<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-142812" title="photo_2025-10-02_19-35-54" src="https://coinspot.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/photo_2025-10-02_19-35-54.jpg" alt="September set a record for the derivatives market. The total trading volume on futures protocols reached $1.05 trillion — for the first time above this mark." width="713" height="495" srcset="https://coinspot.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/photo_2025-10-02_19-35-54.jpg 713w, https://coinspot.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/photo_2025-10-02_19-35-54-259×180.jpg 259w, https://coinspot.io/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/photo_2025-10-02_19-35-54-400×278.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 713px) 100vw, 713px" / alt="September set a record for the derivatives market. The total trading volume on futures protocols reached 
September set a record for the derivatives market. The total trading volume on futures protocols reached $1.05 trillion — for the first time above this mark. Growth was 48% compared to August, when the figure was $707.6 billion.
Aster comes to the forefront
The main surprise was Aster, focused on BNB Chain. The exchange showed $420 billion in trading and for the first time took the lead, displacing Hyperliquid. Just a month ago, Aster had almost no volume, but the token launch on September 17 and public support from Changpeng Zhao dramatically changed the picture.
The market capitalization of ASTER rose to $14 billion from $560 million at launch. The token price soared more than tenfold in four days and is now trading around $1.75.
Hyperliquid loses ground
Hyperliquid, which held the lead for a long time, recorded $282.5 billion in volume — 29% less than in August. Its token HYPE is valued at $49.5 billion at the current price of $49.63.
For the first time, Aster overtook Hyperliquid in fees as well: on September 28, Aster earned $25 million, while its competitor had only $3.2 million.
Challenge from Lighter
Ethereum Layer-2 exchange Lighter showed $164.4 billion in trading and took third place, despite having been in closed beta until recently. The public mainnet launch on Wednesday opens the door to a new round of competition. Lighter now has 188,000 unique accounts and more than 50,000 active users per day.
What next?
The futures DEX market is entering a phase of fierce competition. Aster is betting on innovation, including hidden orders that most on-chain exchanges lack. Hyperliquid maintains its weight due to liquidity and recognition. And Lighter is just starting the fight, but is already showing strong metrics.
The record $1 trillion shows that futures derivatives are becoming one of the key segments of the market, and the battle for leadership in it is just beginning.
Read more: Telegram will add tokenized stock trading via Wallet in October
