The state of perp DEXs, August 2026

Hyperliquid remains the clear leader of onchain perps, turning over roughly $2.9B in 24h volume with more than $7B in open interest. That is larger than most of the rest of the field combined, and it keeps compounding: deep liquidity attracts more flow, which deepens liquidity.

The real contest is for second place. Aster and Lighter both clear around $1B a day. Aster leans on multi-chain breadth and hundreds of markets; Lighter wins fee-sensitive and farming flow with a near zero-fee zk orderbook. Expect these two to trade places week to week.

The newcomer to watch is RISEx on RISE L2. It is small today, under $100M a day, but it lists something most venues do not: crypto alongside commodities and stock perps, and it has no token yet. For anyone tracking the next airdrop, that combination is worth a look.

The bottom line: liquidity is consolidating at the very top, while a long tail of pre-token venues competes on cost and rewards. If you only trade one venue, the rankings tell you where the depth is. If you farm, the tail is where the upside hides.