CAKE hits 3-month peak as ASTER success fuels gains

PancakeSwap (CAKE) rallied to a three-month high, on growing attention for the Binance ecosystem. CAKE continues with regular buybacks and burns, but has only lately regained mindshare as a hot token. 

PancakeSwap (CAKE) expanded to a three-month high, after lagging behind the general altcoin market trend. The recent rally followed the inflow of trading to older assets, which are still below their all-time peaks from previous bull markets. CAKE continues with its regular token burns, diminishing its supply, but the process has not been directly reflected in the market price. 

CAKE rose to $3.43, growing by over 50% for the past quarter. PancakeSwap turned into one of the key trading venues on the Binance ecosystem, as a source of liquidity for Binance Alpha tokens. 

CAKE also achieved trading volumes of over $446M in 24 hours, the highest levels since July. Over 20% of those volumes are on Binance, with a slight premium compared to other exchanges. 

CAKE open interest rises to all-time high

CAKE is yet another “dinosaur altcoin” to regain attention for derivative trading. Open interest for CAKE expanded from a low baseline, breaking above $100M for the first time in the asset’s history. 

The token of the derivative exchange has behaved as a utility asset, trading at relatively low levels and limited mindshare. CAKE had a brief period of being a meme project, but later PancakeSwap turned into the go-to DEX on Binance, with limited attention for the token. 

CAKE is also one of the few crypto assets with a significant market against XRP, though most of the token’s volumes are in pairs with USDT. 

This is now changing, as traders move to riskier positions, attempting to predict the next move of CAKE. Following the recent rally, long positions increased to 56%. CAKE is currently not traded on Hyperliquid, as the asset is still mostly limited to the BSC ecosystem. 

The trading profile of CAKE still shows relatively low activity, suggesting a bigger rally may be possible if the token regains attention and hype.

PancakeSwap attempts to regain its influence

PancakeSwap has risen to the level of top DEX on occasion, mostly driven by hype for specific tokens. The DEX trading pairs last for only a few days, leaving it with lower fees compared to other markets. PancakeSwap also had a shorter meme season, lagging behind Solana’s DEXs. 

As of October 3, the DEX had a higher baseline level of fees, with around $1.3M in 24 hours. For 2025, PancakeSwap still achieved peak volumes, due to its V3 market for Solana assets. The DEX carries volumes for Ethereum tokens as well, while its BSC trading activity remains relatively lower. 

The current expansion in fees and activity is due to the trading of the ASTER token, the native asset of the Aster perp DEX. ASTER still has limited representation on exchanges, awaiting listings in October. 

Until then, ASTER tokens make up over 57% of all trading volumes on PancakeSwap. While the DEX benefits from the volumes, a shift to other markets may leave PancakeSwap with its usual baseline.

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