CZ sounds the horn: Perp Dex ignites the second exchange on-chain war

Written by: Luke, Mars Finance

Wow, now everyone wants to do Perp Dex. The rising tide lifts all boats… But in the long run, the best builders will win. DYOR (Do Your Own Research). The era of Perp Dex!

—— CZ, the founder of Binance

When the king of centralized exchanges (CEX) declares the arrival of an era of decentralized tracks, you know that the rules of the game have fundamentally changed.

In the autumn of 2025, the whirlwind stirred up by Perp DEX (perpetual contract decentralized exchange) is becoming increasingly intense, with the new king at the center of the storm, ASTER, surpassing stablecoin giant Circle in daily revenue, closely chasing Tether. In light of this, Gate has grandly launched its L2 network “Gate Layer,” while OKX's “X Layer” has welcomed DeFi giant Aave. This familiar scene seems to turn the clock back to 2020.

However, if you think this is just old wine in a new bottle, a replay of the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) script, you might be underestimating the complexity and brutality of this war. This is no longer a simple battle for traffic. Under the immense pressure of Perpetual DEX at the gates, it resembles more of a “dark forest” war over economic sniping, ecological territory, and the future dominance of Web3.

Echoes of History - 2020, the “Uprising” of Exchanges

The foreshadowing of today's game was already laid in the summer of 2020, ignited by the “DeFi Summer.” At that time, the Ethereum network was experiencing a sweet trouble. The explosive growth of applications such as Uniswap and Compound led to unprecedented prosperity in on-chain activities, but also resulted in network congestion and skyrocketing Gas fees. A simple Swap could cost dozens or even hundreds of dollars, keeping countless ordinary users outside the door of the DeFi world.

Capital and users flow like water, always moving towards the low ground. Binance keenly captured this historic window of opportunity. In September 2020, Binance Smart Chain (BSC) officially launched. It is not a revolutionary technological creation, but rather an extremely precise business decision — forking Ethereum to retain its widely popular EVM compatibility while replacing the consensus mechanism with a more centralized Proof of Authority.

The strategic intent of BSC is as clear as a sharp blade: to create a “parallel world” that is fully compatible with Ethereum, but faster and cheaper. With a block time of 3 seconds and transaction fees as low as a few cents, it is like a promised land for users and developers who have long been tormented by high Gas fees on Ethereum. Following closely, Binance launched a $100 million seed fund to vigorously support ecological projects. Applications like PancakeSwap have rapidly risen, absorbing a large amount of liquidity and users flowing out from Ethereum.

Immediately after, Huobi launched a similar HECO chain in December of the same year, marking the official start of the exchange chain wars. The essence of this war is a “traffic plundering battle” against Ethereum. The role of the exchanges is that of the “rebels,” flying the banner of “more inclusive DeFi,” attempting to establish a kingdom independent of Ethereum, and confining users and assets within their own sphere of influence as much as possible. Their weapons are high performance and low fees, with a strategic core of “replacement.”

Paradigm Shift - From “Ethereum Killer” to “Ethereum Colonizer”

However, four years later, the new script of Gate and OKX has undergone a fundamental transformation. They are no longer trying to build independent kingdoms, but have chosen to construct their own “city-states” within the vast empire of Ethereum — what they are launching is no longer independent Layer 1 public chains, but Layer 2 scaling networks based on Ethereum.

This is a strategic shift from “substituters” to “co-builders,” driven by technological maturity and the evolution of industry consensus. This L2 model has overwhelming advantages compared to the previous generation of L1 forks: it inherits Ethereum's top-tier security while seamlessly sharing Ethereum's vast liquidity and developer ecosystem. If 2020 was the year exchanges tried to “detach” from Ethereum, then 2025 will be the year they “embrace” Ethereum. Their goal is no longer to kill Ethereum, but to carve out their own “sphere of influence” on Ethereum's ecological map.

Core Motivation - ASTER's “Pearl Harbor Moment”

What has prompted CEX to make such a significant strategic adjustment? The answer points directly to their most core and profitable business - perpetual contracts.

To understand how deep the anxiety around CEX is, just take a look at the astonishing data of the rising star ASTER:

Revenue: On September 24, the daily revenue reached as high as 8.56 million USD, surpassing the stablecoin giant Circle (7.72 million USD), second only to Tether, ranking second in the crypto world.

