2025 Perp DEX status: Strong development momentum, trading volume big pump.

Original author: Launchy

Original translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Perpetual decentralized exchanges (Perpetual DEXs) have rapidly evolved from being experimental DeFi tools to important competitors in the cryptocurrency derivatives market. In 2024, this sector experienced explosive growth, with the total trading volume of all Perp DEXs reaching $1.5 trillion, more than doubling from $647.6 billion in 2023. The trading volume for just December reached $344.75 billion, setting a new record for monthly trading volume.

Data source: CoinGecko

This surge is mainly attributed to platforms like Hyperliquid. Hyperliquid's annual trading volume skyrocketed from $21 billion in 2023 to $570 billion in 2024, achieving a growth of 25.3 times. Drift and Jupiter also made significant breakthroughs, with annual trading volumes increasing by 628% and 5176% respectively.

With the emergence of innovations such as native order books, fast-finality chains, zk-enabled features, and app-specific ecosystems, 2025 has laid the foundation for the next phase of perpetual DEX—mainstream adoption.

This report explores the data behind this evolution, the platforms leading the development, and the technologies and market trends that will shape the future of Perp DEXs.

Key Points

• Hyperliquid dominates the DeFi perpetual trading market:

Hyperliquid currently occupies 80% of the decentralized perpetual DEX market, with a monthly trading volume reaching $165 billion. Its retail-first token model has helped it achieve strong growth momentum without venture capital support.

• Surge in Perp DEX trading volume in 2024:

The market grew from $647.6 billion in 2023 to over $1.5 trillion in 2024. The trading volume in December alone reached $344.75 billion, showing a rapid acceleration in user activity.

• Top platforms are integrating market share:

Currently, a few platforms dominate the activity of perpetual DEX. Hyperliquid, Jupiter, ApeX, RabbitX, and MYX are leading in trading volume and user base due to their excellent execution and network effects.

• Solana and Arbitrum become major supporting forces:

These blockchains support the fastest-growing DEXs, featuring low latency and scalable infrastructure. Jupiter is based on Solana, while Hyperliquid is based on Arbitrum, fully reflecting the specific advantages of the chains.

• Centralized exchanges (CEX) still dominate, but the gap is narrowing:

In May 2025, Binance's trading volume reached $1.7 trillion, but Hyperliquid's trading volume accounted for about 9% of that. As more and more traders prefer self-custody and transparency, the pace at which DEXs are catching up is rapidly accelerating.

Perpetual DEX Market Overview

Entering 2025, the perpetual decentralized exchange (Perp DEX) market has reached historical highs in both usage and innovation. The trading volume has increased by over 138% year-on-year, with the total trading volume of top DEXs surpassing $1.5 trillion.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Hyperliquid accounted for over 55% of trading volume, especially after a massive airdrop campaign in December, which caused its market share to surge to 66%. Meanwhile, the former market leader dYdX saw its market share plummet from 73% in January 2023 to 7% by the end of 2024. Based on Solana, Jupiter rapidly emerged as the second-largest perpetual DEX, while Solana itself contributed 15% of Perp DEX trading volume.

As of November 2024, the total open interest in centralized perpetual markets has surpassed 100 billion USD, but decentralized platforms are rapidly closing the gap. Currently, perpetual DEXs are competitive in terms of liquidity, execution speed, and composability, and 2025 is expected to be a key year for the transition from centralized to decentralized derivatives trading.

Current Pattern

By mid-2025, the market landscape for perpetual DEXs is concentrating around a few dominant platforms, with Hyperliquid far ahead. Currently, its 24-hour trading volume has reached $11.25 billion, with a cumulative trading volume of $1.58 trillion, far exceeding its closest competitors. This growth is attributed to its robust infrastructure, extensive support for 130 assets, and its platform advantage based on Arbitrum.

Following closely is the leading perpetual DEX Jupiter based on Solana, with a daily trading volume of $570.85 million and a cumulative trading volume of $31.213 billion, successfully carving out its own market thanks to Solana's low-latency environment. Additionally, other noteworthy platforms include Vertex (cumulative trading volume $21.791 billion), ApeX ($19.799 billion), and RabbitX ($16.695 billion). Many of these platforms support multi-chain deployment, expanding user access and liquidity depth.

In terms of leverage competition, DEX has also become more aggressive. Gains Trade offers up to 500x leverage covering 230 assets; ApolloX offers 1001x leverage, while Equation offers 150x leverage, attracting the attention of high-risk traders. At the same time, platforms like RabbitX and Drift highlight their focus on cost efficiency for active users by providing 0.00% maker and taker fees.

Solana and Arbitrum remain the most common underlying chains, with multiple platforms (such as SynFutures, GMX, and Drift) leveraging the scalability of Rollups or application-specific L1 chains. Despite a decline in dYdX's market dominance, its cumulative trading volume has still reached $1.49 trillion and operates on five major chains.

As liquidity deepens, multi-chain expansion accelerates, and competition around user incentives intensifies, the perpetual DEX space is rapidly evolving. The focus of market competition is no longer on "who goes live first," but on "who can scale quickly, execute reliably, and provide the best trading experience."

Top 10 Perpetual DEX Rankings Based on Trading Volume

By mid-2025, the perpetual decentralized exchange (Perp DEX) sector is dominated by a few leading platforms, with trading activity increasingly concentrated among the top ten protocols. The following rankings are based on current 24-hour and cumulative trading volumes, showcasing the scale and competitiveness of each platform.

