1. I have always been interested in hyper-type decentralized exchange projects, and there are currently three comparable projects that should be monitored long-term.
The content summary in this video mainly discusses the following points:
Decentralized Derivatives Exchange Comparison Analysis
Market Landscape in the Second Half of 2025
Decentralized Derivatives Exchanges (DEX) are rapidly seizing market share from centralized exchange giants at an unprecedented pace. Currently, Hyperliquid has captured about 70-80% of the market with its lightning-fast custom blockchain, setting a high standard for newcomers.
Analysis of the Three Major Challengers
Aster - 'Dragon-slayer'
Backed by Binance and supported by Binance's former venture capital division, Yzi Labs, it received a public thumbs-up from CZ.
Provides a dual-mode interface: simple mode (1001x leverage) and professional mode (full order book).
Multi-chain deployment: simultaneously deployed on BNB chain, Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum.
Innovative 'trading as mining 2.0': Allows using income-generating assets as margin.
Attracting 330,000 new users on the day of launch, with trading volume exceeding 1.5 billion, and TVL once surpassing 2 billion USD.
Plans to launch Aster Chain in 2026, a dedicated public chain based on zero-knowledge proof technology.
Avantis - 'Breaker'
Positioned as the 'universal leverage layer' connecting DeFi and traditional finance.
Choosing the Base chain incubated by Coinbase as its foundation, receiving support from top venture capital firms like Pantera Capital.
Adopting a 'pool-to-pool' model, all users trade with the USDC liquidity pool.
Using the dual oracle system of Pyth and Chainlink to ensure security.
Innovative 'zero-fee perpetual contract' (ZFP) model: Only charges a portion of profits when closing a profitable position.
Plans to launch Avantis V2, an L2 solution designed specifically for RWA.
The goal is to expand the number of tradable RWA assets to over 100 by 2026.
Drift Protocol - 'King of Geeks'
In 2021, the technically mature Perp DEX had already launched on Solana.
The goal is to create an on-chain financial center that can fully compete with centralized exchanges.
'Occupy first, then expand' strategy: Starting with perpetual contracts, gradually adding new features.
'Liquidity Trident' system: Dynamic Automated Market Maker (DAMM), Decentralized Order Book (DLOB), and Just-In-Time Auction (JIT Auction).
TVL reaches over 350 million USD, attracting long-term 'smart money.'
Cooperating with the Nasdaq-listed company Forward Industries to enter the institutional service sector
Summary and comparison
Aster: Suitable for 'gamblers' pursuing extreme leverage and love for adventure, providing 1001x leverage and a simple interface. Its future depends on traffic conversion and the success of the L1 public chain.
Avantis: Suitable for 'strategists' looking to bridge DeFi and the real world, seizing the initiative in the RWA track with a highly attractive zero-fee model.
Drift: Suitable for 'geeks' or 'experts' pursuing technical perfection and deeply engaged in the Solana ecosystem, possessing the most superior and efficient trading engine and a comprehensive DeFi financial center.
Original video transcript (for learning reference only)
The following is the verbatim transcript of the video:
The winds of the second half of 2025 are blowing stronger and stronger.
When it comes to contract trading, what comes to mind may be those giants of centralized exchanges.
But now the times have changed, with decentralized derivative exchanges (DEX) emerging.
It is seizing territory from giants at an unprecedented speed.
Now Hyperliquid is already available.
It has carved out a substantial share of the market with its lightning-fast custom public chain.
It has set a benchmark for future entrants that is almost impossible to achieve.
But the charm of the blockchain world lies in the fact that there are always challengers and always opportunities.
Today, we will deeply analyze three top challengers: Aster, Avantis, and Drift.
These three are not unknown figures.
They represent three distinctly different paths for the future development of the DEX ecosystem.
One is the 'dragon-slayer' backed by the world's largest exchange, where traffic is king.
One is the 'breaker' holding top capital and connecting real assets.
There is also one known as the 'King of Geeks,' who delves deeply into technology and pursues extreme performance.
First, it is Aster born with a golden key.
What it wants to do
It means taking the smooth user experience of centralized exchanges into the decentralized world.
