Perpetual Contract DEX Shuffle: Hyperliquid Funds Accelerate Outflow, Emerging Competitors Rapidly Erode Market Share

【BiTu】Hyperliquid experienced a significant capital withdrawal this week—according to on-chain data, the weekly outflow exceeded $430 million, marking the third-largest weekly outflow in the protocol’s history. More indicative of the situation is the change in TVL: from over $6 billion in mid-September to around $4 billion now, a staggering decline. Correspondingly, the native token HYPE’s performance has also been affected, with nearly a 20% drop over the past week, appearing particularly weak amid the overall market downturn.

Why is the capital fleeing? On the surface, on-chain data can only tell us the flow direction, but the true motivation behind it needs to be analyzed in conjunction with the current market conditions. The competitive landscape of perpetual contract DEXs is undergoing noticeable changes. Lighter and Aster, two emerging players, have rapidly risen in trading volume rankings this year, clearly eroding Hyperliquid’s previously solid market position. Under this competitive pressure, traders and liquidity providers naturally seek better trading experiences and yield opportunities, leading to cross-platform capital rotation—this is actually what healthy market competition should look like.