Verdict: Aster or Hyperliquid?
Hyperliquid is the better pick for most traders. It held about 7.3× Aster's BTC open interest on October 15, 2026, so its book absorbs size: a $1M BTC market order cost $471 there with code HOLYGRAIL against $498 on Aster with code DTLpLc (measured, fee plus price impact). Aster wins for limit orders (0% maker at every tier), small market orders (0.04% taker), private positions and leverage above 40x.
| Hyperliquid | Aster | Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fees after our codes (order-book perps) | 0.0432% taker / 0.0144% maker with HOLYGRAIL (4% off 0.045% / 0.015%, first $25M) | 0.04% taker / 0% maker; DTLpLc rebates 5% of fees (≈ 0.038% taker) | Aster on the fee table; Hyperliquid once size and slippage count |
| Max BTC leverage | 40x (to $150M notional) | 200x on the order book (first $400 only, then 150x); 1001x in 1001x mode | Aster |
| Markets | 178 validator-run perps (October 20, 2026) + HIP-3 stock/commodity perps; 336 spot pairs | 604 perps (October 15, 2026) incl. US/HK/KRX stocks, gold, forex | Aster on count; Hyperliquid on depth per market |
| 24h volume / open interest | $7.62B / $15.02B | $1.43B / $2.42B | Hyperliquid (5.3× the volume, 6.2× the OI) |
| LP vault | HLP, $179.1M TVL (October 20, 2026); 4 days lock-up | ALP, $5.3M TVL (October 15, 2026); 0.25% base mint/burn fee, 48 hours lock | Hyperliquid (scale) |
| Chain and deposits | Own L1 (HyperCore + HyperEVM); USDC from Arbitrum, Ethereum, Base, Polygon | Own L1 (Aster Chain, since 16 March 2026); deposits from BNB Chain, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Solana, Robinhood and Arc | Aster on routes; Hyperliquid on CEX withdrawals |
| KYC and regions | No ID at sign-up; restricted: the US, Ontario (Canada) and sanctioned jurisdictions (plus citizens of sanctioned jurisdictions) | No ID at sign-up (limited checks reserved); prohibited: the US, Canada, the UK, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela and Syria, plus sanctioned regions | Hyperliquid (shorter list: UK and most of Canada not named) |
| Token and points | HYPE: staking cuts fees 5–40%; fees fund HYPE buybacks; no points since November 2024 | ASTER: 99% of daily fees buy back ASTER for stakers; no points stage running (Stages 5–7 ended) on October 15, 2026 | No winner (different models) |
Volume and open interest: CoinGecko derivatives feed at Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:59 UTC, rebuilt every 6 hours. Market counts and TVL dated in each cell. Fees and terms: registry records re-read against both venues' docs (October 19, 2026 for Aster's fees).
Enter HOLYGRAIL before you connect an app such as Based or Liquid, because apps often attach their own code to accounts that have none. Code details: Hyperliquid referral code HOLYGRAIL and Aster referral code DTLpLc.
We earn a commission when you sign up through our links; it never raises your fees.
Which one is bigger right now?
Hyperliquid, on every measure that is hard to fake. The same third-party source for both venues, refreshed on every build:
| Venue | Rank among tracked perp DEXs | 24h volume | Open interest | Perp pairs (CoinGecko) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyperliquid | #1 | $7.62B | $15.02B | 341 |
| Aster | #4 | $1.43B | $2.42B | 613 |
CoinGecko derivatives feed at Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:59 UTC. CoinGecko's Hyperliquid figures include HIP-3 markets.
Each exchange's own API told the same story on October 15, 2026 (04:27 UTC): Hyperliquid $7.91B of 24h perp volume against Aster's self-reported $2.5B (3.2×), BTC open interest $3.28B against $449.9M (7.3×) and ETH $2.5B against $204.2M (12.3×). Open interest is the better liquidity signal because it is harder to inflate than volume, and Aster's volume cannot be rebuilt from a public book when privacy is on. Where Aster leads is breadth: gold (XAUUSD1) was its third-largest market that day, behind only BTC and ETH.
