StandX Shuts Down After Serving 237,000 Users; Perp DEX Enters Elimination Phase

Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)

Author | Golem (@web 3_golem)

On October 15, the decentralized perpetuals platform StandX announced its shutdown, canceled its planned platform token issuance, and intends to distribute a one-time airdrop to users in DUSD. The eligibility checker will open on October 26, and users can claim their airdrop between November 1 and December 31, with no lock-up restrictions after claiming.

According to official information from StandX, since its mainnet launch in November 2025, the platform has served over 237,000 users, with TVL once exceeding $200 million. StandX was no stranger in the Perp DEX space, but now it has reached the point of shutdown.

StandX's exit also provides a new case study for the increasingly heated competition in Perp DEXs. Perp DEXs remain one of the most trading-demanding sectors in the crypto market, but sector growth no longer guarantees that all participants will share in the rewards.

Over the past two years, as Hyperliquid has successfully scaled its on-chain perpetual contracts, an increasing number of projects have entered this space. New platforms have emerged one after another, intensifying the battle for liquidity and users. Competition among platforms has expanded beyond early-stage product innovation and liquidity acquisition to include factors such as trading costs, user incentives, and business models.

Among these, fee subsidies are a direct and effective customer acquisition and growth tool. For users who trade perpetual contracts frequently, trading fees are a significant factor affecting overall trading costs. Platforms can attract user migration by reducing fees, refunding transaction costs, or offering market maker incentives—especially effective for new platforms that have not yet established brand recognition.

But when all competitors begin adopting similar strategies, fee subsidies cease to be a differentiating advantage and gradually become a necessary cost of entering the market.

Taking Hyperliquid, Aster, and Lighter as examples of leading perp DEXs, each returns fee revenue to users in different ways. Typically, Hyperliquid reduces user trading costs through referral code discounts (4%), HYPE staking discounts (5–40%), and market-making rebates; Aster offers a 5% discount on fees paid in ASTER (spot trading only), volume-based tiered discounts, and referral rebates; Lighter implements zero fees in certain trading scenarios and expands its user base through referral rebates and other mechanisms.

On a deeper level, the remaining revenue from Perp DEXes is not retained by the platforms but is returned to the community through token buybacks. According to CoinShares data, approximately 99% of Hyperliquid’s platform fees flow into a rescue fund to repurchase HYPE; 99% of Aster’s daily platform fees are used to repurchase ASTER, all of which is distributed to veASTER stakers; Lighter uses protocol revenue (paid accounts, liquidation fees, and stablecoin reserve yields) to repurchase LIT.

Trading volume of the top three Perp DEX platforms

Leading platforms already have an advantage in trading experience, market depth, and user base; when they also offer high fee subsidies, new platforms must offer even more generous subsidies to give users sufficient incentive to migrate, thereby driving up customer acquisition costs.

However, mid-tier Perp DEXs cannot sustain this seemingly endless subsidy war. In its shutdown announcement, StandX stated that most of its revenue had already been returned to users through SIP-2 and SIP-3, and the team needed to inject additional funds for this airdrop.

Moreover, fee subsidies are not the only cost that a Perp DEX must bear. To ensure sufficient market depth on a new platform, the platform needs to attract market makers to provide liquidity; to achieve growth, it requires substantial trading rewards and marketing efforts; and to remain competitive, it must continuously develop products, maintain trading infrastructure, and enhance its risk management system.

These expenses, when combined, mean that the cost of growth for Perp DEX far exceeds the difference between fee income and incentive payouts shown on data platforms.

Once subsidies begin, they are hard to stop; any Perp DEX attempting to return to normal fees may face public pressure and user migration. Under the cost pressure from leading Perp DEX platforms, it is nearly impossible for new market entrants to achieve profitability.

In addition to fee subsidies, points and airdrops are another important way for new Perp DEX projects to attract early users. However, the marginal utility of airdrop incentives for project teams is rapidly declining.

In the crypto industry, a trading platform that has not yet issued a token can attract significant user participation by launching a points program and hinting at potential future token distribution. StandX gained early widespread attention primarily due to FOMO from users who missed out on Hyperliquid and Aster.

However, the issue is that airdrop incentives can generate trading activity but cannot create stable trading demand; after the project’s TGE, users immediately withdraw their funds. This creates a gap between surface-level prosperity and operational reality—trading volume appears high, but traders are not loyal; TVL looks impressive, but capital can leave at any moment.

After years of loyalty programs and token TGEs, airdrop incentives have long become a collusion between project teams and reward-chasing users; after the token TGE, users immediately move their funds and participation away from the protocol without hesitation. For some project teams, launching a token to harvest the final wave has become a practical choice. Projects like StandX, which proactively refuse to launch a token and choose to shut down, have become the exception.

This doesn't mean new platforms have no chance—Perp DEX remains one of the most high-growth potential sectors in crypto.

The market is phasing out projects that rely solely on subsidies, liquidity incentives, and airdrop expectations as their primary customer acquisition tools; it still strongly seeks Perp DEXs with genuine product capabilities, network effects, and sustainable business models. For example, PaperTrade has been spontaneously analyzed and embraced by users since its launch.

For startup teams still at the table, product capabilities beyond subsidies are the only variable ahead.