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.”
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.
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.
