Solana official Perp protocol exposed, launching the DEX counterattack.

Written by: Haotian

I have previously written an analysis stating that Perp Dex will definitely explode within the Solana ecosystem. Recently, @aeyakovenko inadvertently exposed a GitHub repository, a sharded perpetual contract protocol framework named Percolator, which has become the focus of attention:

1. Its architectural innovation is roughly to split the order book into multiple shards for parallel processing, including global scheduling and margin management via Router + an independent matching engine via Slab. In addition, it adopts high-frequency trading optimization and risk control design, such as using a reserve-commit two-phase execution mechanism to prevent MEV attacks.

Interestingly, Toly mentioned in the comments that they might introduce a prop AMM competitive experimental mechanism, allowing LPs to customize the matching engine and risk parameters.

2. Surprisingly, it was initially thought that Solana's entry into the Perp Dex competition would support emerging Perp Dexs within its ecosystem, such as @DriftProtocol, @pacifica_fi, and @bulktrade, but it has instead elevated it to a strategic level handled by the Solana official lab. This shows how eager Solana is to continue the Perp Dex trend.

3. The logic behind this is very clear. In my opinion, Perp Dex is a track that can simultaneously accommodate high frequency, high leverage, and large volume. Solana has spent over a year refining the Alpenglow consensus, Firedancer client, and other performance optimizations, and can handle peak trading volumes like during Meme Season. Now is the best time to integrate this infrastructure capability into the Perp Dex scenario to ignite it.

Moreover, the imaginative space for optimizing the validator layer, as well as further optimizations on network bandwidth by @doublezero, are all enhancing the performance ceiling of Solana. @jito_sol has also proven that professional optimizations on the validator layer can be effective. From a technical standpoint, it is completely feasible for a Perp Dex at the level of @HyperliquidX to emerge within the Solana ecosystem.

4. Perhaps mentioning this, core executives like Toly and @calilyliu must be indignant. With Solana's excellent infrastructure, how can projects like @Aster_DEX and @Lighter_xyz, which are still uncertain about their true nature, show off excessively?

The key issue is that the Perp Dex, driven by the exchange camp behind the scenes, has numerous problems such as fake volume stimulated by airdrops, the unsustainability of mining through trading, and a lack of genuine high-frequency trading demand, which gives Solana a reason to step in and seize the opportunity.

5. With the fundamental layout of tokenization in the US stock market and the long-term layout in the ICM internet capital market, Solana has the opportunity to provide a real application scenario for Perp DEX infrastructure that can accommodate the trading needs of traditional financial assets, rather than just remaining at the level of trading crypto-native assets.

Imagine this: After the tokenization of US stocks, users can directly open leveraged long and short positions for Tesla and Nvidia on Solana, settling with $SOL or stablecoins, with transaction fees flowing back into the ecosystem. Doesn't this narrative of “on-chain Nasdaq” have a much higher ceiling than merely trading perpetual contracts for BTC, SOL, and ETH assets?

Above

Next, let's see how the Perp Dex counterattack on Solana will perform!