Decentralized exchange Aster is delving into crypto’s degen culture with the launch of “Machi mode,” a new feature that rewards traders with points for getting liquidated.
The update, set to go live next week, was announced with a direct nod to Machi Big Brother (real name Jeffrey Huang), a Taiwanese-American entrepreneur and former musician who has recently become a high-risk investor in the cryptocurrency space with a track record of liquidations.
“You get liquidation points for getting rekt,” Aster wrote in a Wednesday post on X, adding that “this one’s for you, king @machibigbrother.”
“Love the machi mode energy cant wait to get rekt and earn points,” one user replied, while another user said, “only in crypto do liquidations become a feature.”
Related: Trader loses $21M on Hyperliquid after private key leak
Machi Big Brother dominates liquidation rankings
According to data from Lookonchain, Machi Big Brother has recorded 71 liquidations since Nov. 1, placing him far ahead of second-place James Wynn with 26 and Andrew Tate with 19. The ranking has become a running joke in parts of the crypto community, where high-risk trading is often worn as a badge of honor.
In September, Hyperliquid trader “0xa523” overtook Wynn to become the platform’s largest losing whale, racking up over $40 million in losses in under a month.
Wynn has also been a prominent titleholder. In July, the trader disappeared from social media, briefly deactivating his X account after updating his bio to simply read “broke.” He returned days later with two high-risk positions.
Related: Centralized exchanges face claims of massive liquidation undercounts
Hyperliquid launches HIP-3 “growth mode”
Aster competitor Hyperliquid rolled out HIP-3 “growth mode” on Wednesday, an upgrade that lets anyone deploy new markets permissionlessly while accessing drastically reduced taker fees.
The feature cuts all-in fees by more than 90% for newly launched markets, dropping them from 0.045% to as low as 0.0045%–0.009%. At the highest staking and volume tiers, fees can fall even further, reaching just 0.00144%–0.00288%.
The system allows deployers to activate growth mode on a per-asset basis without centralized approval, lowering barriers to entry for traders and developers. To qualify, new markets must be fully distinct assets and cannot overlap with existing validator-run perpetuals, avoiding “parasitic” volume. Once activated, growth mode remains locked for 30 days to ensure stability and prevent rapid fee toggling.
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