Crypto exchange OKX created a decentralized perpetuals trading platform similar to Hyperliquid and Aster but decided against launching it due to regulatory concerns, according to its founder.
OKX’s Web3 division developed the unnamed platform in 2023, CEO Star Xu revealed in a post on X on Sunday.
“Hyperliquid has shown that significant success in on-chain perpetuals can be achieved with a small team. Now, more competitors like Aster are entering the space,” Xu said.
“OKX Web3 has been testing a similar product since 2023, but we opted not to launch it on mainnet because of regulatory considerations.”
Decentralized Perpetuals Exchanges on the Rise
Decentralized perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid, which launched in 2024, has quickly become one of DeFi’s leading perpetuals venues, recording its strongest month in July with around $319 billion in trading volume.
Meanwhile, ASTER—originally launched as Aster Chain in July—is a crypto derivatives exchange backed by CZ-affiliated YZi Labs and positioned as a direct competitor to Hyperliquid. Over the past 30 days, ASTER has logged more than $22 billion in trading volume, according to DefiLlama.
Regulatory Concerns Delay OKX
OKX CEO Star Xu did not detail how far their decentralized perpetuals product had progressed but pointed to the CFTC’s September 2023 enforcement action against Deridex as a key reason for holding off.
The CFTC had alleged that Deridex was illegally offering digital asset derivatives without registering as a swap execution facility or futures commission merchant, focusing specifically on perpetual swaps. Other protocols, including Opyn and ZeroEx, were also cited for offering leveraged and margined retail commodity transactions in digital assets without authorization.
Xu commented:
“While we celebrate the growth of on-chain perps, we should not forget the CFTC enforcement against Deridex in 2023. Regulatory enforcement has fundamentally shifted—hopefully the industry can soon gain much-needed clarity.”
A Changing Regulatory Landscape
The U.S. regulatory approach has shifted significantly since the election of crypto-friendly President Donald Trump in January.
On Saturday, the CFTC appointed new members to its Global Markets Advisory Committee and subcommittees, including several crypto industry leaders to the Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee.
Additionally, the White House’s July report on cryptocurrency policy recommended that oversight of digital assets be shared between the CFTC and the SEC, with the CFTC overseeing spot crypto markets.
