TLDR
In the past week, Ethereum L2 venues for on?chain derivatives led DEX activity, with Lighter and Aster topping 30?day perp volumes while Hyperliquid remained close behind (report).
- Lighter logged about $203 billion over 30 days, with Aster at $171.8 billion and Hyperliquid at $160.6 billion (Blockworks analysis).
- For spot flows by chain, Base had a strong earlier run but cooled this week, while Solana dominated and BNB Chain was second (market note).
Deep Dive
1. L2 Perps Leaders
On the L2 derivatives side, volumes were led by Ethereum L2 venues. Multiple independent sources show Lighter first, Aster second, and Hyperliquid third by 30?day trading volume, indicating L2s are capturing a large share of on?chain perps activity (Cointelegraph; Blockworks).
- Lighter roughly $203B in 30 days, Aster $171.8B, Hyperliquid $160.6B, per aggregated on?chain derivatives trackers (Cointelegraph).
- Blockworks weekly view corroborates Lighters lead, while noting Hyperliquid still leads on revenue and open interestuseful context for sustainability (Blockworks).
If your lens is on leverage and trader activity, L2 perps venues (especially Lighter and Aster) are where on?chain volume concentrated this week.
2. Spot DEX Flows On L2s
For spot DEX volumes by chain, this weeks coverage points to a cooling on Base after earlier outperformance, while Solana led overall and BNB Chain ranked secondimplying L2s were not the top spot venues in the past few days (Yahoo Finance).
- Base saw notable pullbacks in DEX volumes following a very strong run earlier, per Nansens market commentary, while Solana remained the top venue and BNB Chain second (Yahoo Finance).
- This suggests the recent leadership shift favored high?throughput L1s for spot trading, with L2s leading predominantly in on?chain perps rather than spot this week.
For spot?only exposure, L2s were secondary this week. For leveraged on?chain trading, Ethereum L2 venues were primary.
Conclusion
This weeks DEX leadership splits by type: Ethereum L2 venues (Lighter, Aster) led on?chain perpetuals, while spot trading volume concentrated on Solana and BNB, with Base (L2) cooling after an earlier run. If your goal is momentum in on?chain derivatives, L2s were the leaders; for spot depth, look to the top L1 venues.
Confidence: moderate because perps and spot flows are captured by different trackers and weekly narratives can shift quickly. A fast check is to compare chain dashboards on DeFiLlama and recent venue posts for the latest 7?day volumes.
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