#永续合约交易 Seeing Trove launch an ICO on Hyperliquid with a fundraising scale of $2.5 million and a FDV valuation of $20 million reminds me of the evolution of the perpetual contract DEX ecosystem over the years.

Do you remember the DeFi derivatives boom in 2021? Back then, everyone was chasing dYdX, Perp Protocol, and those projects' valuations skyrocketed, but only a few truly survived and generated sustained trading demand. The key wasn't how innovative the concept was, but whether the three pillars of liquidity, capital efficiency, and user experience were truly running smoothly.

This time, Trove's model is worth a close look—its design of 100% TGE unlock indicates that the team has made progress in understanding liquidity. Unlike early projects that unlocked tokens in batches and often faced long-term inflation pressure, Trove's approach is different. Prioritizing allocation for Trove users is a well-worn tactic, but it precisely shows that they understand what is truly valuable: genuine trading volume and user stickiness.

However, I must honestly say that the lessons from the perpetual contract track over the past few years tell us that fundraising scale and valuation alone don't mean much. The real challenge is whether they can make breakthroughs in key metrics like trading depth, risk management, and cross-chain liquidity. Hyperliquid, as infrastructure, is promising in this regard, but a thriving ecosystem has always been a tough nut to crack.

History often repeats itself, but rarely exactly. Will this round be different? Let's wait and see.