Five Permanent Decentralized Exchanges to Watch in 2025

The five permanent decentralized exchanges (DEXes) that merit attention in 2025 are Aster, Hyperliquid, Lighter, Jupiter, and Avantis. They stand out in terms of trading volume, TVL, and fee mechanisms, making them worth a closer look for market participants.

Permanent decentralized exchanges (DEXes) are rapidly becoming a hot topic in the crypto space. Traders are looking for leverage, transparency, and instant execution without relying on centralized platforms. By 2025, the daily trading volume of several protocols could rival that of large centralized exchanges, but differences in total value locked, open‑interest contracts, and fee distribution determine their true competitive strength.

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From the perspectives of technology, liquidity, and fee models, we have identified the five most promising permanent DEXes for 2025. This article delves into each platform’s core advantages and competitive landscape, helping readers grasp industry trends and spot projects worth monitoring. Keep reading for detailed assessments and future outlooks.

1. Aster

Aster leads the market with astonishing trading volume. DefiLlama data shows that in the past 24 hours its perpetual contract turnover exceeded $66 billion, a weekly total of $331 billion, and a monthly total of $356 billion, accounting for roughly three‑quarters of all daily DEX perpetual trading volume.

• TVL: The total value locked is about $2.2 billion, but the perpetual margin deposited on BSC, Ethereum, and Solana is only $34.26 million, indicating an extremely high capital turnover rate and frequent leverage use, likely driven by substantial incentives.
• Fees: Daily trading fees have surpassed $25 million, the highest among all DeFi projects, confirming a large amount of genuine trading activity.

Token Economics

• Token: Aster (issued September 2025)
• Function: Supports perpetual and spot trading, MEV‑aware execution, etc.
• Distribution mechanism: Milestone‑based unlocks designed to stagger supply

2. Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid is known for robust depth and ample collateral. In the last 24 hours it processed $7 billion of perpetual trades, with a 7‑day total of $72 billion and a 30‑day total of $280 billion, representing roughly a 5 % market share.

• Open interest: Approximately $12.93 billion, indicating that traders hold a large amount of outstanding positions.
• TVL: Around $2.7 billion, placing it among the industry leaders and providing a solid liquidity foundation that reduces reliance on short‑term incentives.
• On‑chain implementation: Operates entirely on its proprietary Hyperliquid L1, offering dedicated support for an on‑chain order book.
• Fee flow: Nearly all trading fees are funneled into a fund that buys back the native token HYPE.

Hyperliquid set a new record: 24‑hour volume reached $29 billion, with fees of $7.7 million.

— Hyperliquid (@HyperliquidX) 15 August 2025

Token Economics

• Token: HYPE
• Mechanism: 99 % of trading fees are allocated to the HYPE buy‑back fund
• Ecosystem: Compatible with both perpetual and spot markets

3. Lighter

Lighter ranks second with an average daily perpetual contract volume of about $8 billion, a weekly volume of $64 billion, and a monthly volume of $161 billion. The project’s core is an Ethereum‑based zk‑rollup order book, where all matching and settlement can be verified on‑chain, achieving a high degree of trustlessness.

• TVL vs. volume: A relatively modest TVL paired with high trading volume creates a “capital‑recycling” pattern. While this raises questions, the Rollup design guarantees transaction legitimacy.
• Technical advantage: Verifiable matching and settlement logic provides a solid foundation for future cross‑chain expansion.

Token Economics

• Token: Not yet issued
• Incentives: Points‑based system, with a likely sizable airdrop
• Technical focus: A verifiable zk‑rollup order book

4. Jupiter

Originally the leading swap aggregator on Solana, Jupiter entered the perpetual contract arena in 2025. Its daily trading volume frequently surpasses $1 billion, making it one of the most active perpetual platforms on Solana.

• Liquidity advantage: Jupiter already controls the majority of Solana’s liquidity routes, so extending into perpetual contracts was a natural progression.
• TVL: The perpetual liquidity pool is on the order of tens of millions of USD, relatively low compared with the trading flow, indicating that the platform relies more on aggregation efficiency than deep collateralisation.
• Open interest: Continues to grow, benefitting from Jupiter’s central position within the Solana ecosystem and the resulting network stickiness.

Token Economics

• Token: JUP
• Function: Governs both the Jupiter aggregator and the perpetual market, providing incentives and voting rights
• Distribution: Community airdrop already launched, with ongoing incentive emissions

5. Avantis

Avantis is an emerging platform built on Arbitrum, positioned as a derivatives hub for perpetual futures, options, and structured products. Its perpetual contract daily volume has risen to several hundred million dollars, placing it among the top five active DEXes.

• TVL: Exceeds $50 million; while lower than Aster or Hyperliquid, the protocol returns actual trading fees to stakers, enhancing liquidity stickiness.
• Transparency: Real‑time publishing of open interest and fee data makes it easy to assess sustainable growth.
• Design philosophy: Emphasises a healthy infrastructure over sheer volume, aiming for long‑term resilience.

Token Economics

• Token: AVNT
• Function: Stakers receive a share of the protocol’s actual fee revenue
• Incentives: An emission schedule on Arbitrum designed to encourage long‑term liquidity provision

Conclusion

On the surface, Aster appears unstoppable, capturing roughly three‑quarters of daily perpetual DEX volume. However, the stark mismatch between its TVL and trading volume reveals a high‑leverage, incentive‑driven model. In contrast, Hyperliquid boasts several billion dollars of locked assets and nearly $13 billion of open interest, offering a sturdier foundation. Lighter focuses on speed and verifiability; despite a smaller capital pool, it delivers an innovative zk‑rollup solution. Jupiter leverages Solana’s aggregation strengths for efficient trading, while Avantis cultivates sticky liquidity through fee‑return mechanisms. Taken together, these five DEXes each possess distinct competitive advantages in 2025 and deserve ongoing observation.

This article constitutes the full content of “Five Permanent Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) to Watch in 2025.” For more DEX analyses, follow Bitaigen (比特根) and explore additional articles.

Related Reading

• 2025 Perp DEX Boom: $1.2 Trillion Trading Volume Surge
• Hyperliquid vs Aster DEX Battle: Volume & Leverage
• Aster (ASTER) Coin: Decentralized Perpetual Futures Guide

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