminal and Unit.

Avantis

  • A high-quality project based on Base, which has secured $12 million in financing from well-known institutions like Pantera.

  • Continuously launching new feature updates, such as RWA asset tokenization, zero-fee perpetual contracts, etc.

  • Rich returns can be obtained in the yield vault.

My current ranking: Season 1 trading ranking 1060, Season 1 liquidity ranking 9251, Season 2 trading ranking 847, Season 2 liquidity ranking 765.

My strategy: Currently quite satisfied with my ranking, so I plan to maintain a trading volume of $100,000 to $200,000 per month until the token is officially issued and keep the funds locked in the yield vault.

Paradex

  • Building an aggregation trading platform called SuperDEX: Implementing efficient low-fee trading based on the Starknet L2 architecture of Paradex, with deep liquidity pools and using zero-knowledge proof technology to ensure privacy and security.

  • Participation in Season 1 was severely lacking, and Season 2 will end in a few weeks; I hope the DIME token will be launched shortly thereafter.

  • Recent analysis shows that participation in this field is still severely lacking, and there is low difficulty in ranking.

  • Funds can also be deposited into the LP yield vault to earn points.

My current ranking: Preseason 1501st place, Season 1 1179th place, Season 2 1348th place.

My strategy: Allocate a small amount of funds to the Gigavault massive yield vault (still has $3 million available before the limit), and provide $100,000 to $250,000 in trading volume weekly on this platform.

Hibachi

  • Perhaps the most promising perpetual contract DEX I have seen, which has multiple favorable narratives, with the core advantage being the zero-knowledge proof technology alignment scheme built using infrastructures like Succinct and Boundless.

  • Completed $5 million in financing.

  • Make sure to pay attention to ongoing incentive activities to earn extra points.

My current ranking: 48th place, achieved with a trading volume of $600,000.

My strategy: Complete the highest-level tasks weekly (e.g., $135,000 trading volume).

Perennial

  • A perpetual contract Rollup project based on Base, which has secured $12.6 million in financing.

  • According to the Perennial browser, the current number of wallets is less than 5000. The total locked value of its main yield vault is less than $90,000.

My current ranking: 145,000 Petals points, ranked in the top 2% among users.

My strategy: Provide $50,000 to $200,000 in trading volume weekly.

Vest

  • Completed $5 million in financing, currently in the early development stage: adopting zk-Risk risk engine technology, aiming to achieve tradability for almost all assets. For detailed analysis, please refer to: this link.

  • The points program has officially launched, and as trading volume increases, the difficulty of acquiring points will gradually rise.

My current ranking: 12205 points (unsure of the level)

My strategy: Currently not actively trading on this platform, but can earn 750-1000 points weekly by providing liquidity.

Ostium

  • An innovative perpetual contract DEX that supports trading of real-world financial assets like the S&P 500, must be cautious of liquidity risks and funding rate fluctuations in certain markets.

  • Completed $3.5 million in financing, and current competitiveness is noticeably stronger than before.

My current ranking: 394 points

My strategy: Provide $100,000 in trading volume weekly and allocate $1,000 to the yield vault.

Extended

  • Building a perpetual contract DEX, adopting a ZK-Rollup technology route (aiming to build an EVM-compatible network based on Starknet), currently the points program is still in the early stages.

  • Completed $6.5 million in financing, outstanding user interface design has received endorsements from well-known KOLs like katexbt.

  • Though not a top priority, it is recommended to execute a small number of trades before others intervene.

My current ranking: 711th place with 1339 points

My strategy: I have deposited $350 into the yield vault, currently not actively trading on this platform, but should begin providing $50,000 to $100,000 in trading volume weekly.

Lighter

  • A perpetual contract DEX driven by zero-knowledge proof technology, currently still in the private testing phase, has received investment support from a16z.

  • If you can get an invitation, make sure to achieve a high trading volume on this platform, as the interaction experience is very smooth and has zero fees.