The "Aster overtook Hyperliquid" headlines were true for a while. CoinGecko's daily series (365 days to October 15, 2026) shows Aster ahead on 48 days, the last on 25 January 2026. The ASTER token launch (17 September 2025) and its first weeks fall before this window, so the table starts in mid-October 2025:
| Period | Higher volume (ratio) | Days Aster was ahead |
|---|---|---|
| 16–31 October 2025 | Aster, ≈ 1.3× | 12 of 16 |
| November 2025 | Even (Aster ≈ 1.02×) | 13 of 30 |
| December 2025 | Aster, ≈ 1.07× | 18 of 31 |
| January 2026 | Hyperliquid, ≈ 1.4× | 5 of 31 (last: 25 Jan) |
| February 2026 | Hyperliquid, ≈ 2.2× | 0 |
| April 2026 | Hyperliquid, ≈ 3.4× | 0 |
| July 2026 | Hyperliquid, ≈ 5.1× | 0 |
| September 2026 | Hyperliquid, ≈ 3.8× | 0 |
| 1–15 October 2026 | Hyperliquid, ≈ 4.5× | 0 |
CoinGecko /exchanges/aster and /exchanges/hyperliquid volume_chart, read 15 October 2026. For the wider field see the perp DEX ranking.
1. Hyperliquid vs Aster fees
On the order book Aster is cheaper at the base tier: 0% maker and 0.04% taker on crypto perps, 0.0125% taker on RWA perps and 0.1% on the small-cap Group B list (re-read October 19, 2026; the 5% pay-in-ASTER discount is for spot only). Hyperliquid starts at 0.045% taker / 0.015% maker and falls through seven tiers of 14-day volume; HOLYGRAIL takes 4% off and HYPE staking 5–40% off, multiplicatively. Full schedules: Hyperliquid fees and Aster fees explained.
| Venue / mode | Taker | Maker | $10k market order | $10k limit fill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyperliquid tier 0 | 0.045% | 0.015% | $4.50 | $1.50 |
| Hyperliquid tier 0 + HOLYGRAIL (−4%) | 0.0432% | 0.0144% | $4.32 | $1.44 |
| Hyperliquid tier 0 + Bronze staking (−10%) + HOLYGRAIL | 0.0389% | 0.0130% | $3.89 | $1.30 |
| Hyperliquid tier 1 (> $5M / 14d) | 0.040% | 0.012% | $4.00 | $1.20 |
| Hyperliquid tier 4 (> $500M / 14d) | 0.028% | 0% | $2.80 | $0 |
| Aster Pro, USDT and USD1 crypto perps | 0.04% | 0% | $4.00 | $0 |
| Aster Pro, Group B small caps | 0.1% | 0% | $10.00 | $0 |
| Aster Pro, RWA perps (stocks, gold, forex) | 0.0125% | 0% | $1.25 | $0 |
| Aster Shield Mode | 0.03% open + 0.03% close, or 15–20% of profit | — | $6.00 round trip (flat) | — |
| Aster 1001x mode, < 500x | 0.08% open + 0.08% close | — | $16 round trip | — |
All-in cost of a BTC market order: fee plus measured price impact
Fee tables ignore how far a market order walks the book. We read both BTC and ETH books three times on October 15, 2026, computed the average fill for a market buy and a market sell of each size, averaged the three reads and added the fee:
| Order size | Hyperliquid (tier 0) | Hyperliquid + HOLYGRAIL | Aster Pro | Aster Pro + DTLpLc | Cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1k | $0.46 ($0.45 fee + $0.01 impact) | $0.44 ($0.43 fee + $0.01 impact) | $0.40 ($0.40 fee + $0.00 impact) | $0.38 ($0.38 fee + $0.00 impact) | Aster Pro + DTLpLc |
| $10k | $4.56 ($4.50 fee + $0.06 impact) | $4.38 ($4.32 fee + $0.06 impact) | $4.11 ($4.00 fee + $0.11 impact) | $3.91 ($3.80 fee + $0.11 impact) | Aster Pro + DTLpLc |
