After the Airdrop Craze, When Will the Other Five Perp DEXs Have Their TGE?

Original | Odaily (@OdailyChina)

Author | Asher (@Asher_ 0210)

Recently, following the TGEs of several high-profile projects in the Perp DEX sector, market expectations for "airdrops" are rapidly cooling down. Projects like Backpack and edgeX initially drove trading volume with funding narratives, KOL endorsements, and point mechanisms, but concluded their launch phases with ambiguous rules, strict anti-sybil measures, and distribution controversies, leaving ordinary users to ultimately bear the costs. The once "gold mines" are evolving into entities characterized by high funding, high hype, but also high uncertainty.

So, for the Perp DEX projects that have not yet undergone TGE, when exactly will they launch their tokens? Below, Odaily provides a breakdown.

Variational: No Official TGE Date Yet, Market Expects Token Launch Likely in Q3-Q4 This Year

Variational is an innovative Perp DEX on Arbitrum, employing a unique P2P spread arbitrage model. Unlike traditional fee-driven platforms, Variational's Omni application allows users to trade hundreds of markets with zero trading fees (only minimal deposit/withdrawal fees), including major cryptocurrencies, long-tail assets, and even RWAs and volatility indices. To date, its cumulative trading volume has exceeded $106 billion. Furthermore, its Open Interest (OI) stands at $678 million, ranking first among Perp DEX projects that have not yet launched tokens, with daily trading volume often in the $4-6 billion range.

On December 18, 2025, Variational officially launched its Omni Loyalty Program, and retroactively distributed 3 million points to historical trading users in a one-time airdrop. Since then, points for the previous week (snapshot taken until Thursday 00:00 UTC) are distributed every Friday at 00:00 UTC, with approximately 150,000 points distributed weekly. The total point supply is estimated to be around 9-10 million.

Points are primarily calculated based on trading activity, with weights positively correlated to spread contribution, holding duration, and trading volume. A Tier system is also introduced, offering point boosts and fee discounts based on the effective volume (personal volume + 0.2 × referral volume) over the past 30 days. Additionally, through the referral mechanism, users earn 1 extra point for every 10 referral points. Early participants also receive a permanent 10% point bonus. The overall design favors organic trading over pure volume farming.

According to community feedback, while Variational has not provided an official TGE date, the community and Polymarket generally expect it to occur in Q3 to Q4 this year (as the official documentation states the loyalty program will end no later than September 30). Furthermore, based on the documentation, the project has committed to allocating approximately 50% of the token supply to the community (through various mechanisms like points and revenue sharing, not just a single airdrop). It also plans to use at least 30% of protocol revenue for VAR token buybacks and burns, with relatively clear governance and value capture mechanisms.

Source: Variational Official Documentation

GRVT: TGE Postponed from Q1 to End of June, Total Airdrop Allocation Increased from 22% to 28%

GRVT is a hybrid Perp DEX based on zkSync Validium, utilizing a privacy-first ZK Appchain architecture. It aims to offer a trading experience close to that of a CEX while maintaining the self-custody security of a DEX. Currently, the platform's Open Interest (OI) is approximately $487 million, with a 30-day trading volume nearing $41 billion.

Regarding incentives, GRVT launched Rewards Season 2.0 in October 2025, unifying the Grvt Points system. Points are distributed weekly (settled every Tuesday) based on a dynamic pool constructed from trading volume, allocated proportionally to user contributions. Originally, the project planned to complete its TGE in Q1 2026. However, on March 12, 2026, the official announcement adjusted the timeline, postponing the TGE to the end of June this year, shortly after Season 2 concludes.

It's worth noting that this delay was accompanied by a significant boost in incentives: the total allocation for the community and airdrop was increased from 22% to 28%. Within this, Season 2's share was raised from 12% to 18%, while the total supply of GRVT tokens remains unchanged at 1 billion.

Furthermore, the project strengthened its token value capture narrative, explicitly stating that 100% of the platform's economic surplus will ultimately flow back to GRVT holders: part for ecosystem reinvestment and part for systematic buybacks to provide value support, overall emphasizing a "pay you back" distribution logic.

