Another decentralised perpetual futures exchange is gaining attention, as investors pile in amid an airdrop campaign.
Sector leader Hyperliquid ran a lucrative airdrop campaign last year, from which some of its users millions of dollars.
The campaign inspired several competitors. Among the buzziest is edgeX, a layer 2 blockchain offering perpetual futures trading.
EdgeX deposits have grown to over $100 million in July, a 1,000% increase since the start of the month.
Launched in August 2024, the blockchain saw record trading volume of over $13.5 billion in November. But investors’ deposits in the protocol have remained below $5 million since then, and by January, trading volume had dropped 89%, to $1.4 billion.
In June 2025, the protocol introduced “edgeX Open Season”, the second season of its points programme. The programme rewards users with points for generating trading volume and referral trading volume, as well as using other features on the platform.
Points first became widespread in the crypto industry in 2023, fueling breakneck growth for several protocols. That’s because most investors assume points will be used to allocate tokens in a future airdrop.
In June, EdgeX deposits jumped 64% from the protocol’s February lows, to over $12 million. Volume grew 87%, to over $8 billion in that span.
This momentum carried into July. EdgeX deposits have grown almost tenfold this month, reaching over $110 million, while fees hit almost $6 million.
The protocol has also facilitated about $13 billion in perpetual futures trade volume this month. While that figure is slightly below its May 2024 peak, volumes are rising: EdgeX handled over $1 billion in volume on July 22, the largest day by volume in the project’s history.
The protocol’s first points programme was introduced as the “edgeX Points Alpha Season” in December.
That one was less successful: EdgeX deposits and volume remained stagnant during the beginning of 2025.
Instead of airdropping tokens when season one ended in May, the platform distributed the season’s final trache of points and announced a second incentives campaign involving NFTs.
NFTs were awarded to users who traded more than $25 million in volume, those whose referrals brought in more than $50 million in volume, and “core community members.”
NFT holders will eventually receive edgeX tokens and receive additional benefits, such as a 35% rebate on all perpetual futures trades.
Such perks are also common in centralised exchanges such as Binance, which lowers fees for holders of its BNB token.
Last November, Hyperliquid airdropped its token to early users. It was among the most profitable airdrops of the year and Hyperliquid has since become the largest onchain perpetual futures exchange.