| $100k | $45.61 ($45.00 fee + $0.61 impact) | $43.81 ($43.20 fee + $0.61 impact) | $43.37 ($40.00 fee + $3.37 impact) | $41.37 ($38.00 fee + $3.37 impact) | Aster Pro + DTLpLc |
| $1M | $489.40 ($450.00 fee + $39.40 impact) | $471.40 ($432.00 fee + $39.40 impact) | $517.95 ($400.00 fee + $117.95 impact) | $497.95 ($380.00 fee + $117.95 impact) | Hyperliquid + HOLYGRAIL |
| Price impact vs mid | Hyperliquid BTC | Aster BTCUSDT | Hyperliquid ETH | Aster ETHUSDT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1k | 0.06 bp | 0.01 bp | 0.2 bp | 0.02 bp |
| $10k | 0.06 bp | 0.1 bp | 0.2 bp | 0.02 bp |
| $100k | 0.06 bp | 0.3 bp | 0.5 bp | 0.7 bp |
| $1M | 0.4 bp | 1.2 bp | 1.3 bp | 2.7 bp |
Books from api.hyperliquid.xyz (l2Book, 20 levels a side) and fapi.asterdex.com (depth, 1,000 levels), 15 October 2026 (average of three reads, 04:27–04:40 UTC). Hidden Aster orders are invisible and could improve fills.
Up to $100k Aster's lower taker fee wins: both BTC books quote a spread of a fraction of a basis point, and at $100k Aster's book cost about 0.3 bp of impact, so the order cost $41.37 with DTLpLc against $43.81 on Hyperliquid with HOLYGRAIL. At $1M Hyperliquid is cheaper even at its undiscounted tier-0 rate, against Aster with DTLpLc ($489 vs $498), because its book absorbed the order within about 0.4 bp. The crossover sits between those two sizes and moves with the book. On 26 September 2026 the same test put it below $100k, so check the depth before a large order.
Worked examples by trader profile
| Profile | Hyperliquid | Aster | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casual taker, $50k/month | $22.50 ($21.60 with HOLYGRAIL) | $20.00 ($19.00 with DTLpLc) | Aster by $2.60 (DTLpLc vs HOLYGRAIL) |
| Active taker, $500k/month | $225 ($216 with HOLYGRAIL, $194 adding Bronze staking) | $200 ($190 with DTLpLc) | Aster by $4 (DTLpLc vs HOLYGRAIL + Bronze) |
| Limit-order trader, $500k/month, 80% maker | $105 ($100.80 with HOLYGRAIL) | $40 ($38 with DTLpLc) | Aster by $63 (DTLpLc vs HOLYGRAIL) |
| Scalper, 100 × $1,000 taker round trips/day | $90/day ($86.40 with HOLYGRAIL) | $80/day ($76 with DTLpLc) | Aster by $10.40 (DTLpLc vs HOLYGRAIL) a day on fees; slippage decides |
For pure takers the base-tier gap is half a basis point, $5 per $100k. DTLpLc's 5% rebate takes Aster's taker rate to about 0.038%. HOLYGRAIL plus Bronze staking (100+ HYPE) takes Hyperliquid's to 0.0389%, above that; Silver (1,000+ HYPE) takes it to 0.0367%, below it. From tier 1 (above $5M of 14-day volume) Hyperliquid's 0.040% matches Aster before any discount; with both codes it is 0.0384% (above Aster's 0.038%), and 0.0346% with Bronze on top (below it). For makers the gap runs the other way: Aster charges nothing at any size, while Hyperliquid makers pay 0.015% at tier 0, less from tier 1 (0.012%) and nothing only from tier 4 (above $500M of 14-day volume).
Aster's other modes have their own fees: Shield Mode charges 0.03% on open and close, or 15–20% of profit and nothing on losing trades; 1001x mode charges 0.08% each way below 500x and a PnL-based fee on close at 500x and above. Do not assume the order-book rates apply there.