Possibly due to the sluggish market in Q1 and severe negative experiences ("rug pulls") from recent TGEs, the community's reaction to GRVT's TGE delay has been mixed but not overly intense. Some users believe that trading a delay for a higher community allocation and more thorough product preparation is an acceptable adjustment, and there is still room to accumulate points at this stage. However, many users also mentioned that the shift from an expected Q1 launch to mid-year feels more like a passive acceptance, forcing them to lower expectations and reduce trading-related costs.

StandX: A Perp DEX Built by Binance OG Team, Market Expects Token Launch Likely in the Second Half of This Year

StandX is a decentralized finance project founded by core members of the former Binance Futures team, focusing on the combination of synthetic stablecoins and perpetual contract DEX.

• Founding Background: The core team includes former Binance Futures head Aaron Gong and former Binance Futures director Justin. After leaving Binance in 2024, they chose to venture into the emerging on-chain space.
• Project Positioning: StandX aims to merge Ethena-style synthetic stablecoin mechanisms with Hyperliquid-style decentralized contract trading models to form a complete financial ecosystem.
• Vision and Goals: The team believes stablecoins and decentralized contracts are two key sectors in the blockchain industry. StandX hopes to combine them through innovative design to provide users with efficient, secure, and transparent trading and stable value storage solutions.

On December 10, 2025, StandX announced on X that its trading points campaign had launched on the mainnet, with first-day trading volume exceeding $81 million. Users can accumulate points by depositing the stablecoin DUSD into Perps Wallets or Vaults, actively trading (Trading Points), providing limit order liquidity (Maker Points), daily check-ins, and referrals.

To date, the official team has not announced a specific TGE date, but the community generally expects it to occur in the second half of this year.

Extended: The Leading Project on Starknet, Market Expects Token Launch Likely in the First Half of This Year

Extended is a Perp DEX on the Starknet network, built by a former Revolut team. It employs a hybrid CLOB architecture to achieve self-custody security and CEX-level trading experience. The project completed its migration from StarkEx to the Starknet mainnet in August 2025. It is currently the top-ranked application by TVL in the Starknet ecosystem, reported at $176 million.

Extended's Season 1 points program launched on April 29, 2025. Up to 1.2 million points are distributed every Tuesday at 00:00 UTC, allocated proportionally based on contributions from trading activity, providing liquidity/Vaults, and referrals/affiliate programs. The points logic is merit-weighted, adjustable weekly, and 4.3 million points were retroactively distributed to early participants in February and April 2025. Point acquisition covers organic trading, LP activities, and referrals, requiring no manual claiming. The platform emphasizes anti-wash trading mechanisms. Season 1 is still ongoing, with no announced end date or plans for Season 2 yet. 

Extended has not officially announced a specific TGE date, but the community generally expects it in the first half of 2026. Additionally, an article frequently shared and referenced in English community discussions, "Extended : The Perp DEX Built for Traders", mentions an airdrop token share of 30%, but the official team has not provided a clear confirmation to date.

Pacifica: A Solana Ecosystem Perp DEX, Market Expects Token Launch Likely in Q3 or Later

Pacifica is a hybrid Perp DEX on the Solana ecosystem, utilizing an off-chain order matching and on-chain settlement architecture, emphasizing an ultimate trading experience and real organic growth. The platform was co-founded by industry veterans including former FTX COO Constance Wang (team backgrounds include Binance, FTX, Jane Street, Fidelity, OpenAI). It is bootstrapped with no VC funding. Currently, the platform's Open Interest (OI) is approximately $82 million, with a 30-day trading volume close to $10.7 billion.

Pacifica's points program officially launched on September 4, 2025, and is currently in Season 1. 500,000 points are distributed every Thursday, with snapshots taken every Wednesday at 23:59 UTC. Points are primarily calculated based on a dynamic, merit-weighted formula considering trading volume, holding duration, liquidity provision, referrals/affiliate activities, etc. The formula is updated weekly. Additionally, Pacifica had a pre-snapshot (September 3, 2025) and retroactively distributed points to historical users.

Regarding TGE, the official team has not announced a specific date or tokenomics model yet. Based on feedback, the community generally expects it in Q3 2026 or later, speculating that the total airdrop allocation might be between 20% and 30%.