• Hyperliquid

30-day trading volume: $25.481 billion

Total trading volume: 1.58 trillion USD

Supported Chain: 1 (Arbitrum)

Hyperliquid continues to maintain an absolute leading position in the perpetual DEX market with its high-performance Arbitrum native infrastructure, support for 130 trading pairs, and an extremely active user base. Its cumulative trading volume has surpassed $1.5 trillion, with daily trading volume even exceeding that of many centralized exchanges (CEX).

• Aster

30-day trading volume: 28.16 billion USD

Total trading volume: Unknown

Supported Chains: 4 (BNB Chain, Ethereum, Solana, and Arbitrum)

Aster is the biggest newcomer in the rankings, soaring to second place with its strong multi-chain support. Its rapid rise indicates that traders are growing interested in alternatives that offer broader access capabilities.

• Jupiter

30-day trading volume: 19.61 billion USD

Total trading volume: 31.21 billion USD

Supported chain: 1 (Solana)

Jupiter remains a major force on Solana, focusing on a limited number of trading pairs and providing deep liquidity. Although its 30-day trading volume has decreased compared to other platforms, its long-term growth momentum remains strong.

• ApeX Protocol

30-day trading volume: 8.98 billion USD

Total trading volume: 197.99 billion USD

Supported chains: 1 (Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 based on StarkWare)

Although ApeX focuses only on a single chain, its trading volume remains considerable due to strong liquidity, support for 20 tokens, and a streamlined user experience (UX).

• RabbitX Fusion

30-day trading volume: $5.84 billion

Total trading volume: 166.95 billion USD

Supported Chain: 1 (StarkNet)

RabbitX remains competitive with its zero-fee structure and institutional-focused infrastructure, making it particularly favored by cross-exchange arbitrage traders.

• edgeX

edgeX Perps data / DefiLlama

30-day trading volume: 7.52 billion USD

Total Trading Volume: Unknown

Supported chain: 1 (Ethereum compatible Layer 2 based on StarkWare)

As a dark horse, edgeX demonstrated strong trading data in the early stages with its simplified user experience and single-chain deployment.

• MYX Finance

MYX Finance Perps Data / DefiLlama

30-day trading volume: 7.5 billion USD

Total trading volume: Unknown

Supported chains: 4 (Arbitrum, BNB Chain, Linea)

MYX diversifies risk through multi-chain expansion and captures liquidity across different ecosystems. Its flexibility is particularly notable during market volatility.

• GMX

GMX Perps Data / DefiLlama

30-day trading volume: 6.02 billion USD

Cumulative trading volume: 261.91 billion USD

Supported chains: 3 (ARB, AVAX, etc.)

As a veteran player in the perpetual DEX space, GMX still holds a place in the fierce competition due to community trust and a strong liquidity foundation.

• dYdX

dYdX Perps Data / DefiLlama

30-day trading volume: 5.42 billion USD

Total trading volume: $1.49 trillion

Supported chains: 2 (ETH, Cosmos)

dYdX is still one of the most mature platforms. Its shift to a Cosmos-based proprietary chain (V4) has reduced latency, but its relative trading volume share has declined.

• Paradex

Paradex Perps Data / DefiLlama

30-day trading volume: 3.35 billion USD

Cumulative trading volume: Unknown

Supported Chain: 1 (Paradex Chain)

Paradex has entered the top ten as a new platform, with rapidly increasing usage. Its single-chain setup simplifies the execution process while centralizing liquidity.

Complete list of Perp DEX

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The Market Share Battle Between CEX and DEX

For a long time, centralized exchanges (CEX) like Binance, OKX, and Bybit have dominated the perpetual contract market, with monthly trading volumes consistently in the hundreds of billions of dollars. However, decentralized perpetual exchanges (DEX) are gradually emerging, with one protocol leading this wave: Hyperliquid.

By May 2025, Hyperliquid accounted for 80% of the decentralized perpetual market. This figure represents a significant increase from 30% in November 2024. In just six months, the protocol's market share more than doubled, demonstrating the growing demand from users for platforms that support self-custody, permissionless access, and minimal counterparty risk.

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Source: The Block

Hyperliquid is not an ordinary DEX. Unlike many projects launched through venture capital funding, it is developed independently without the support of venture capital. As a result, all token holders (including institutions) must purchase HYPE through the open market. This model avoids common issues associated with token unlocking schedules and facilitates a more organic, retail-led growth path.

Although Hyperliquid dominates in the DEX market, its share in the overall perpetual market remains small. In May 2025, the trading volume of the protocol was $165 billion, while Binance's trading volume was $1.7 trillion. Hyperliquid's scale is only about 9% of Binance's, but this ratio is steadily increasing.

Overall, Binance still dominates the centralized market with a significant advantage, but the gap is narrowing. According to the latest data, Hyperliquid's trading volume has reached 12% of Binance's, gradually rising from nearly zero at the beginning of 2023.

As regulatory pressure on centralized exchanges increases and traders demand more control and transparency, DEXs like Hyperliquid are becoming viable alternatives. If the current trend continues, the line between centralized and decentralized perpetual markets will become further blurred in the coming months.

Summary of Thoughts

Perpetual DEX has matured. From the initial niche DeFi space, these protocols now have a realistic possibility of challenging centralized giants. Hyperliquid's model and performance demonstrate that as long as the user experience of decentralized platforms is competitive enough, users are willing to switch to this new option.

While centralized platforms face regulatory uncertainties, decentralized technology is rapidly advancing, and the momentum in the industry is shifting.

The competition in 2025 is not only about innovation, but also about scale, reliability, and user experience. The next generation of crypto traders may no longer need to interact with centralized exchanges.

Disclaimer: This article and its associated content are for educational purposes only and should not be construed as or relied upon for financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.