Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko is publicly pitching PhoenixTrade as a Solana-native alternative to Hyperliquid, framing the competition less around fee cuts or interface design and more around where perpetual futures trading should live. In a series of X posts, Yakovenko argued that Solana’s runtime needs an atomically composable perpetuals exchange so builders can integrate derivatives directly into on-chain applications without routing users through a separate venue or bridge.
Solana Leaders Pitch PhoenixTrade Against Hyperliquid
The discussion began when Jeffrey Yan, the co-founder of Hyperliquid, wrote that he had spent several days in Washington with Hyperliquid Policy Center meeting policymakers during the advancement of the Clarity Act. He said the meetings covered Hyperliquid, its benefits for American consumers, and the regulatory path for bringing on-chain derivatives markets into the United States.
Yakovenko, posting under @toly, responded by encouraging users who like Hyperliquid to try PhoenixTrade. When Rune, a crypto commentator posting as @RuneCrypto_, questioned whether Solana ecosystem energy should go toward “innovation instead of replication,” Yakovenko pushed back by comparing the question to earlier skepticism around Hyperliquid itself. “It’s like asking what can hyperliquid do that binance or coinbase or CME cant? Solana’s SVM needs an atomically composable perp dex in its runtime so innovation can flourish. Apps built inside the SVM can’t use HL because you have to bridge there.”
Rune’s challenge focused on whether PhoenixTrade has a sufficiently differentiated reason to exist. “Hyperliquid solve the same question you’re asking: self-custody, no KYC, community-owned, that’s a real answer,” Rune wrote. “what’s phoenix’s answer to what can it do that hyperliquid can’t? composability with solana apps is a reason to exist, but is it a reason to win?” The exchange captured a broader question facing new perp DEXs: whether infrastructure-native integration can compete with Hyperliquid’s liquidity, user experience, and existing network effects.
Composability Emerges as Key Perp DEX Battleground
Yakovenko’s central argument is that PhoenixTrade’s value proposition lies in being built for Solana’s execution environment rather than operating as a separate destination. “Phoenix is equivalent, but decentralized, and is atomically composable with all the other apps on solana,” he wrote. “The 10B OI is the opportunity. It’s a small fraction of what binance, cme, coinbase, nyse have. Why wouldn’t i want solana to compete for the chunk of the global market?” In that framing, open interest currently captured by on-chain venues is still small relative to major centralized and traditional derivatives platforms, leaving room for multiple competing designs.
Yakovenko also acknowledged that new protocols remain unproven, while arguing that Solana teams will continue trying to capture market share. “Everything new is unproven and higher risk of failure and high chance of not getting any tam,” he wrote. “HL proved that people will trade with a DEX interface instead of a binance/cme style one. there are a ton of solana ecosystem teams trying new ideas too, check out @colosseum hackathon winners.” His comments position Hyperliquid less as a target to dismiss and more as proof that crypto-native derivatives interfaces can attract real trading activity.
Other Solana-aligned voices amplified the PhoenixTrade push. Mert Mumtaz, co-founder and CEO of Helius, a company that provides infrastructure and tooling for Solana developers, used a long comedic anecdote ending with a PhoenixTrade reference to draw attention to the product.
Simon Dedic, a crypto investor posting under @sjdedic, added: “I’m neither a Hyperliquid nor a Solana maxi. As an investor, I also don’t care much about trading. But when @toly, one of the most brilliant, successful and relentless founders in the industry, gets excited about a new product like this, you better pay attention I guess.” The resulting conversation suggests the next phase of perp DEX competition may center not only on liquidity and fees, but also on whether derivatives can become native building blocks inside broader application ecosystems.
I’m neither a Hyperliquid nor a Solana maxi.
As an investor, I also don’t care much about trading.
But when @toly, one of the most brilliant, successful and relentless founders in the industry, gets excited about a new product like this, you better pay attention I guess. pic.twitter.com/MpjCBW9fSf
— Simon Dedic (@sjdedic) May 17, 2026
PhoenixTrade’s emerging pitch is therefore straightforward: compete with Hyperliquid not merely as another trading venue, but as a Solana-native derivatives layer that other Solana applications can compose with directly. Whether that proves enough to win market share remains a market question, but Yakovenko’s comments make clear that Solana leaders view perpetuals as a strategic category for the network’s broader app economy.
AI Transparency Note: This article was prepared with the assistance of an AI system based on the sources listed and was reviewed, edited, and approved by a human editor before publication. All quotes, data points, and factual claims are intended to be grounded in the cited source material; however, errors cannot be ruled out entirely.