Perp DEX Wars report: eight platforms, one institutional scorecard
Thread156 words
Announces A1 Research's comparison of eight perp DEXs, finding the volume leaderboard and an infrastructure-quality ranking tell very different stories on capital stickiness, execution cost, confidentiality and liquidation design.
Key claims
Covers 328 orderbook snapshots for execution cost analysis
Includes a breakdown of each architecture on Oct 10 ($19.1B liquidated in 24 hours)
Spent the last several weeks building what I think is the most comprehensive perp DEX comparison that exists right now.
- Eight platforms.
- Institutionally-weighted scorecard.
- 328 orderbook snapshots for execution cost analysis.
- A full breakdown of what actually happened to each architecture on October 10 when $19.1 billion liquidated in 24 hours.
The finding that changed how I think about this market:
The volume leaderboard and the infrastructure quality ranking are telling very different stories.
The metrics that actually matter for institutional adoption (capital stickiness, fee-adjusted execution cost, position confidentiality, liquidation architecture) produce a completely different hierarchy than raw volume suggests.
One platform in particular stands out for reasons most of CT is not talking about yet.
Dropping shortly.
Drop @a1research__ a follow and turn on 🔔 to not miss the alpha
"Perp DEX Wars report" is out!
Featuring @HyperliquidX, @paradex, @Lighter_xyz, @edgeX_exchange, @extendedapp, @grvt_io, @variational_io and @Aster_DEX
Worth your time! ↓
x.com/a1research__/status/2026316177073443096
What came next · since 24 Feb 2026
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