PerpDEX Shake-Up: Aster DEX Rises as Hyperliquid Unveils HIP-3 & USDH

PerpDEX market sees Aster DEX challenge long-time leader Hyperliquid. Global PerpDEX daily volume jumped to $52 billion in September 2025, up 530% year-to-date. Aster DEX, backed by APX Finance and Astherus, recorded a 1650% token surge, $371 million first-day volume and lifted TVL from $370 million to $1.74 billion. It offers up to 1001× leverage, hidden orders and yield integration. Hyperliquid’s HyperCore order book has processed $2.76 trillion in cumulative volume and $15.6 billion in 24 h trades, but its market share slid from 80% to 38%. It maintains deep liquidity with sub-0.2 bp spreads and an ecosystem including Kinetiq (TVL $1.8 billion), Pendle (TVL $12.3 billion), Based (24 h revenue $90 000), HyperLend (TVL $524 million) and Hyperbeat (TVL $387 million). Hyperliquid plans HIP-3 for custom perpetuals and the USDH stablecoin targeting $5.5 billion with 95% fee burns. Traders should watch liquidity shifts, leverage offerings and fee structures as PerpDEX competition intensifies.