2. ASTER vs HYPE
Many people comparing the two venues are really asking about the tokens. We do not give investment advice; these are the facts that matter, side by side:
| HYPE (Hyperliquid) | ASTER (Aster) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (CoinGecko, 15 Oct 2026) | $78.80 | $0.6875 |
| Market cap / rank | $17.53B / #11 | $1.87B / #52 |
| Fully diluted valuation | $75.28B | $5.36B |
| Supply | 302.1M circulating of 1B max (Hyperliquid API, 14 Oct 2026) | 7.79B total of 8B max, burning toward 3B |
| All-time high | $97.96 (September 23, 2026); 20% below it | $2.41 (September 24, 2025); 71% below it |
| Buybacks | Assistance Fund bought $12.2M of HYPE in the 7 days to 14 Oct 2026 and holds 48.0M HYPE | 99% of daily fees buy ASTER for veASTER stakers, plus an equal burn from reserve; a further ≈ 1.4M USDT reserve buyback over 14 days from 15 Oct 2026 |
| Utility | HyperEVM gas, validator staking, fee discounts (5–40%) | 5% off spot fees, VIP 2+ needs 500+ ASTER, collateral, veASTER staking |
| Distribution and unlocks | Genesis airdrop on 29 Nov 2024; no VC allocation; core-contributor tokens vest on a schedule | Airdrop 53.5% of supply, TGE 17 Sep 2025; team 5% locked until September 17, 2027 |
Market data: CoinGecko /coins/markets, 15 October 2026 04:26 UTC. Supply and Assistance Fund: Hyperliquid API, 14 October 2026. Mechanics: Aster tokenomics docs (re-read 15 October 2026) and Hyperliquid docs.
Both tokens are claims on trading activity, wired differently. HYPE: protocol fees go to HLP and to the Assistance Fund, which buys HYPE on the open market every day; staking HYPE also cuts your own trading fees. ASTER: since the 17 June 2026 tokenomics upgrade, 99% of daily platform fees buy ASTER through a TWAP into a public wallet and all of it goes to veASTER stakers, while an equal amount is burned from reserve every two weeks until total supply reaches 3B. The team's 5% stays locked until September 17, 2027, a year later than first planned. On October 15, 2026 the market valued HYPE at about 9.4× ASTER. More: HYPE token guide, Aster staking guide.
3. Leverage: 1001x vs 40x, and how far price can move
Hyperliquid's caps are conservative and notional-aware: BTC 40x up to $150M (20x above), ETH 25x, SOL 20x, HYPE 10x, most alts lower. Aster's order book goes higher only for small positions: BTC and ETH allow 200x up to $400 of notional, 150x up to $300,000, then less as size grows; most alts cap at 5x to 20x. The headline 1001x belongs to the separate 1001x mode (BTC/USD; ETH/USD 250x), traded against the ALP pool.
For an isolated BTC position, ignoring fees and funding, liquidation comes at roughly 1 ÷ leverage − maintenance margin rate. Hyperliquid's maintenance margin is half the initial margin at max leverage, 1.25% for BTC; Aster's is 0.33% up to $300,000 and 0.25% in the first $400 bracket.
| Leverage | Move that wipes the margin | Hyperliquid BTC: move to liquidation | Aster Pro BTC: move to liquidation (to $300,000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2x | 50.0% | 48.8% | 49.7% |
| 5x | 20.0% | 18.8% | 19.7% |
| 10x | 10.0% | 8.75% | 9.67% |
| 20x | 5.00% | 3.75% | 4.67% |
| 40x | 2.50% | 1.25% | 2.17% |
| 100x | 1.00% | not offered (max 40x) | 0.67% |
| 150x | 0.67% | not offered (max 40x) | 0.34% |
| 200x | 0.50% | not offered (max 40x) | 0.25% (positions up to $400 only) |
| 1001x | 0.10% | not offered (max 40x) | 1001x mode only: liquidated before the full move |
At 500x and above Aster charges no opening fee but a PnL-based fee on close, you cannot add margin, and net profit is capped at roughly 500% (500x / 750x) or 300% (1001x). It is a lottery ticket, not a way to size a normal trade. On liquidation, Hyperliquid sends the position to the book, then to the liquidator vault and finally ADL, and liquidates positions above $100,000 20% at a time; Aster Pro cancels open orders, reduces with one large IOC order and passes any remainder to its insurance fund, with ADL last. Per-asset detail: leverage limits compared, Aster margin and leverage, liquidation price calculator.
