Author: Sicily
When we examine the current Perp DEX arena, a sense of 'involution' suffocation seems to be looming.
The narrative of GMX's 'real yield' has set a precedent, the application chain paradigm of dYdX has become a regional power, while Hyperliquid has pushed the 'arms race' in performance to a fever pitch. The names on the leaderboard are competing fiercely, and every new project seems to be struggling to find its foothold in this crowded and blood-soaked battlefield.
Thus, a pessimistic tone begins to spread: Has the war of Perp DEX entered 'garbage time'? The pattern is set, opportunities are lost, and what remains is just the brutal hand-to-hand combat of the existing market?
If you think so too, then you may have made a serious temporal mistake similar to 'thinking the endpoint of the internet is portals'.
Because the DEX war we see today is not the endgame at all. It isn't even close to the 'Normandy landing'; it is merely a small-scale 'beach exercise' for the landing battle. The truly vast battlefield has yet to be touched. And the opportunity for the DEX market to grow a hundredfold by 2025 is hidden within those three yet-to-be-conquered 'grand battlefields'.
Battlefield One: The True Enemy - The 'continent strategy' against the trillion-dollar CEX derivatives market.
We are accustomed to viewing DEX's competitors as another DEX. This is a fatal strategic myopia. The battle between DEXs is merely for the control of a small island. But the truly rich and vast continent - the derivatives market of CEX - with its daily trading volume in the tens of trillions of dollars, still sleeps within centralized fortresses.
As long as DEX can capture 10% of the 'colonies' from this continent, it will be a growth of over a hundred times. To accomplish this 'continent strategy', DEX must possess a weapon that CEX users cannot refuse: an 'ultimate trading machine' that is uncompromising in performance and experience, yet can provide absolute advantages in safety and sovereignty.
Battlefield Two: New Territories - From BTC/ETH to the 'asset mega-explosion' where 'everything can be Perp'.
The current core battlefield of DEX still revolves around a few mainstream assets like BTC and ETH. But this is merely the 'old continent' of the known world.
And on the horizon, a brand new territory is emerging: RWA (Real World Assets), SocialFi tokens, AI concept assets, on-chain prediction markets... An era where 'everything can be Perp' is about to arrive. Whoever can become the 'first landing port' and 'value discovery center' for these new assets will hold the power to define the future.
This requires the next generation of DEX to evolve from a closed 'trading application' to an open, efficient, permissionless 'asset issuance platform'.
Battlefield Three: New Recruits - The next hundred million users driven by the 'ownership economy' migration.
The growth of DEX ultimately relies on user growth. To attract the next hundred million users from CEX, mere technical advantages are not enough. We also need a victory of 'ideology'.
After experiencing countless CEX crashes and trust crises, users' desire for 'asset sovereignty' has reached an unprecedented height. The next generation of DEX must provide a 'recruitment' weapon that CEX can never replicate: a truly community-owned 'ownership economy' model.
When users realize that trading on a DEX means they are not just 'customers' but also 'shareholders', a 'great user migration' from CEX to DEX will truly erupt.
Who can win this 'infinite war'?
Opportunities for a hundredfold growth lie above these three grand battlefields. To win this war, a protocol must simultaneously have the potential to become the 'ultimate trading machine', 'asset issuance platform', and 'ownership economy engine'.
This is also why new generation protocols like QuBitDEX have such an exciting design blueprint.
Its ZK-native sovereign chain architecture is precisely creating the sharpest weapon for the 'continent strategy'.
Its ultimate vision of a 'financial operating system' is building the sturdiest port for the 'asset mega-explosion'.
Its 'no VC' fair launch commitment is igniting the brightest lighthouse for the 'great user migration'.
The war of Perp DEX is far from over. In fact, it has just begun. Forget the pessimistic narratives about existing market battles. Because in this 'infinite war', the real winner will gain the entire world.
