SynFutures V3 distinguished itself as the second-highest performing perp DEX for the quarter, with over $98 billion in trading volume.
V3 reached a TVL of $72 million, partly due to incentive programs like Oyster Odyssey and Blast Gold points.
SynFutures captured 68% of Blast's volume market share by the end of Q1.
A giveaway in late March increased DAUs from 600 to over 2,900 in three days, and a subsequent campaign in April saw DAUs peak at 9,500, demonstrating effective user acquisition strategies.
Primer
SynFutures V3 is a decentralized derivatives exchange on several L2 networks, most notably Blast and Base. The SynFutures team recently secured $22 million in a Series B funding round led by Pantera Capital. SynFutures V3 utilizes the Oyster AMM, which integrates features of an onchain order book, moving away from the traditional matching process from AMMs. With single-token liquidity provision, this permissionless model allows listing pairs with any asset as collateral and enables users to trade any quote asset against any collateral asset. Theoretically, users could pair any combination of assets against each other. In addition, order management, matching, and executions occur fully onchain, unlike alternative models that depend more heavily on offchain controls. As of writing, SynFutures does not have a native token, but the team has considered it.
For the purposes of this report, we will focus strictly on V3 data, as V1 and V2 were deprecated this February.
SynFutures V3 continues to be an overwhelming success, facilitating over $98 billion in perp trading volume in Q2 and ranking as the second-largest perp DEX by quarterly volume. This performance made it the seventh-highest quarter ever in volume for any perp DEX. SynFutures V2’s all-time cumulative volume was $4.6 billion, even after launching on Polygon instead of Blast, which has about half as much TVL. Similarly, V2 averaged 950 daily active addresses (DAAs), whereas V3 has seen around 2,275 DAAs since launch.
V3’s average daily volume was $1.1 billion in Q2 and peaked at $1.6 billion on June 17. SynFutures’ consistent daily volumes (sans weekends) solidify its user retention and V3’s success.
Focusing solely on SynFutures V3, user counts were relatively stagnant (646 DAUs) and even decreased sharply during the first two months post-launch. However, on March 29, SynFutures announced a 10,000 Blast Gold giveaway to 10,000 new onchain users. The campaign ended on April 4, but as displayed above, it significantly increased users, going from 600 to 2,900 DAUs in just three days.
With unique addresses declining in April, SynFutures introduced a promotional campaign offering 2x Blast Gold points, which peaked DAUs at 9,500. Following the announcement, average DAAs surged to 2,763 from 633, demonstrating the program's impact and the platform's user acquisition. Throughout most of Q2, DAUs consistently remained above 3,000.
As a winner of Blast’s Big Blast competition, SynFutures became the first perp DEX live on Blast. An ensuing benefit of this first-mover advantage was Blast Gold allocations. These rewards have effectively helped SynFutures attract and retain users. Unlike many campaigns that often reward mercenary capital, SynFutures has so far succeeded in keeping these users engaged on the platform.
SynFutures’ TVL increased 9% this quarter to $47 million. The majority of TVL is comprised of wETH, accounting for 83%. TVL spikes were observed in early April and May, coinciding with the aforementioned campaigns. Similar to volumes and DAUs, TVL proved to be sticky following the conclusion of these initiatives.
The Oyster AMM model on SynFutures combines concentrated liquidity and limit orders. This reduces protocol risk when listing long-tail assets and enhances capital efficiency by requiring only one set of margin to provide liquidity on both sides of the pools. This approach has proven to be highly efficient, as SynFutures' daily trading volume soared with significantly less TVL. For context, dYdX's TVL is around $450 million with an average daily volume of $1.3 billion.
The most traded quote assets on SynFutures are BTC and ETH, accounting for over 99% of total trades. USDB (Blast's yield-bearing stablecoin) is the most utilized margin asset. Q2 averaged nearly 28,000 daily trades, an increase from 5,000 in Q1. The exchange has aggressively listed long-tail assets, most notably BODEN, BRENT, and WIF, but is struggling to see adoption. That said, BTC and ETH demand continues to grow and remain the bellwether assets of the platform.