4. Markets, trading modes and HIP-3
Aster is several products under one brand, each with its own fees and risks:
| Aster mode | Leverage | Fees | Main use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro (order-book perps) | 200x BTC up to $400, 150x up to $300,000; less as size grows | 0% maker / 0.04% taker; RWA 0.0125% taker | Normal perp trading, hidden orders, stock and gold perps |
| Shield Mode | 20x–1001x per the docs; stock perps up to 50x | 0.03% on open and close, or 15–20% of profit | Private one-screen trading; high leverage from the first click |
| 1001x | BTC 1001x, ETH 250x, other crypto 75x, forex 200x | 0.08% open/close below 500x; a PnL-based close fee at 500x+ | Wallet trading on BNB Chain or Arbitrum against the ALP pool |
| Spot | 1x | 0.005% maker / 0.04% taker (5% off paid in ASTER) | Buying ASTER and listed tokens |
Aster lists US, Hong Kong and Korean stock perps, pre-IPO markets, forex and gold on its own order book; US stock perps limit aggressive orders outside 9:30–16:00 ET. Hyperliquid is simpler: one engine for validator-run perps (178 on October 20, 2026) and spot, vaults including HLP, and HIP-3 markets that anyone staking 500,000 HYPE can deploy. The largest deployer, trade.xyz, runs stock, index and commodity perps this way at 0.009% taker / 0.003% maker in growth mode, and HOLYGRAIL still applies on app.hyperliquid.xyz. See trade.xyz stock perps on Hyperliquid and the full Aster market list.
5. Privacy: encrypted vs public
This is the deepest difference. Hyperliquid is radically transparent: every order, fill, position and liquidation level is on-chain, which powers whale tracking and copy-trading, but also lets others hunt large positions. Aster was built to remove that: with Account Privacy on, orders are encrypted before they reach the chain and decrypted only at execution, balances and positions are hidden, and each trade uses a one-time stealth address. You keep a viewer pass to prove your own history. Internal transfers are disabled while privacy is on. If you run size or do not want your liquidation price on a dashboard, Aster's model is the reason to be there; if you read order flow, Hyperliquid's openness is the feature.
6. Funding: hourly vs per-market intervals
Hyperliquid pays funding every hour on every market, at one eighth of the 8-hour rate and capped at 4% per hour. Aster sets the interval per market: on October 15, 2026 its fundingInfo listed 201 markets on 8 hours (BTC and ETH capped at ±0.3% per interval, SOL ±0.375%), 352 on 4 hours (ASTER, HYPE and gold among them, most capped at ±2%) and 51 on 1 hour. On Hyperliquid you pay pro rata for the hours you hold; on Aster's majors closing before the 8-hour timestamp skips a payment, and holding through it costs a full one. Details: Hyperliquid funding explained, DEX funding rate tracker.
7. Execution and order types
| Feature | Hyperliquid | Aster Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Time-in-force | GTC, IOC, ALO (post-only); no FOK | GTC, IOC, FOK |
| Stops, TP/SL, trailing | Stop market/limit, TP/SL on mark price, trailing stop | Stop market/limit, TP/SL, trailing stop |
| Auto re-pricing | Chase (ALO order that tracks best bid/ask) | Chase; BBO orders |
| Algorithmic | TWAP, Scale | TWAP strategy order, grid trading |
| Privacy | — | Hidden orders and hidden positions |
| Published latency | Median 200 ms end-to-end, p99 900 ms (co-located client) | None published; 50 ms blocks |
Only Hyperliquid publishes a measurable order latency (median 200 ms, p99 900 ms); Aster Chain quotes 50 ms blocks but no end-to-end figure. For scalpers, Aster's FOK, hidden orders and free maker side suit post-only strategies; Hyperliquid answers with ALO plus Chase, mark-price stops, TWAP and the deeper book. A scalper doing 100 taker round trips of $1,000 a day pays $10 a day more on Hyperliquid at tier 0, which one extra tick of slippage on a thinner book erases. More: Aster advanced order types, Hyperliquid order types.
