Singapore, July 24, 2026 — RISEx, a fully on-chain perpetuals exchange built on the high-throughput RISE Chain, has officially launched Ignite: Season 1, its core loyalty and ecosystem points program. The launch follows an invite-only beta phase that generated over $3 billion in cumulative trading volume, marking the next major step in RISEx's broader ecosystem rollout as the protocol builds toward long-term community ownership and future token distribution.

RISEx is backed by Galaxy Ventures and Vitalik Buterin, among other investors.

Launch week concluded today with the distribution of Season 0 retroactive points, recognizing users who traded on a merit-based, invite-only venue with no guarantee of reward.

100% of RISE Points Allocated to RISEx Users

The program carries a distinctive allocation model: 100% of RISE points are distributed to RISEx users, including traders, liquidity providers (LPs), and builder code integrators. RISE is an exchange chain, and RISEx is its flagship product. Rather than splitting rewards across a diffuse ecosystem, the entire network's incentive weight is routed through the venue where activity actually occurs.

The launch arrives amid a structural shift in crypto derivatives, with decentralized perpetuals gaining market share from centralized venues. Protocols such as dYdX, Hyperliquid, and GMX have demonstrated sustained demand for on-chain derivatives trading, and the broader sector has grown into a multibillion-dollar segment of DeFi. Following the successful live deployment of its core exchange infrastructure — including cross-asset netted margining and native Real-World Asset (RWA) trading — the public opening of RISEx's rewards system marks the platform's formal transition into global scale and growth mode.

Ecosystem Traction: By the Numbers

Prior to opening public rewards, the RISEx closed beta cultivated organic, institutional-grade liquidity and deep user engagement over three months:

• $3 billion+ in cumulative trading volume processed since genesis
• $26 million+ in Open Interest (OI)
• $15 million+ in Total Value Locked (TVL)
• 15,000+ registered users accumulated entirely through a merit-based referral network

Source: DUNE

Product First, Incentives Second

"Much to the frustration of our growth team, I was adamant that we would not launch an incentives program until our core exchange engine reached absolute stability," said Sam Battenally, CEO and co-founder of RISE Labs. "Too often, points programs are deployed prematurely to mask unfinished infrastructure or buy empty, temporary volume. We spent the last few months doing the hard engineering work instead by stabilizing core features like reduce-only GTC and bootstrapping deep, quality liquidity. If you are fueling the engine, it has to perform. Now that our core architecture is fully live, optimized, and performing at a world-class level, we are ready to scale."

Points-based loyalty programs have become a widely adopted mechanism across crypto exchanges and DeFi protocols, typically serving as a precursor to token launches by establishing a verifiable record of user contribution. RISEx's approach of tying season progression to product milestones rather than a fixed calendar reflects an emerging industry effort to align rewards with durable engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

Ignite Season 1 Structure & Timeline

Ignite operates according to a product roadmap aligned with the RISE mission. As the exchange ships new features and reaches milestones, the season advances accordingly. AutoYield, Permissionless Portfolio Margin, and equity listings are all part of a broader vision to bring full-scale composable finance on-chain.

This is a deliberate design choice: rewards track real product progress rather than a marketing calendar that could force a program to overspend early or thin rewards later, which would penalize early contributors and active traders.

• Live Since: Week 1 of Ignite began on Monday, July 20, 2026, at 00:00 UTC.
• Public Distribution: RISEx will distribute 200,000 points per week, settled every Tuesday, with the first weekly distribution on July 28, 2026, at 14:00 UTC.
• Season Length: Ignite is expected to end no later than Q2 2027.
• Allocation: 100% of RISE points are allocated to RISEx users, including traders, LPs, and builder code integrators.

Inside the Ignite Mechanics

Engineered to reward genuine, long-term ecosystem participation over predatory Sybil farming and artificial wash trading, Ignite evaluates user contribution across multiple health metrics rather than relying on volume alone.

• Multi-Layered Earning: Qualifying activity spans higher-order activity, total costs including fees, slippage and negative markouts, trading volume, and open interest and hold time.
• Referral Rewards: Referrers earn an additional 10% of their referee's points.
• Undisclosed Weightings: The exact methodology and weightings are not published, protecting the program from being gamed.
• Affiliate Program: For those who qualify, the affiliate program offers additional incentives such as fee rebates, point boosts, and more.

Institutional-Grade Architecture

RISEx achieves centralized-exchange execution speeds with full self-custody by utilizing RISE Chain, an EVM-compatible Layer 2 network delivering 5 Ggas/s throughput and 1-millisecond latency. RISE Chain enters a competitive Ethereum Layer 2 landscape that includes established networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base, each vying to attract high-throughput DeFi applications. Because the exchange and the underlying blockchain share the same state, users benefit from a fully on-chain orderbook where collateral and interconnected DeFi positions exist within a single, atomic execution environment.

With the core perpetual exchange engine stabilized, the platform's mid-term product roadmap is shifting toward the launch of native EVM Spot trading, AutoYield, and Permissionless Portfolio Margin.

Traders can clear the gate, check their retroactive allocations, and begin earning Season 1 points by visiting rise.trade.

About RISEx

RISEx is a fully on-chain perpetuals exchange built on RISE Chain. Delivering centralized-exchange execution speeds with full self-custody, RISEx features an on-chain orderbook that shares state and liquidity with the entire RISE DeFi ecosystem in a single transaction. RISEx offers institutional-grade crypto perpetuals with flexible collateral, with plans to expand into equities, forex, and commodities.

About RISE Chain

RISE Chain is a next-generation Ethereum Layer 2 purpose-built for high-performance DeFi, delivering 5 Ggas/s throughput and Web2-like latency via its proprietary Shreds architecture. Developed by RISE Labs, the network is backed by Galaxy Ventures, Vitalik Buterin, Finality Capital Partners, EtherFi, OrangeDAO, DACM, P2 Ventures, Stani Kulechov, and other leading digital asset investors.