Why does the HYPE community always have someone FUD Lighter?
First, consider a question: does the Perp DEX track have a premium? 🤔
In the first half of the year, @HyperliquidX monopolized the market, occupying 70% of the Perp track. At a price of $44 per point, the circulating market cap was $14.7 billion. (44U is the system's repurchase price during the volume‑monopoly period.)
Now, $HYPE has a circulating market cap of $10.5 billion, and $ASTER has $2.5 billion.
Combined, that's $13 billion, still less than HYPE's monopoly-era market cap (a gap of $1.7 billion).
Assuming valuation based on data, @Lighter_xyz’s listed circulating market cap would be exactly $1.7 billion, implying an FDV of $5.6 billion. Currently, it is not considered undervalued.
In other words, even if the three projects split the ranks, the total market cap of the three together has not increased significantly.
Furthermore, the bustling Perp DEX track in the second half of the year does not carry a premium. It only gains a premium by carving out HYPE’s market share.
Put more bluntly, attacking HYPE can be profitable.
That’s why the HYPE community is so aggressive toward Lighter. From their perspective, Lighter and other perps directly copy HYPE, and by offering zero fees they poach HYPE users, which in turn depresses HYPE’s price and hurts their interests.
In their view, the “cake” does not come from new creation (e.g., external CEXs) but from directly snatching HYPE’s slice, and this continues to happen, which the HYPE community finds unacceptable.
Why is the animosity toward Aster not as deep?
Aster merely uses data to boost its valuation; it does not fundamentally undermine HYPE. In plain terms, the core issue is whether it can attract users away. Acquiring on‑chain users is extremely difficult and costly.
Data shows that early holders of Lighter points (according to the leaderboard) are almost half HYPE users; the method is indeed effective, further fueling HYPE community anxiety.
Stepping back, Perp projects really should thank HYPE for a do‑or‑die fight that paved the way.
At the same time, competition is open; as long as it’s a legitimate business practice, it advances the industry. At least this year’s competition has driven Perp DEX fees and spreads to the extreme, which is what we users want to see.
To stay ahead, one must constantly face close‑quarter battles (whether HL or Lighter). I think this is the source of vitality for the chain.
Monopoly is a dead end, e.g., C*X.
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