The development history of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) is essentially the story of how crypto market infrastructure has evolved.

The earlier DEXs were little more than primitive matching engines. Due to inadequate liquidity, complicated interactions, and a limited user base, they stood almost no chance against centralized exchanges (CEXs). It was not until 2018, when Uniswap introduced automated market makers (AMMs) into the crypto market, that DEXs truly emerged as a sector with independent vitality.

AMMs were groundbreaking as they lowered the barrier to liquidity provision, allowing anyone to become a liquidity provider. However, their limitations were equally stark: excessive slippage, poor capital utilization, and an inability to meet the demands of professional traders for sophisticated tools. As Ethereum's Layer 2 solutions matured, along with the establishment of cross-chain bridges and on-chain settlement systems, the infrastructure of DEXs gradually reached a usable stage.

At the same time, shifts in user demand pushed DEXs to rapidly expand their functions. The DeFi Summer of 2020 unleashed a surge of user demand for leverage and derivatives, turning perpetual futures into a fiercely contested arena in DeFi. This was because on CEXs, perpetual futures had long been the most appealing product category, with enormous trading volumes and strong user stickiness. From there, the DEX sector evolved from a "liquidity experiment" into a "derivatives hub", entering a fast lane of fierce competition.

dYdX and GMX: Early Perp DEX Explorations

The earliest attempt with Perp DEXs can be traced back to dYdX in 2021. As one of the earliest on-chain derivatives projects, it adopted a hybrid model of "off-chain order matching + on-chain settlement" to overcome performance bottlenecks via the StarkEx Layer 2 network. dYdX was considered a success because it proved for the first time that "on-chain futures are possible". Yet its shortcomings were just as evident: order matching remained centralized, cross-chain operations and structures were complicated, and the platform was not very user-friendly for traders.

In 2022, GMX introduced an alternative, using a multi-asset AMM pool to provide liquidity, with users trading directly against the pool. Its strengths were simplicity and transparency, allowing even ordinary users to trade futures with ease while bringing Perp DEXs into the realm of true decentralization. However, the AMM model struggled to provide sufficient trading tools, and its fund pools were vulnerable to losses in extreme markets (exposing GLP risks), which hampered its potential for further evolution.

At this stage, Perp DEXs remained in a phase of experiments and exploration. The market had acknowledged the value of "decentralized futures", but they still lagged miles behind CEXs in terms of performance, liquidity depth, and professionalism.

High-Performance Blockchains and On-Chain Order Books: The Rise of Next-Generation DEXs

The turning point came in 2023–2024.

DefiLlama data shows a steady climb in DEX TVL since the second half of 2023.

The new generation of projects is no longer content to simply patch together solutions on Ethereum or Layer 2. Instead, they are building proprietary, high-performance infrastructure to deliver a fully on-chain matching experience with performance almost on par with CEXs. Hyperliquid, one of the leading projects, is seen as the most representative example.

Hyperliquid is more than just a Perp DEX. It has built its own high-performance Layer 1 blockchain, aiming to support all financial activity and become the high-performance infrastructure for on-chain financial trading. Its architecture is divided into HyperCore and HyperEVM. HyperCore handles the on-chain order book matching, while HyperEVM provides a fully compatible execution environment. This creates a truly open on-chain financial system where every order, trade, and settlement is transparent and executed with ultra-low latency. This is why community users refer to it as the "on-chain Binance".

Furthermore, Hyperliquid has created a growth flywheel fueled by the marketing efforts of its community and KOLs. From a valuation perspective, it has also attempted to interpret the value of DeFi protocols using traditional internet models of user growth and retention.

By contrast, Aster has scored a crucial victory in its TGE stage by leveraging the remarkable resource advantages of Binance, charting a breakout path defined by strong platform support.

Leveraging the strategic trio of "airdrop – price pump – wealth-generating effect", Aster not only built up users and visibility at lightning speed but also siphoned liquidity away from competitors like Hyperliquid. On the product front, Aster pursued a multi-chain entry strategy, offering both a professional mode (order book) and a simplified mode (similar to AMM). Meanwhile, it also rolled out features like "Hidden Order" to enhance execution security for large orders. This campaign vividly demonstrated the crypto market's rawest truth –– when traffic and capital are at play, technical advantages always come second.

If Aster demonstrates the leverage of capital and traffic, then Lighter represents a different path of exploration. It attempts to distinguish itself through its trading mechanisms, enabling LLP (liquidity pool positions, similar to Hyperliquid's HLP) to be used as margin. Meanwhile, it emphasizes zero-knowledge proofs, boosting transparency and fairness without sacrificing performance.