My current ranking: 12645th place, holding 44 points (need to increase participation)

My strategy: Provide $1 million to $2 million in trading volume weekly and shift to trading non-mainstream coins (it is rumored that this strategy can earn higher points)

Variational

  • Completed $10.3 million in financing, adopting a zero-fee model, current market potential has not yet been fully explored.

  • Still in the testing phase, but is a potential project worth monitoring closely; must remain highly vigilant about liquidity risks (I have suffered significant losses here).

My current ranking: 430

My strategy: I was discouraged after suffering significant losses and have paused participation for a while, but based on my current ranking, capital scale, and fee structure, I may consider restarting a liquidity mining strategy with a weekly trading volume of $10,000 to $50,000.

Aster

  • A Hyperliquid competitor created by Binance, may soon receive significant incentive injections.

My current ranking: None (due to current points being suspended)

My strategy: Convert $500 to asUSDF and conduct low-frequency trading.

Backpack

  • Backpack is a well-known exchange project in the market, standing out with a strong technical team and huge financial support.

  • This exchange offers spot trading, derivatives trading, and lending services.

  • The second season points program has officially launched, but participation is low due to real-name authentication requirements.

My current ranking: None

My strategy: Due to real-name authentication barriers, I have not participated yet, but I know that some users highly recognize it, similar to Arkham.

Helix

  • Core perpetual contract DEX of the Injective ecosystem (and other DeFi layout opportunities).

  • Recently came into contact with this field and plan to start deep exploration to obtain participation opportunities in the Cosmos ecosystem.

My current ranking: None

My strategy: I hold the native token INJ from Injective (originating from the staking period) and will use this to initiate trading plans.

Reya

  • Building a self-governing network with $16 million in financing, aimed at solving liquidity fragmentation, front-running, and performance bottleneck issues.

My current ranking: None

My strategy: Started late on this project, may only conduct a small amount of sporadic trades, but have established a significant early advantage in other protocols.

Byreal

  • A perpetual contract DEX based on Solana, built by Bybit.

  • Currently in the public testing phase: you need to join the waiting list to participate.

No ranking or strategy yet, as I have not gained project access.

Ethereal

  • A perpetual contract DEX built under Ethena, which will have extremely abundant liquidity from the start.

  • The Ethereal testnet is now officially open for testing, with the pre-deposit channel opened.

My current ranking: None

My strategy: Gradually exiting this project; the $700 million pre-deposited funds remind me of the Berachain incident (over-participation leading to airdrop rewards dilution), as excessive market attention will significantly reduce the profit weight for individual participants.

GTE (testnet)

  • A CLOB order book-style perpetual contract DEX built on MegaEth, which has completed $25.94 million in financing.

  • Additionally, this project is synchronously developing spot trading features and a token issuance platform.

My current ranking: None

My strategy: Conduct a small number of sporadic trades; I have not actively participated in the testnet.

Perpl (testnet)

  • Zeta Markets' rebranded project, a perpetual contract DEX based on CLOB order book architecture, deployed on Solana.

  • Adopting zero-knowledge proof technology (such as Risc Zero's flagship product Boundless), which has secured $52 million in financing.

My current ranking: None

My strategy: Execute a trade weekly.

Noise (testnet)

  • Partnering with Kaito to jointly build a perpetual contract DEX for mental share trading. The operational logic is extremely simple, enabling efficient trading.

  • My current ranking: None, but I have accumulated $40,000 in testnet trading volume through trading.

My strategy: Provide $20,000 in trading volume weekly across different markets, trying to improve my ranking in a single market.

01 DEX (testnet)

  • A perpetual contract DEX built on the N1 Layer1 test network, which has completed $7 million in financing.

  • Currently in the private testing phase, access requires an invitation code.

My current ranking: None

My strategy: I completely forgot about this project before, now I plan to execute a trade weekly.

Finally

I attempted to engage in profitable trading, but if you wish to adopt a lower-risk strategy, you can use Delta-neutral trading:

  • Establish a long position on any perpetual contract DEX.

  • Establish a short position on another perpetual contract DEX.

This operation will not cause you to lose funds, but will simultaneously allow you to earn fees.