2025-12-28 03:26:30

The perpetual DEX landscape is shifting fundamentally. For years, the competitive edge came down to one thing: who could offer lower fees and more trading pairs. That playbook is losing steam.

Today's winning formula is completely different. It's not just about what you can trade—it's about making users feel like they belong. Community engagement, genuine participation, loyalty rewards that actually matter. Projects that crack this are the ones building real moats.

The platforms that stick around aren't necessarily the ones with the best order books or the tightest spreads. They're the ones where traders feel invested in the ecosystem. Where staying put feels like the natural choice. That shift from pure features to genuine belonging? That's where the real competition is headed.

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.

8 Likes

Reward
8
8
Repost
Share

Comment

0/400

MetaMaximalist

· 6h ago

finally someone articulating what i've been saying for years. the fee arbitrage era is dead. network effects > everything else now

Reply0

GweiWatcher

· 20h ago

To be honest, the fee structure and trading pair mechanics really should be phased out. Now everyone is competing over community and sense of belonging, and this shift is quite interesting.

View OriginalReply0

NftMetaversePainter

· 20h ago

actually, this whole "belonging" thing is just aesthetic computation applied to tokenomics... the real moat isn't community vibes, it's the algorithmic beauty of incentive design embedded in protocol mechanics

Reply0

degenwhisperer

· 20h ago

Honestly, the sense of community sounds good in theory, but how many can truly achieve it? Most of it is just slogans.

View OriginalReply0

SchrodingerPrivateKey

· 20h ago

Basically, it's the end point of involution; the costs and trading pairs can no longer be pushed further. Now, it's a matter of who can make users feel a sense of belonging, and I do agree with that.

View OriginalReply0

LayerZeroHero

· 20h ago

To be honest, the low-fee model has been played out for a long time... Now it's all about who can energize the community; user stickiness is the real moat.

View OriginalReply0

LeekCutter

· 20h ago

That's true, but the problem is that most projects only talk about the community, and very few are willing to actually give rewards.

View OriginalReply0

ZKProofster

· 20h ago

tbh the "belonging" angle is just gamification with better marketing... technically speaking, you still need solid infrastructure or everything crumbles. seen too many projects optimize for vibes and ignore protocol robustness. loyalty rewards mean nothing if your settlement layer is a disaster, ngl

Reply0