Bullet’s $ZEX Surges 152% as Blockchain CLOB Wars Heat Up

Despite blockchain use cases expanding beyond DeFi, trading remains the heart and soul of onchain activity.

While Solana has consistently dominated spot DEX volumes since Q3 2024, the network’s perps scene has struggled to witness similar levels of success.

What is Solana’s answer to Hyperliquid’s dominance in the CLOB (Central Limit Order Book) landscape?

“A Performant CLOB Can’t Exist on Solana”

Solana is undoubtedly the home of spot DEX trading. However, while that’s great news for the ecosystem’s memecoin traders and trench-dwellers, the Layer-1 still falls well short of rivals in perpetual markets.

In the last year, Solana has steadily lost market share in perpetual trading volumes. According to DefiLlama data, Solana typically attracted around 12-14% of perpetual dominance in June 2024. 

One year later, Solana’s perpetual market share now fluctuates between 6-8%, with HyperLiquid commanding anywhere between 60-70% of perpetual trading volume. The growing divide between HyperLiquid and its rivals begs the question: How can Solana compete with a hyper-performant CLOB?

Messari Researcher defi_monk argues that, as a general-purpose Layer-1, Solana simply cannot host a sufficiently performant CLOB. Ansem, a popular trader and Solana ecosystem figure, is aligned with defi_monk’s thesis, implying that app-specific rollups could be an ideal solution.

[​​https://x.com/defi_monk/status/1932543630268346434]

Naturally, not everyone agrees with the Messari researcher's point of view. Multicoin Capital partner Kyle Samani has hinted that “near-term” solutions are close to being revealed that could help Solana challenge the wider perps market.

Toly Disregards Solana Layer-2s

Unsurprisingly, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko is eager to keep his dream of an onchain NASDAQ alive on the Layer-1. Toly hit back at proponents of app-specific rollups (i.e., Solana L2s), stipulating that “unless it’s maximizing rev for validators it’s not a clob that is on Solana, it’s in fact another competitor.”

It’s worth mentioning that Solana’s forward roadmap outlines several performance improvements in the years to come. Alongside Firedancer, which is slated to boost the Layer-1’s transaction throughput, Solana recently unveiled a new consensus protocol, Alpenglow. Designed by Anza, Alpenglow promises to replace Solana’s existing Proof-of-History consensus and help the network achieve unprecedented scalability.

Tristan Frizza, co-founder of Bullet, a Solana L2, CLOB-based perp DEX, acknowledged Toly’s concerns, while also outlining added nuance to support the case for app-specific rollups. 

Frizza asserts that having an optimized perps DEX on a Solana L2 prevents leakage to rival chains like Hyperliquid and helps Solana retain mindshare and value capture.

$ZEX Up 152% as Traders Speculate on CLOB Relevance

Following Hyperliquid’s success, market participants are eager to take positions in the “CLOB Wars”. With optimism returning to markets and influential figures like Ansem shining a light on emerging products in the sector, Bullet, formerly Zeta Markets, is enjoying newfound interest.

With attention turning to CLOB-based perpetual trading platforms, Bullet’s native token $ZEX soared 280% to a local high of $0.173. While details are yet to be released, Bullet has teased a migration event, wherein holders will be able to exchange their $ZEX tokens for Bullet’s native, rebranded asset.

While the application is still in its testnet phase, Bullet claims to offer CEX-level latency and trade execution.

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