As for market performance, edgeX has been nothing short of groundbreaking. In September 2025, it set a new revenue record for Perp DEXs with $49.47 million in total monthly revenue. Its revenue for the past 30 days stood at $20.46 million, marking a year-on-year increase of 147%. On mobile, edgeX was in its own league. Its v2.9 mobile app combines a Privy MPC wallet with a CEX-grade experience, dramatically lowering barriers to DeFi adoption and winning particular favor in Asian markets.

Clearly, this phase is characterized by the closing of the gap in user experience with CEXs.

Traders are discovering that on-chain futures trading is becoming smoother and almost on par with professional quant trading. As performance bottlenecks ease and liquidity deepens, Perp DEXs are moving beyond the experimental phase and emerging as true contenders capable of capturing a slice of the CEX market.

SunPerp's "Late-Mover Advantage"

Amid the buzz created by Hyperliquid and Aster, the competition in the Perp DEX sector has heated up. From underlying technology to user experience, from asset coverage to ecosystem integration, every protocol is seeking its unique path to break through.

However, in this battle, being a "latecomer" does not mean being passive. Instead, it looks more like a deliberate strategic choice. SunPerp's debut comes at a pivotal moment where technology maturity, ecosystem readiness, and market demand all converge. With a global perspective, it can quickly amplify its strategic advantages.

A closed-loop ecosystem, which is the strength of resource integration, makes SunPerp a pivotal hub within the crypto ecosystem rather than an isolated tool. The TRON DAO public blockchain provides the underlying performance and cross-chain capabilities, while protocols like JustLend DAO and Sun.io handle liquidity and settlement. This synergy of multi-dimensional resources equips SunPerp with a complete closed-loop system spanning from product experience to ecosystem governance, creating a self-reinforcing engine that drives platform growth.

Ultimate Cost Advantages and Innovative Incentives: SunPerp offers the lowest trading fees in the market, the "Deposit for Cash Rewards" campaign, and full gas fee rebates. This package strikes directly at the core pain points of high-frequency traders, boosting both capital efficiency and profitability to industry-leading levels. Looking ahead, SunPerp will tightly link growth with user retention through innovative incentive mechanisms such as Trade to Earn, Deposit to Earn, points, and leaderboards.

In this red ocean of Perp DEXs, SunPerp resembles a competitor with "substantial resource backing", giving it a clear edge in both launch speed and growth potential over its competitors.

More importantly, SunPerp strikes a balance between CeFi and DeFi, combining on-chain transparency and capital efficiency with mature risk controls to form a sustainable, closed-loop trading ecosystem. By blending ecosystem integration, refined user experience, and strategic vision,  SunPerp emerges not just as a newly launched DEX but as the core financial engine of the TRON ecosystem, with the potential to drive long-term growth and market breakthroughs.

The Second Half for Perp DEXs: Ecosystems, Users, and Long-Term Growth

At this stage, neither flashy tech nor low fee rates alone can guarantee victory. What matters more is the ability to integrate ecosystems, optimize user experience, and maximize capital efficiency.

SunPerp's entry has undoubtedly brought fresh perspectives to the "second half" of the Perp DEX race. The key to its success lies in resource integration and the innovation that continues upon this base. Looking ahead, SunPerp is expected to achieve long-term growth and market breakthrough in the following dimensions.

• Ecosystem Expansion: Further integrating TRON and external on-chain resources to build cross-chain liquidity and deepen collaboration across diverse use cases, thus upgrading SunPerp from a single trading tool into an ecosystem hub.

• User Growth: Expanding from the base of high-frequency traders to encompass professional institutions and everyday users and strengthening user stickiness through multi-tier products, smart strategies, and data tools.

• Innovation-driven Growth: Continuously refining cost structures and reward mechanisms while exploring new features such as derivative portfolios, on-chain leverage, and risk-hedging tools to enhance capital efficiency and platform competitiveness.

• Governance and Sustainability: Harnessing DAO governance and community co-building mechanisms to ensure transparent decision-making and strong user engagement, building a long-term, sustainable, closed-loop ecosystem.

Only time will tell whether SunPerp can truly mature into the "financial engine" of the TRON ecosystem and even evolve into a cross-chain, global financial infrastructure. We can be certain that the second half of the Perp DEX race is no longer about trading features alone; it's a battle for ecological positioning: Whoever can tell a long-term story, integrate resources up and down the value chain, and shape user perception will gain an upper hand in this new round of competition. SunPerp's entry doesn't just add a new player but also signals the beginning of a new cycle for the entire sector, one that is driven by coordination, innovation, and imagination.