It allows you to enjoy the smoothness of a centralized exchange while also having peace of mind knowing your assets are in your own hands.
Its biggest backing is Binance.
Aster is supported by Binance's former venture capital division, Yzi Labs.
It even received a public thumbs-up from 'CZ' himself.
This relationship is not as simple as mere embellishment.
It means Aster is naturally positioned at the entrance of Binance, the world's largest traffic pool.
The goal is clear: to take from Hyperliquid.
To attract users who pursue high leverage and high-frequency trading.
To achieve this goal, Aster has unveiled three major weapons.
First, the dual-mode interface. If you are a newcomer, wanting to experience the thrill of adrenaline,
'Simple mode' prepares up to 1001x leverage for you, one-click opening of positions, simple and straightforward.
This 1001x leverage, to be honest, may not have much practical significance.
But it is an extremely successful marketing slogan, like a huge magnet attracting the most risk-tolerant players in the market.
If you are a professional trader, the 'professional mode' provides a complete order book and various advanced tools comparable to centralized exchanges.
Secondly, multi-chain deployment, Aster is simultaneously deployed on the BNB chain, Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum.
So no matter which chain you are on, you can trade seamlessly, eliminating the hassle of cross-chain transactions.
Thirdly, its most unique innovation is trading as mining version 2.0.
Not only can you use stablecoins as margin, but you can also use income-generating assets, such as liquid staking tokens or certain yield-bearing stablecoins as margin.
While bearing the risk of your position, it also diligently earns you interest, making profits from trading while the margin earns profits too, yielding double returns.
What stands out most about Aster is its 'nuclear-level' launch. On the day of the token airdrop, the platform attracted 330,000 new users, trading volume exceeded 1.5 billion, and the total locked value (TVL) once surpassed 2 billion USD.
Although we all know that after this 'airdrop fever,' the TVL quickly returned to a relatively stable range of 500 to 600 million USD, many people just came to collect and left.
But even so, Aster's trading volume has remained solidly in the top ranks of global Perp DEX, proving its strong market appeal.
It plans to launch its own dedicated public chain - Aster Chain in 2026.
A trading network that utilizes zero-knowledge proof technology to achieve complete privacy and high-speed settlement. This is a brilliant transformation from a 'multi-chain aggregator' to an 'ecological overlord.'
It is also a gamble, as building a public chain from scratch and convincing users and capital to migrate is highly risky.
Investing in Aster means betting that it can continuously leverage Binance's ecological advantages to attract massive users.
And ultimately succeed in realizing its grand public chain plan.
Secondly, Avantis chose a more sophisticated 'blue ocean track.'
Its goal is not to become the next Hyperliquid but to be the 'universal leverage layer' connecting DeFi and traditional finance.
Avantis' vision is very clear: to allow you to trade not only Bitcoin and Ethereum on a decentralized platform but also gold, oil, forex, and even various stock indices.
What it aims to do is bring the vast global macro market onto the chain.
Avantis is moving very steadily. It chose the Base chain incubated by Coinbase as its base, directly connecting to Coinbase's massive user and capital system.
Secondly, it attracted the attention of top venture capital firms like Pantera Capital and Founders Fund, with strong support from both 'home' and 'in-laws,' giving Avantis a significant head start.
Its architecture is also unique; it does not adopt a traditional order book model but uses a 'pool-to-pool' model where all users trade with a massive USDC liquidity pool.
This liquidity pool acts like a super market maker, providing unified and deep liquidity for over 80 different markets on the platform, extremely efficient.
To protect fund security, it also uses a dual oracle system of Pyth and Chainlink, which will immediately trigger a circuit breaker once a price deviation occurs.
Avantis' most disruptive innovation lies in its 'zero-fee perpetual contract' (ZFP), that is, the ZFP model.
As the name suggests, opening and closing positions does not cost you a penny in fees.
Only when you profit from closing your position will the platform take a small portion from your profits.
This model is a fatal temptation for high-frequency traders and short-term experts.
Because it greatly reduces trading costs.
Of course, there is no free lunch in the world. Behind this model is actually the transfer of risk to liquidity providers.