8. Security, custody and who controls the chain
| Hyperliquid | Aster | |
|---|---|---|
| Custody | Self-custody: you sign every order with your wallet or email-derived key | Self-custody: wallet or email login |
| Chain and validators | HyperBFT; 35 validators, 27 active; Hyper Foundation validators ≈ 47.3% of stake (October 15, 2026) | PoSA; docs say external validators are not supported in Phase 1 |
| Bridge | USDC minted natively by Circle (CCTP); the legacy Arbitrum bridge is validator-signed | Validator-signed: deposits need 3 of 4 validator nodes, withdrawals 2 of 3 |
| Code and audits | Legacy bridge audited by Zellic; bridge code on GitHub; documented bug bounty | Audits for AsterVault, Aster Earn, asBNB, USDF, asCAKE; core chain contracts not open-sourced |
| Transparency | Every order, position and liquidation is public | Encrypted by design; order flow cannot be rebuilt from public data |
| Past incidents | Validators delisted JELLY (2025); HLP lost ≈ $4M on a whale's ETH long (March 2025), no exploit | None disclosed in the docs |
Both are non-custodial in the sense that you sign every order, but neither is trust-minimised the way an Ethereum rollup is. Hyperliquid's validators can and have intervened (JELLY, 2025), but every state change is public. Aster's chain runs without external validators in Phase 1, its core contracts and RPC are not open-sourced yet, and its encryption means outsiders cannot audit order flow. Keep only trading capital on either. For a zk-proven alternative see Hyperliquid vs Lighter.
9. Chains, deposits and mobile apps
- Aster: perp deposits from BNB Chain, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Solana, Robinhood and Arc (asset lists re-read on October 15, 2026). Pro settles in USDT with multi-asset collateral; withdrawals deduct the destination chain's gas. 1001x mode trades straight from your wallet on BNB Chain or Arbitrum.
- Hyperliquid: USDC from Arbitrum, Ethereum, Base or Polygon (CCTP) lands on HyperCore, minimum 5 USDC; native BTC, ETH and SOL arrive in your spot balance, and many CEXs withdraw directly to Hyperliquid. Trading is gas-free; withdrawing USDC costs 0.2 USDC.
On a phone Hyperliquid has the wider choice: an official Android app, the web app on iPhone, and third-party apps on the same order book with a builder fee on top: Based (+0.025%), Liquid (+0.05%; code JV2EN2CX takes 10% off Liquid's fee) and fomo (+0.05%). Aster has a mobile app from asterdex.com. Guides: Hyperliquid deposits, Aster deposits and withdrawals, Hyperliquid app.
10. Referral programs
| Hyperliquid | Aster | |
|---|---|---|
| Referee benefit | 4% off all fees on the first $25M of volume | 5% of fees rebated with DTLpLc, next day, for 365 days |
| Referrer earns | 10% of referees' fees (first $1B of volume) | Default 10% of referees' fees, splittable with the referee |
| Exclusions | Vaults and sub-accounts; the discount still applies in apps you connect with the same wallet (Based, Liquid) | Zero-fee, self-trade and liquidation volume |
| Our code | HOLYGRAIL | DTLpLc |
11. Who can use them: regions and KYC
Neither venue asks for ID at sign-up, because you trade from a self-custodied wallet. That is not the same as "available everywhere". Hyperliquid's Terms of Use (last updated 15 June 2026, re-read October 15, 2026) restrict the US, Ontario (Canada) and sanctioned jurisdictions (plus citizens of sanctioned jurisdictions). Aster's Terms (updated 25 February 2026, re-read October 15, 2026) prohibit the US, Canada, the UK, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela and Syria, plus sanctioned regions, and §2.3 reserves the right to run limited identity checks. Aster's list is therefore wider: UK and Canadian residents are excluded from Aster but not named by Hyperliquid (outside Ontario). Both terms forbid VPNs or similar tools to hide your location; do not use them. More: Hyperliquid restricted countries, no-KYC DEX trading.
