Perp DEX season: Avantis and Aster defy market downturn with impressive rallies

Avantis and Aster led newcomer performance as total value locked (TVL) migrated toward newer protocols despite sector-wide retracement.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

Tokens from emerging perpetual trading decentralized exchanges posted substantial gains over the past week while established platforms declined, suggesting capital rotation within the derivatives trading sector.

Avantis and Aster led newcomer performance as total value locked (TVL) in DeFi migrated toward newer protocols despite sector-wide retracement.

Avantis’ native token AVNT has climbed 66% over seven days, from $1.25 to the current $2.05.

The token reached a peak of $2.64 on Sept. 21, representing 320% growth above its $0.4880 launch price less than two weeks after debut. Additionally, Avantis’ TVL increased by 27% from $17.7 million to $22.6 million between Sept. 14 and Sept. 22, according to DefiLlama data.

Meanwhile, ASTER registered an even stronger performance, jumping 146% from $0.5623 to $1.39 over the same period.

The token peaked at $1.96 on Sept. 21, representing a 250% gain since its Sept. 18 launch. Aster TVL exploded 228% from $370.1 million to $1.21 billion between Sept. 14 and Sept. 22.

The rally may correlate with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao posting support for the decentralized exchange on social media platform X, providing high-profile endorsement for the emerging protocol.

Established platforms retreat

While newcomers gained momentum, tokens from established perpetual trading platforms declined over the same timeframe.

HYPE from Hyperliquid dropped 9.3% from $53 to $47.62 in the past seven days, while JUP from Jupiter fell 8% from $0.5067 to $0.4657 in the same period. Their TVLs also tanked 3.3% and 5.6%, respectively, between Sept. 14 and 22.

The divergent performance suggests that liquidity is rotating from incumbent protocols toward newer entrants as traders seek exposure to emerging platforms with growth potential.

The strong performance occurred despite the broader perpetual DEX market retracing from its Sept. 13 all-time high of $6.1 billion TVL to $5.1 billion as of Sept. 22.

The perpetual trading sector continues evolving rapidly as decentralized exchanges compete for market share through improved user experience, lower fees, and novel trading features.

However, it remains to be seen if Avantis and Aster will sustain their TVL numbers or if the capital will flow back to established platforms after the hype is gone.

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