Hyperliquid Faces Slow, ‘Painful Death’ As CZ-Backed Aster Rises

Hyperliquid is under siege, facing what trader James Wynn calls a “slow and painful death” as rival perpetuals DEX Aster gains ground, backed by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ.

Wynn, a crypto trader with almost 414k followers on X, says Aster is a “better product” and adds that CZ “will not stop until $ASTER is #1.”

“He loves competition, he loves building, and he is obsessed with winning,” Wynn said. “Hype will exist, but it will have a slow and painful death in my opinion.”.

Furthermore, CZ will not stop until $ASTER is #1.

He loves competition, he loves building and he is obsessed with winning.

Hype will exist, but it will have a slow and painful death in my opinion.

With Aster already doing more volume than HL. And with Aster being the better… https://t.co/VhncTh28od

— James Wynn (@JamesWynnReal) September 24, 2025

While Hyperliquid offers both spot and perpetuals trading, it is widely seen as Aster’s main rival in the perpetuals DEX space.

CZ Endorsement Boosts Aster

Aster is backed by YZi Labs, the private investment vehicle managing CZ’s personal wealth. It invested in Aster’s predecessor, Astherus, and supported the post-merger platform.

CZ has also publicly endorsed Aster, boosting its credibility. And BNB Chain and YZi Labs also provide it with mentorship, technical help, and marketing exposure.

Aster has also benefitted from promotion via CoinMarketCap’s CMC Launch program, which brought 400 million homepage views, millions of social media impressions, and over 500,000 clicks to Aster’s page.

Jin Choo, who leads CMC Launch, said the project was chosen for its innovation and market potential, not because of its connection with CZ and Binance.

That all helped the Aster (ASTER) token soar 334% in the past week, a period when Hyperliquid (HYPE) plunged 11%

Aster Soars In Open Interest and TVL, Overtakes Hyperliquid

With CZ’s backing, Aster is rapidly gaining traction, drawing users and liquidity away from Hyperliquid.

Aster, which operates on BNB Chain, has seen explosive growth, with open interest jumping nearly 33,500% in under a week and now rivaling Hyperliquid.

According to CoinGlass, Aster’s open interest soared from $3.72 million on Friday to $1.25 billion by Wednesday, showing that traders are quickly moving to the platform.

Open interest measures the total value of unsettled contracts and is often used to gauge market confidence and liquidity. The sharp rise suggests strong trader conviction in Aster.

Aster’s total value locked (TVL) has also surged. DefiLlama reported its TVL hit $1.85 billion on, up 196% from $625 million just five days earlier. Data from DefiLlama shows Aster handled about $24.7 billion in 24 hours while Hyperliquid managed $10 billion.

“With Aster already doing more volume than HL. And with Aster being the better product. And with $HYPE unlocks starting in November, I don’t even think the fear has kicked in yet,” said Wynn. ”I’m long $aster and I’m short $hype.”

But Hyperliquid remains No. 1 when measured by seven-day and 30-day perpetual volumes, with Hyperliquid recording $66 billion and $300 billion, respectively, over those periods. And its market capitalization of $13.8 billion still dwarfs Aster’s $3.3 billion.

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