12. Aster vs other perp DEXs: dYdX, GMX and Drift
Against the older perp DEXs, Aster wins on cost for market-order traders and on leverage, and on September 25, 2026 none of the three came close to its volume on DefiLlama. The entry-tier numbers:
| Venue | Model | Taker / maker (entry tier) | Max leverage (BTC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aster | Order book on its own chain, plus the pool-based 1001x mode | 0.04% / 0% | 200x to $400, 150x to $300,000; 1001x in the 1001x mode |
| dYdX | Order book on its own Cosmos chain (v4) | 0.050% / 0.010% | 50x (BTC, ETH); SOL 20x |
| GMX | Trades against GM liquidity pools at oracle prices; no order book | Position fee 0.04% or 0.06% per side, plus price impact and borrow fee | Up to 100x |
| Drift → Velocity | Drift paused after the April 1, 2026 exploit ($295M lost); its team relaunched as Velocity | Velocity: 0.060% taker in the docs (0.020% live), −0.0025% maker rebate | Velocity 20x (alts 10x) |
Fees and leverage from each venue’s docs and API, read October 14–15, 2026 (Aster: October 19, 2026). GMX also charges gas and an hourly borrow fee; its TradFi markets have lower off-hours caps.
dYdX is the closest like-for-like (an order book with tiers that reward volume), but its entry taker fee is higher than Aster’s and its maximum is 50x. GMX suits traders who want oracle-priced fills without a book. Drift stopped trading after its exploit; Velocity is a new program with no carried-over state. More: the dYdX review, Hyperliquid vs GMX and the perp DEX ranking by volume and open interest.
13. Which one should you choose?
| Trader type | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Size on BTC / ETH (high six figures and up) | Hyperliquid | 7.3× the BTC open interest; cheaper all-in at $1M even at base rates |
| Mid-cap altcoin trader | Hyperliquid | Deeper books on the tail; Aster's 604 perps thin out past the top symbols |
| Limit-order / passive strategies | Aster | 0% maker at every tier vs 0.015% at tier 0, falling to 0% only above $500M / 14d |
| Market orders up to about $100k | Aster | 0.04% taker; impact similar at that size |
| Privacy-sensitive whale or market maker | Aster | Encrypted orders, hidden positions, stealth addresses |
| Gold, stock or forex perps | Aster (or Hyperliquid HIP-3) | Gold was its #3 market on October 15, 2026; stock perps across US / HK / KRX |
| Beginner or mobile-first | Hyperliquid | One product, deep book, official app plus Based / Liquid / fomo |
| Spot, vaults and DeFi in one account | Hyperliquid | 336 spot pairs (October 20, 2026), HLP and user vaults, HyperEVM |
| Funding from BNB Chain or Solana | Aster | Native deposit routes on both |
Use both if you are serious: rest passive orders on Aster's free maker side, execute size on Hyperliquid, and compare funding before holding through an 8-hour timestamp. For Lighter's 0% / 0% Standard account in the mix, see Hyperliquid vs Lighter vs Aster and Lighter vs Aster fees; for Aster on its own, our Aster review. Other ways to leave Hyperliquid, from zero-fee books to stock perps, are sorted by reason in our Hyperliquid alternatives guide.
FAQ
Aster or Hyperliquid: which one should you use?
Hyperliquid for most traders: it carried about 7.3× Aster's BTC open interest on October 15, 2026, so a $1M BTC market order cost $471 there with HOLYGRAIL versus $498 on Aster with DTLpLc (measured), and its book is fully public with hourly funding. Aster if you mostly post limit orders (0% maker at every tier), want your positions hidden, fund from BNB Chain or Solana, or want gold and stock perps or the separate 1001x mode. Many traders use both.
Is Aster cheaper than Hyperliquid?
