Hyperliquid Reclaims the DEX Perpetuals Crown: Inside the Market Shift from Lighter's Airdrop Bounce

Hyperliquid has reasserted its dominance in the decentralized exchange perpetual futures market, reclaiming the top position by both trading volume and open interest. This comeback comes after Lighter’s zero-knowledge rollup DEX briefly challenged its lead following the platform’s token generation event and airdrop distribution. The shift underscores a critical lesson in crypto markets: initial hype doesn’t guarantee sustained market share.

The Lighter Effect: A Brief Challenge That Faded

Lighter launched with considerable momentum, creating an estimated $1.89 billion valuation at TGE with LIT tokens priced at $1.902. The platform’s 24-hour perpetual contract volume reached $4.495 billion, approaching Hyperliquid’s levels. This performance was driven by aggressive airdrop incentives that attracted early users from the testnet phase, with LIT staking and governance rewards creating substantial initial participation.

However, the sustainability question has been answered. Following the airdrop distribution, Lighter’s trading volumes began declining sharply, with weekly volumes dropping nearly threefold from their peak. This pattern reflects a common dynamic in the DEX space: airdrop-driven volume often evaporates once incentive programs normalize and speculative traders move on.

Hyperliquid’s Resilience: Why Market Leadership Matters

While Lighter faced the post-airdrop volume cliff, Hyperliquid maintained its operational momentum and market position. The platform has now solidified its leadership across multiple metrics:

• Trading volume and open interest rank first in the DEX perpetuals market
• Became the highest-fee-generating chain in the past 24 hours, reflecting sustained user activity
• Continues expanding its product ecosystem with new listings like DASH/USDC perpetuals and RWA markets

This resilience suggests that Hyperliquid’s market dominance rests on more than just incentives. The platform’s established infrastructure, liquidity depth, and continuous product innovation appear to create stickier user retention than competitors can quickly replicate.

The Broader Market Expansion

The competition between these platforms occurs within a rapidly expanding market. DEX perpetual trading volume surged 346% throughout 2025, reaching an all-time high of $6.7 trillion. This growth was driven by platform incentives, airdrop programs, and strong activity across leading venues like Hyperliquid.

The market expansion creates space for multiple winners, yet concentration remains significant. Hyperliquid’s ability to maintain leadership while competitors rise and fade suggests that execution quality and ecosystem depth matter more than promotional cycles alone.

What This Means Going Forward

The Lighter case illustrates both the opportunity and challenge in the DEX perpetuals space. New platforms can attract significant volume through innovation and incentives, but sustaining that volume requires building genuine user value. Hyperliquid’s return to clear market leadership indicates that the market is consolidating around platforms that deliver consistent liquidity, product depth, and reliable infrastructure.

For 2026, expect continued competition and new entrants testing the market, but also expect the leaders to strengthen their positions through ecosystem expansion and user retention strategies that go beyond token incentives.

Summary

Hyperliquid has successfully defended its market-leading position in DEX perpetual futures, reclaiming the top spot by trading volume and open interest after Lighter’s post-airdrop volume decline. While Lighter demonstrated that innovation and incentives can challenge incumbents, the subsequent volume drop reveals the importance of sustainable user retention and platform fundamentals. The broader DEX perpetuals market continues expanding at a rapid pace, with 2025 seeing 346% volume growth to $6.7 trillion. The competitive dynamic suggests that long-term market leadership will favor platforms that combine infrastructure quality, ecosystem depth, and genuine user value creation over those relying primarily on promotional cycles. As the market matures, this competitive pressure will likely drive continued innovation across the sector.