Perpetual DEX volumes soar to record $100 billion despite liquidation scare
Decentralized derivatives exchange Aster has fully reimbursed users affected by a glitch in its Plasma (XPL) perpetual market, after a sudden price spike triggered liquidations and abnormal fees. The incident, which briefly sent XPL futures above $4, occurred while the broader market price hovered near $1.30.
According to Web3 agency executive Abhishek Pawa, the error stemmed from a misconfigured index hard-coded at $1, which caused XPL perpetual contracts to trade at inflated values once a price cap was lifted.
Despite the disruption, Asterâs perpetual DEX has seen explosive growth in trading activity, with daily volumes climbing to a record $104 billion on Friday. Data from DefiLlama showed Aster handled $46 billion in volume that day, far outpacing rivals Lighter and Hyperliquid, which posted $19 billion and $17 billion respectively.
The anomaly sparked forced liquidations and additional fees for traders. However, Aster moved quickly to reassure its users. âAll funds are safe, and affected users will be fully compensated,â the platform stated. Within hours, reimbursements were distributed directly to user accounts, followed by a second round covering trading and liquidation fees.
The surge began midweek, when Aster first overtook Hyperliquid with nearly $25 billion in daily trading volume. CoinGlass data also revealed that Asterâs open interest reached $1.15 billion, underscoring rising trader engagement.
While the platformâs growth has been remarkable, some users remain cautious. Community members raised concerns that airdrops and trading incentives may be artificially boosting activity. One trader warned, âHigh volumes can mask risks. Itâs easy to lose money if youâre not careful.â
XPL and Plasma Ecosystem
XPL serves as the native token of Plasma, a layer-1 network designed for stablecoins and EVM-compatible smart contracts. Plasma offers zero-fee USDT transfers and has backing from prominent investors including Peter Thiel and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.
Demand for Plasma is accelerating. On Friday, Ethenaâs USDe lending markets on Aave via Plasma hit $1 billion in supply caps within hours, signaling strong traction for the networkâs synthetic dollar stablecoin.
With user reimbursements complete and volumes surging, Aster is positioning itself as a dominant player in the perpetual DEX market, though the recent glitch highlights the need for robust safeguards as decentralized trading scales.
Disclaimer
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves risk and may result in financial loss.