The sustainability of the entire system is based on a classic assumption: in the long term, there are always more losing traders than winning ones in the market. Liquidity providers are essentially betting against all the traders on the platform.
The Avantis token AVNT is closely tied to the platform's security.
You can stake AVNT in the security module to provide a final line of defense for the protocol.
In return, you not only share in the protocol's revenue but also receive trading fee discounts. This design tightly binds the interests of token holders to the long-term healthy development of the platform.
In the future, Avantis plans to launch Avantis V2, a solution designed specifically for RWA, and aims to expand the number of tradable RWA assets to over 100 by 2026.
So if you are optimistic about Avantis, you are optimistic about RWA, the largest untapped gold mine in the DeFi field, as well as the future of Coinbase and the Base ecosystem.
Thirdly, the last one is our technical master, Drift Protocol.
Drift is actually an old player, having launched on Solana in 2021.
It is one of the most technically mature and complex Perp DEXs on the market.
Its goals are extremely ambitious, not just to be a trading platform, but to leverage Solana's unparalleled high performance to create a platform that can fully compete with centralized exchanges.
It even surpasses centralized exchanges in some aspects, being a one-stop on-chain financial center.
Drift's strategy is 'occupy first, then expand.'
It uses perpetual contracts as an entry point to attract the first batch of core users, and then continuously adds new functional modules to the platform.
Spot leverage trading, lending markets, passive income vaults, and recently even launched a prediction market product 'BET' to let you bet on real-world events like the US elections.
Its purpose is to lock you firmly within its ecosystem, meeting all your DeFi needs.
What Drift is most proud of is its hybrid liquidity system known as the 'Liquidity Trident.'
This system can be said to be the culmination of all mainstream solutions on the market, exquisite and extraordinary.
It consists of three parts:
Dynamic Automated Market Maker (DAMM): This is the 'stabilizing force' of the protocol, an intelligent virtual AMM that always provides you with bottom-line liquidity.
Decentralized Order Book (DLOB): Provides professional traders with the limit order trading experience they are most familiar with.
Just-In-Time Auction, this is Drift's black technology.
When you place a market order, it will trigger a 5-second auction, where market makers from around the world will compete to execute your order at a better price than the AMM.
This design cleverly turns 'sniping,' the industry's public enemy, into a bidding process beneficial to users, often allowing you to achieve zero slippage transactions.
This complex system ensures that Drift is not designed for novice users.
But for those professional traders, quant teams, and seasoned DeFi players pursuing extreme performance, Drift is their 'Holy Grail.'
As Solana's 'child,' Drift's growth is closely linked to the fate of the Solana network.
Its TVL data is very solid, reaching as high as 350 million or even more, which indicates that it attracts not short-term hot money, but 'smart money' that is willing to settle long-term.
Recently, it also reached a cooperation with the Nasdaq-listed company Forward Industries to help manage its company assets, marking Drift's entry into the institutional service sector.
Investing in Drift essentially means investing in the long-term prosperity of the Solana ecosystem and faith in top technology.
Alright, the introductions of the three contestants are complete. Let's make a straightforward summary and comparison. If you are a 'gambler' pursuing extreme leverage and love for adventure, then Aster is undoubtedly your paradise. With 1001x leverage, a simple and straightforward interface, plus the huge traffic from the Binance ecosystem, this is a haven for speculators.
The future of Aster depends on whether it can convert massive traffic into loyal users, as well as whether the L1 public chain can succeed.
If you are a 'strategist' looking to bridge DeFi and the real world, then Avantis is your best choice. It is seizing the initiative in the golden track of RWA.
The zero-fee model is highly attractive, backed by top institutions and Coinbase. Avantis' upper limit depends on whether the RWA narrative can truly explode and whether the Base chain can stand out in the L2 battle.
If you are a 'geek' or 'expert' pursuing technical perfection and deeply engaged in the Solana ecosystem, then Drift is definitely your home. It has the most superior and efficient trading engine and a comprehensive DeFi financial center, making it the ultimate choice for technical players. The success or failure of Drift is closely tied to the Solana ecosystem. Whether its technical advantages can attract real institutional-level capital will be crucial.
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