The October market has recorded a series of remarkable milestones in the Perp DEX sector. Several altcoins from Perp DEX platforms, including Hyperliquid (HYPE), Aster (ASTER), and Avantis (AVNT), have posted strong gains. If this trend persists, capital may continue to rotate into smaller-cap altcoins.
On-chain data shows that a few low-cap Perp DEX altcoins are experiencing strong accumulation. This is reflected in whale wallet balances and exchange reserves.
Perp DEX Records Fuel Interest in Low-Cap Altcoins
DefiLlama data reveals that Perps trading volume surpassed $1.1 trillion in September, marking the highest level in DeFi history.
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Volume has already increased by more than $340 billion in the first three days of October alone. This growth signals the possibility of setting an even higher record this month.
A large wave of investors has flocked to derivatives trading on DEXs, attracted by airdrop programs and encouragement from industry leaders.
If this trend continues, several low-cap altcoins could see strong price rallies. These tokens have market capitalizations below $50 million and are already showing signs of early accumulation.
1. Adrena (ADX)
Adrena is an open-source, peer-to-peer, decentralized perpetual exchange built on Solana.
ADX currently holds a market capitalization of under $40 million. Nansen data shows that exchange reserves dropped by more than 3% in the last week of September, while ADX’s price climbed from $0.028 to $0.038. Meanwhile, top whale wallets increased their balances by 0.87%.
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Although these changes are modest, several factors could support further potential for ADX.
First, DefiLlama data shows that the exchange’s Perps volume recovered to over $600 million in the past month, the highest level since June.
Second, as of October 3, Adrena ranked second in daily trading fees among Solana-based derivative DEXs, only behind Jupiter.
Third, the project appeared on Coingecko’s trending list. These signs suggest Adrena is attracting new traders.
2. Perpetual Protocol (PERP)
Perpetual Protocol is a decentralized futures exchange built on Ethereum. PERP has been listed on Binance since 2020, but its price has dropped nearly 99%. This decline left its market capitalization at just around $22 million.
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Renewed investor enthusiasm for Perp DEX narratives has brought attention back to this token.
Nansen data shows that PERP’s exchange reserves decreased by more than 15.6% in the past month, while balances in top wallets rose 7.8%.
Some technical analysts highlight PERP’s price structure in 2025. The token is no longer making lower lows and is forming a bullish pattern, suggesting potential gains of more than 130% by year-end.
The combination of on-chain accumulation signals and technical structure could support a bullish scenario for PERP.
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3. Bluefin (BLUE)
Bluefin is currently the leading perpetuals platform on Sui. A recent BeInCrypto report pointed to positive signs suggesting the project may attract more investor interest in October.
BLUE’s market capitalization stands at approximately $39 million. DefiLlama data indicates that the DEX generates more than $13.6 million in annual revenue. Bluefin has pledged to use 25% of that revenue, about $3.4 million, to buy back BLUE.
This planned buyback amount equals nearly 10% of the market capitalization. As a result, it could serve as a strong price catalyst and encourage more investors to accumulate BLUE.
Notably, the buyback program began in October. Many analysts expect BLUE’s price to break above $0.20 this month.
Low-cap altcoins can provide significant profit opportunities but also carry two key risks.
First is liquidity risk. These tokens often have low trading volumes and poor market depth, which can easily lead to large fluctuations.
Second is sentiment risk. If the Perp DEX trend fades, projects lacking real utility may fail to retain users, causing token prices to decline again.