Trading volume: The perpetual contract trading volume in the past 24 hours reached $32.4 billion, more than twice that of its main competitor Hyperliquid.

User Growth: The total number of users has exceeded 2 million, with more than 710,000 added in just the past week.

These are no longer “potentials” or “trends”; they are a massive army that has already arrived at the gates. ASTER is launching a fierce attack on the core territory of CEX with self-custody, high transparency, and extreme performance. After the collapse of FTX, users have become unprecedentedly vigilant about the “counterparty risk” of CEX, and Perp DEX precisely addresses this pain point.

In the face of this situation, the counterattack from CEX has also become more three-dimensional and brutal. In addition to launching L2 support for its “favorite child”, using economic means to target and FUD to suppress independent Perp DEX leaders has also become an option under the table. A recent meticulously planned attack on Hyperliquid has pushed this covert battle to a climax, exposing CEX's true attitude towards Perp DEX: when they cannot defeat you in terms of product, they will destroy you economically, in public opinion, and even through regulation.

Therefore, the strategy of CEX launching L2 is not merely a passive defense, but an active siege of the “carrot and stick” approach.

Agent Wars - The Ecological Chess Game of the Giants

Observing the current market landscape, a clear “agent war” map has emerged. Major CEX giants are no longer personally engaging in hand-to-hand combat, but instead are supporting their respective camps' Perp DEX players through investments, incubation, and L2 strategies.

Source: Coin Circle Encyclopedia @thegalxyone

This chart reveals a new form of warfare, and ASTER is undoubtedly the ace in the Binance camp. It has not only received strategic investment from Binance, being regarded as a startup project of “Binance OGs,” but it is also the leading Perp DEX of the BNB Chain. CZ himself has mentioned it multiple times on social media, personally endorsing it. This makes the showdown between ASTER from the Binance & BNB Chain camp and Avantis from the Coinbase & Base camp charged with tension.

Interestingly, the battle situation is still escalating. Just as CEXs are building L2 infrastructure, ASTER has also announced the upcoming launch of its own Aster Chain, a dedicated blockchain with sub-second confirmations, native perpetual contract integration, and low fees. This marks the beginning of top applications moving towards the path of “application chains,” attempting to take control of the discourse on infrastructure into their own hands.

The future of warfare will be a dual game between the CEX L2 ecosystem and DEX native application chains.

The ultimate goal of exchanges is to create a self-reinforcing, continuously growing “eco-flywheel” around their own L2 networks. This is a perfect business closed loop that tightly integrates the traffic advantages of CEX, the technical advantages of L2, and the economic models of tokens.

The Laws of the Dark Forest and the Road Ahead

A new round of exchange chain wars has begun. This is no longer a simple technical competition, but a comprehensive war concerning the future of Web3 gateways, liquidity distribution, and ecological dominance. It follows the dark forest law - survival is the top priority, and any existence that exposes itself and poses a threat to others may face a crackdown.

For new players like Gate Layer and X Layer, the challenges are immense. Their competitors are not just each other, nor just native application chains like ASTER Chain, but also “neutral” L2s like Arbitrum and Optimism, which already have strong, organic communities and decentralized genes.

While exchanges with L2 certainly possess incomparable advantages in traffic and capital, their inherent “centralization” label will be their Achilles' heel that is difficult to shake off. The centralization issue of sequencers has been laid bare in the Hyperliquid incident. When faced with significant shocks, does a centralized team have the right to intervene in protocol rules for the “greater good”? This conflict with the decentralization and anti-censorship spirit pursued by the crypto world will be the ultimate question that all CEX L2 must answer.

The future landscape is filled with uncertainties. Will users ultimately choose the “one-stop” Web3 ecosystem provided by CEX, which offers a smooth experience but is relatively centralized, or will they stick with the more open, decentralized native L2 networks that may have a higher barrier to entry?

The only thing that can be certain is that the exchanges have sounded the horn of attack. They are no longer satisfied with merely serving as a bridge between the real world and the crypto world; they want to personally step onto the field and establish their own city-states in this vast new continent of blockchain. The outcome of this war will profoundly affect the landscape of the crypto world for years to come.