Coinglass published a 24-hour comparison of perpetual decentralized exchanges that ignited controversy over whether trading volumes on platforms like Hyperliquid, Aster, and Lighter reflect authentic market activity or incentive-driven manipulation.
What Happened: Volume Discrepancies
The analytics firm's snapshot revealed Hyperliquid recorded approximately $3.76 billion in trading volume, $4.05 billion in open interest, and $122.96 million in liquidations.
Aster posted $2.76 billion in volume, $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 suggested the combination of high reported volume and relatively low liquidations may indicate incentive-driven trading, market-maker looping, or points farming rather than organic hedging demand.
The firm concluded Hyperliquid showed stronger internal consistency across key metrics, while volume quality of some competitors warrants further validation using indicators such as funding rates, fees, order-book depth, and active trader counts.
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Why It Matters: Standardization Debate
Critics pushed back against conclusions drawn from a single-day snapshot. D C CRYPT questioned Coinglass on X, asking whether the firm was speculating without certainty. Others argued that liquidation totals alone may not reliably indicate market health, noting that higher liquidations can reflect aggressive leverage or volatile trading conditions.
Coinglass defended its analysis, emphasizing conclusions were based on publicly available data and rejecting accusations of spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
The controversy follows recent disputes surrounding Hyperliquid, including criticism from Kyle Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital, who raised concerns about transparency and governance.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes escalated tensions by proposing a $100,000 charity bet challenging Samani to select any major altcoin with a market cap above $1 billion to compete against Hyperliquid's HYPE (HYPE) token in performance through Jul. 31.
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