Aster and Drift Protocol tie on score at 41; the published tie-break orders them. Drift Protocol ranks #11 and Aster #9 of 12 published perp DEXs. The ledger below shows where each side is ahead — pick by the criterion that matters to you.
DRDrift Protocol41
vs
Aster41
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #11 and #9 of 12
Aster and Drift Protocol tie on score at 41; the published tie-break orders them.
DRDrift Protocol #11 of 1241
Aster #9 of 1241
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termAster leads on 0 of 2 published criteria; Drift Protocol on 0. The terms sum to the gap.
TermAsterDrift ProtocolWeightPoints
Published criteriaScore dimension9.8030+25.5for Aster
Net of the terms+25.5
Reproduced gap+25.5
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below41410.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
EligibilityDrift Protocol no longer operates (since 2026-04-01): its criteria block is zeroed
This ranking scores its published criteria from the record as a whole, not criterion by criterion, so they count here as one term and no single criterion is credited.
Drift Protocol no longer operates (since 2026-04-01) and is kept for reference: the engine zeroes its criteria block, whatever its cells say.
A floor bound on one row means the criterion arithmetic does not reproduce the displayed gap exactly.
Drift ProtocolScore 41Closed Solana perps venue — program paused since April 2026 after a $295M lossStrength: Nothing — Drift is closed; its program has been paused since 1 April 2026Watch-out: Closed: the Drift program has been paused since 1 April 2026 and no market can be traded; Velocity, where the Drift app now redirects, is a separate new program with no Drift state carried overAsterScore 41Newer multi-chain venue — high leverage, but centralisation & wash-trading flagsStrength: Multi-chain deposits incl. BNB Chain (bridged to Aster Chain)Watch-out: DefiLlama delisted its perp volume in Oct 2025 over suspected wash trading (volumes could not be independently verified) — treat headline volume with caution
Quick facts
At a glance
2 of 5 rows read the same for both.
FactDrift ProtocolAster
PricingSnapshotModel: hybrid orderbook + AMM + JIT (Solana). Live by 2022; closed, program paused since 1 April 2026 (status feed read 2026-11-03: "Drift is being paused until further notice due to irregular activity in the protocol."). Contract-custodied, admin-controlled. Audited (Trail of Bits, Neodyme); fund-loss events (2022 $14.5M market manipulation, returned; April-2026 $295M admin-key compromise; DFX recovery-token claims opened 1 October 2026). Up to 101x (as advertised on drift.trade). No live fee schedule while paused. Live TVL shown for context (DefiLlama, dated), not scored.Model: hybrid, on Aster Chain with deposits bridged from BNB/ETH/Arb/Solana/SUI. Launch year unverified (Aster brand 2025; APX Finance since 2021; Aster Chain live March 2026). Bridged custody, centralised governance. Limited audit coverage (predecessor ApolloX: about $2.15M, June 2022). Up to 1001x (BTC/USD). Fees (Aster docs "Fees", read 3 November 2026): crypto general perpetuals "Taker Fee: 0.04%" and "Maker Fee: 0 %"; Group B pairs "Taker Fee: 0.1%"; both vary by VIP tier. Live TVL shown for context (DefiLlama, dated), not scored.
Asset coverageEditorial——
Region fitSnapshotglobalglobal
Custody modelSnapshotContract-custodiedBridged
Security postureSnapshotAudited; admin-controlled contracts; an exploit that lost user or LP funds (2026, rated severe).Limited audit coverage; admin-controlled contracts.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
DR
Drift Protocol
41#11 of 12
Pick it when
Drift Protocol leads Aster on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
Strength
Nothing — Drift is closed; its program has been paused since 1 April 2026
Tradeoff
Closed: the Drift program has been paused since 1 April 2026 and no market can be traded; Velocity, where the Drift app now redirects, is a separate new program with no Drift state carried over
Aster
41#9 of 12
Pick it when
Aster leads on no published criterion; its edge is published criteria (9.8 vs 0 points). Pick it if that term is what you are buying.
Strength
Multi-chain deposits incl. BNB Chain (bridged to Aster Chain)
Tradeoff
DefiLlama delisted its perp volume in Oct 2025 over suspected wash trading (volumes could not be independently verified) — treat headline volume with caution
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
DRDrift Protocol
Drift Protocol leads Aster on no published criterion
Choose it only if something outside the published criteria decides for you — your country, a funding rail, or custody.
Drift ProtocolScore 41Closed Solana perps venue — program paused since April 2026 after a $295M lossStrength: Nothing — Drift is closed; its program has been paused since 1 April 2026Watch-out: Closed: the Drift program has been paused since 1 April 2026 and no market can be traded; Velocity, where the Drift app now redirects, is a separate new program with no Drift state carried over
Aster
Aster leads Drift Protocol on no published criterion
Choose it only if something outside the published criteria decides for you — your country, a funding rail, or custody.
AsterScore 41Newer multi-chain venue — high leverage, but centralisation & wash-trading flagsStrength: Multi-chain deposits incl. BNB Chain (bridged to Aster Chain)Watch-out: DefiLlama delisted its perp volume in Oct 2025 over suspected wash trading (volumes could not be independently verified) — treat headline volume with caution
Criterion by criterion
Scorecard
Published criteria · weight in points of 860 of 4 cells scored. Strength is read from the evidence file; the weight is the published one. Methodology
Security
weight 14.4 of 86Not scored
Drift ProtocolNot scored
No evidence cell for this criterion, so no strength is drawn.
AsterNot scored
No evidence cell for this criterion, so no strength is drawn.
Decentralization
weight 9.6 of 86Not scored
Drift ProtocolNot scored
No evidence cell for this criterion, so no strength is drawn.
AsterNot scored
No evidence cell for this criterion, so no strength is drawn.
Score dimensions
weights sum to 86
The published score is five dimensions, each weighted for the category. "Published criteria" is the criteria block above; the other four are the engine's own terms — availability, friction, trust record, measured data. Each bar is one side's points out of that dimension's maximum; the weight beside the name is its points of the 86-point weighted total. The published criteria above can fill 24 of the block’s 30. A weight marked “constant here” belongs to a dimension every ranked product in the category holds at the same value: it still counts in the total, and it orders nothing here.
Availabilityweight 20 of 86 · constant here
Drift Protocol14/20Aster14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Drift Protocol0/30Aster9.8/30
Aster leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Drift Protocol2.7/10Aster2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Drift Protocol3.2/8Aster3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Drift Protocol5.5/18Aster5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Same published score — pick by the criterion that matters to you.
Drift Protocol leads Aster on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
Aster leads on no published criterion; its edge is published criteria (9.8 vs 0 points). Pick it if that term is what you are buying.
The published order weighs every criterion the same way for everyone. To weigh them your way, run .
From the published order
Next best action
If this isn't your case
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How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
Contract failure: the code holding the funds is exploited.
Scored by Security & track record · 60%
Control failure: a key or vote changes the rules, freezes or mints.
Scored by Decentralization & trust-minimization · 40%
Not assessed by this ranking: Oracle failure, Insolvency failure, Regulatory failure, Execution failure, Exit failure. A high place says nothing about these; the Methodology tab says what each means.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Aster and Drift Protocol tie on score at 41; the published tie-break orders them. Published scores, out of 100: Drift Protocol 41 (rank 11 of 12 perp dexs), Aster 41 (rank 9 of 12).
Reviewed means both products compared here was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
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