Derivatives

Hyperliquid grew from Jeff and iliensinc’s self-funded trading team into a Layer 1 whose exchange lives in chain state. HYPE’s 2024 user distribution aligned traders with that system, while HLP and the JELLY vote revealed who absorbs losses and when validators can rewrite a market’s ending.

Lighter is an Ethereum-anchored application-specific ZK rollup for order-book trading. Proofs constrain matching and state updates, while a sequencer, prover, governor, security council, interface operator, and LIT utility programs remain separate control surfaces.

Pendle turns a yield-bearing position into an SY wrapper, an expiring PT principal claim and an expiring YT yield claim. Its markets are immutable, while newer SY adapters and Router V4 can be upgraded; meanwhile sPENDLE is replacing vePENDLE, so plain PENDLE alone promises neither principal nor fixed fee income.

AWE Network is the successor identity to STP, whose STPT token moved through a 1:1 surrender-and-claim process from Ethereum to a new AWE contract on Base. AWE now presents simulation software for autonomous AI-agent worlds; its token supplies voting power after delegation, while upgrades, migration claims and interface access retain distinct administrative controls.

Synthetix is the protocol lineage that began as Havven, turned SNX into collateral for a shared Synth debt pool, modularized that risk in V3, delegated it to the 420 Pool and then retired sUSD under SIP-423. Current SNX sits beside an Ethereum-mainnet perpetuals exchange, but holding it alone is neither a Synth redemption claim nor a guaranteed fee right. Council signatures, pDAO upgrades and deferred new staking contracts define the present control boundary.

Derive grew from Lyra's options AMM into a three-part derivatives system: an OP Stack rollup, onchain margin protocol, and company-operated orderbook. DRV replaced LYRA at 1:1 and becomes governance weight only through stDRV; it is not equity or a withdrawal claim. A centralized matcher, permissioned sequencer deployment, external oracle data, bridges and upgrade paths remain distinct control surfaces.

GMX grew from the XVIX and Gambit communities into a perpetuals protocol. V1’s shared GLP pool closed to new liquidity in July 2025; V2 isolates risk in GM pools, while signed oracles, keepers, Timelock roles and conditional GMX buybacks remain critical control points.

CYDX is a fixed-supply Ethereum token attached to a CyberDEX interface for legacy Synthetix Perps V2 on Optimism. The token does not supply trading liquidity or encode fee rights; sUSD, SNX stakers, Pyth/Chainlink and keepers run the market, while one EOA can still upgrade or stop every documented Cyber Wallet.

ARKM is the Ethereum token at 0x6E2a…b050 used for Arkham's intelligence marketplace, rewards and some exchange fee discounts. Its documents describe governance and a one-billion allocation, while the upgradeable token owner retains mint, pause and upgrade powers that holders do not share.

Flying Tulip makes primary-sale protection a separate ftPUT NFT; freely traded FT carries price exposure without the collateral-backed par exit.

ETHGas is an Ethereum blockspace marketplace created by Kevin Lepsoe’s team, while GWEI is the separate governance token of the ETHGas Foundation. The marketplace sells whole blocks and preconfirmations and settles products in ETH; staking GWEI creates non-transferable veGWEI for time-weighted governance and weekly incentive pools.