On the fee table, yes: Aster charges 0.04% taker and 0% maker on crypto perps (≈ 0.038% taker after DTLpLc's 5% rebate), Hyperliquid 0.045% / 0.015% at tier 0, or 0.0432% / 0.0144% with HOLYGRAIL. With HOLYGRAIL plus Bronze staking Hyperliquid's taker rate is 0.0389%, above Aster's 0.038% with DTLpLc; Silver staking (0.0367%) is below it. Once measured price impact is added, Aster was still slightly cheaper for a $100k BTC market order ($41.37 with DTLpLc vs $43.81 with HOLYGRAIL) and Hyperliquid cheaper at $1M, even at its tier-0 rate against Aster with DTLpLc ($489 vs $498).
Which is bigger, Aster or Hyperliquid?
Hyperliquid. On CoinGecko's derivatives feed it did 5.3× Aster's 24h volume and held 6.2× its open interest at the last build of this page. CoinGecko's daily history shows Aster ahead on 48 of the 365 days to October 15, 2026, the last on 25 January 2026; since February 2026 Hyperliquid has done roughly 2–5× Aster's volume every month.
Is Aster's 1001x leverage real, and is it safe?
It is real: the 1001x mode trades BTC/USD against the ALP pool at up to 1001x, ETH/USD up to 250x. It is not safe in any ordinary sense. At 1001x a move of under 0.1% wipes the margin and liquidation comes before that; at 500x and above you cannot add margin and net profit is capped at roughly 500% (500x/750x) or 300% (1001x). Aster's order book (Pro) allows 200x on BTC only for the first $400 of notional.
ASTER vs HYPE: which token is better?
We do not give investment advice. On October 15, 2026 HYPE's market cap was about 9.4× ASTER's ($17.53B vs $1.87B, CoinGecko); HYPE traded 20% below its September 2026 high and ASTER 71% below its September 2025 high. HYPE's value link is protocol fees flowing to the Assistance Fund, which buys HYPE; ASTER's is a 99% fee buyback paid to veASTER stakers plus burns toward a 3B supply floor.
Is Aster owned by Binance?
Nothing in Aster's documents says so: its terms name no company at all, only "Aster". Its docs say it is backed by YZi Labs, the former Binance Labs, and Binance lists the ASTER token on spot and futures. Our Aster vs Binance page sets out each link with its date and source. See Aster vs Binance: is Aster owned by Binance?
Are Aster and Hyperliquid available in the US, and do they need KYC?
Neither asks for ID at sign-up, and neither is open to US persons. Hyperliquid's Terms restrict the US, Ontario (Canada) and sanctioned jurisdictions (plus citizens of sanctioned jurisdictions). Aster's Terms (updated 25 February 2026, re-read October 15, 2026) prohibit the US, Canada, the UK, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela and Syria, plus sanctioned regions, and reserve the right to run limited identity checks. Do not try to get around either list.
How does funding differ?
Hyperliquid pays funding every hour on every market. Aster sets it per market: on October 15, 2026 its API listed 201 markets on 8 hours (BTC, ETH and SOL among them), 352 on 4 hours (including ASTER, HYPE and gold) and 51 on 1 hour. Same economics over a day, different cash-flow timing.
What do the referral codes give me?
HOLYGRAIL takes 4% off your Hyperliquid fees on your first $25M of volume, applied automatically. DTLpLc returns 5% of the fees you pay on Aster Perps as a next-day rebate for 365 days. Open the link before you first connect a wallet on either venue.
Trade Hyperliquid with 4% lower fees
Join with code HOLYGRAIL: the discount applies automatically to your first $25M of volume.
Posting limit orders? Open Aster with DTLpLc: 0% maker on every Pro perp and 5% of fees back.
Disclosure: HOLYGRAIL, DTLpLc and JV2EN2CX are our referral codes; we earn a share of referred accounts' fees. Market figures were read from each exchange's public API and CoinGecko on the dates shown and change continuously; the ranking refreshes on every build. Fee, leverage, privacy and referral terms are from the official documentation. Nothing here is investment advice.