SynFutures has generated over $30 million in fees since its launch on March 1. The $30 million generated in Q2 is among the top 15 of all crypto projects (including base layers) and is a testament to the increased adoption and volumes throughout the quarter. Normally, SynFutures’ fees are defined within different volume tiers:
Users whose monthly trading volume is below $100 million receive a 3 basis points (bps) fee;
Users greater than $100 million receive a 2.75 bps fee; and,
Users that conduct over $1 billion receive a 2 bps fee.
After the quarter ended, SynFutures launched a meme perp summer campaign in July in which all trading (taker) fees were reduced from 3 bps to 2 bps. Its fee growth has proven consistent throughout the quarter and should continue to climb.
Ecosystem Analysis
As of Q2, SynFutures commanded a 66% market share on Blast. While competitors like Vertex’s Edge and Blast Futures also facilitated billions in trading volume during the quarter, SynFutures continued to lead the ecosystem. Outside Blast, SynFutures’ quarter catapulted it to become a leading perp DEX in a competitive sector. Perp DEXs are among the few crypto products with a well-established product-market fit. That said, there are currently over 90 live Perp DEXs, and as more networks and tokens launch, the sector will get increasingly more competitive. After posting the seventh-largest quarterly volume for a perp DEX, SynFutures’ next order of business is to maintain that pace.
Qualitative Analysis
In Q2, SynFutures leveraged incentives and user experience to accelerate and maintain traction. Beginning in April, SynFutures announced permanent Blast point multipliers and Oyster Odyssey points. Because SynFutures has yet to launch a token, Oyster Odyssey points will likely coincide with a future airdrop. This meta has driven market dynamics throughout the cycle and has traditionally been effective at catalyzing early adoption.
Nevertheless, points are often a double-edged sword: they attract short-term users via rewards, leading to enhanced metrics until rewards dry out or the protocol’s token launches. Additionally, ongoing campaigns have targeted all types of users, including LPs, active traders, and new users to the ecosystem. The team has also targeted institutional clients with different campaigns, such as SDK access rewards and selective fee tiers, and their trading Grand Prix allocates up to $500,000 in rewards and typically lasts 2 months. The resulting volume and user growth point to the effectiveness of these initiatives.
Protocol Updates
SynFutures partnered with Chaos Labs in April to enhance the security and performance of its V3 Oyster AMM. SynFutures’ innovations, like single-token concentrated liquidity and its unified liquidity model, are further solidified with Chaos Labs' offering of real-time alerts and monitoring of potential vulnerabilities. In June, SynFutures announced its Meme Perp Summer on Base, its first network expansion outside Blast. The exchange is offering $100,000 USDC and future airdrop allocation to supplement the growth of token projects and their assets on Base. The promotion launched on June 18, and trading starts in July.
On the technical front, SynFutures added several UI/UX improvements, including Odyssey Oyster dashboards, onchain referral code integrations, and added wallet support. Unlike most crypto applications, SynFutures users can now trade in and out of positions and LP on a mobile application.
Closing Summary
SynFutures V3 has become a leading player in the perpetual DEX market. It achieved a remarkable $98 billion in trading volume in Q2 2024, ranking it the second-highest quarterly volume ever across all perpetual DEXs. This growth is a testament to the platform's innovative design and promotional campaigns that effectively engage users. These campaigns catalyzed spikes in user activity, pushing daily active users to peak at 9,500. Furthermore, most of SynFutures' TVL, which saw a 9% increase this quarter, consists of wETH. The stability of post-campaign TVL highlights sustained user interest and participation, underscoring the platform's appeal and the stickiness of its financial offerings. As SynFutures continues to innovate, it remains poised for further growth and continued dominance in DeFi.
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