Coinglass has ignited a data fight in decentralized derivatives after publishing a comparison of perpetual DEX activity across Hyperliquid, Aster, and Lighter. The message is that “volume” is no longer a sufficient KPI unless it reconciles with open interest and liquidations. The analysis used a 24 hour snapshot to show gaps between turnover, outstanding positions, and forced closeouts, pushing traders to ask what qualifies as authentic activity. For an industry selling transparency, the debate is now about definitions, not just dashboards, and it is quickly becoming a reputational issue for venues in today’s perp market.
A one day snapshot triggers a bigger standards fight
In the snapshot, Hyperliquid showed about $3.76 billion in trading volume, $4.05 billion in open interest, and $122.96 million in liquidations. Coinglass argues Hyperliquid’s metrics look internally consistent, which it treats as a stronger signal of real flow. Aster posted $2.76 billion in volume with $927 million in open interest and $7.2 million in liquidations. Lighter reported $1.81 billion in volume, $731 million in open interest, and $3.34 million in liquidations. Coinglass presented the gaps as a lens for assessing leverage intensity during sharp moves.
Hyper liquid is in most respects everything wrong with crypto
Founder literally fled his home country to build
Openly facilitates crime and terror
Closed source
Permissioned— Kyle Samani (@KyleSamani) February 8, 2026
Coinglass suggested that when volume is high but liquidations stay low, the activity could be incentive driven, market maker looping, or points farming rather than organic hedging demand. The firm is effectively challenging whether some reported volumes translate into meaningful risk transfer. It said competitors’ volume quality needs validation with additional indicators such as funding rates, fees, order book depth, and active trader counts. The implication is that volume should correlate with leverage dynamics, and that mismatches warrant deeper diligence by allocators. That framework it argued helps separate liquidity from mechanical churn in incentive cycles.
Since $HYPE is bad @KyleSamani let's make a bet.
I bet that from 00:00 UTC 10 Feb 2026 to 00:00 UTC 31 July 2026 $HYPE will out perform any shitcoin >$1bn mcap on coingecko in USD terms. You choose your champion.
Loser donates $100k to a charity of the winner's choice. https://t.co/9n3TjxiRPk
— Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) February 8, 2026
Critics pushed back, saying conclusions from a single day cut can be misleading in markets where whales, liquidation engines, and platform design differ materially. The rebuttal is that low liquidations can reflect different risk controls or trader mix, not necessarily inflated volume. They argued that structural exchange differences could suppress liquidations without undermining legitimacy. Even so, the dispute underscores a broader governance gap: perp DEXs still lack shared standards for defining “real” activity. Until metrics are normalized, market share debates will remain as much about methodology as about trading. Expect more audits and more disputes.
