Best Decentralized Perps Platforms

Our analysis ranks leading decentralized perpetual exchanges by liquidity, daily volume, open interest, leverage, fees, and security. Each platform offers fully on-chain perpetual trading with transparent pricing, clear funding rates, and self-custody.

The comparison table below summarizes key metrics to help active traders select the optimal DEX for perps trading:

1. Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid dominates decentralized perpetual futures, capturing over 80% market share with daily trading volume exceeding $15 billion and open interest consistently surpassing $10 billion. Its liquidity depth rivals centralized exchanges like Binance, especially on flagship contracts such as BTC, ETH, SOL, and XRP.

The platform runs a custom Layer-1 blockchain powered by HyperBFT consensus, delivering sub-second finality and processing up to 200,000 orders per second via its on-chain HyperCore orderbook. Traders can earn passive yields through the Hyperliquidity Provider (HLP) vault, which deploys automated market-making strategies & liquidation backstops to ensure deep, reliable liquidity. 

Hyperliquid's institutional liquidity, ultra-fast execution, and swift listing of new perpetual markets, including community-launched contracts through HIP-3, have firmly established its market leadership.

Hyperliquid Platform Highlights:

• Fees: Maker rebates of 0.2%, taker fees from 0.05%, with additional volume discounts.
• Assets: 150+ perpetual contracts.
• Deposit Methods: USDC deposits via MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, and other Web3 wallets.
• Leverage: Up to 50x across all available contracts.

2. ApeX Protocol

ApeX Protocol ranks second among decentralized perps exchanges, averaging $400 million daily volume and around $47 million in OI. Although ApeX remains well behind Hyperliquid’s dominant liquidity, it offers traders a credible alternative with solid market depth on major pairs.

Incubated by Bybit, ApeX provides over 45 perpetual markets, including BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and DOGE. Traders can access up to 100x leverage on BTC and ETH, with 50x available for SOL and major altcoins. Utilizing a modular infrastructure and zero-knowledge proofs, ApeX delivers gas-free transactions at execution speeds up to 10,000 transactions per second.

The maker-taker fee structure charges 0.02% for makers and 0.05% for takers, with temporary discounts available. ApeX also provides user incentives via ApeX Social, along with copy-trading vaults and staking rewards.

ApeX Platform Highlights:

• Fees: Maker fees at 0.02%, taker fees at 0.05%; introductory fee discounts available.
• Assets: 45+ perpetual markets, including BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, DOGE, and ADA.
• Deposit Methods: USDT and USDC supported through Web3 wallets (e.g., MetaMask).
• Leverage: Up to 100x leverage on BTC and ETH; 50x on SOL and other major alts.

3. Drift Protocol

Drift Protocol is the leading native perpetual futures DEX on Solana, handling approximately $400 million in daily volume with $70 million in open interest (OI). Built on Solana, Drift leverages the blockchain’s ultra-fast transactions and low fees, providing an optimal environment for high-frequency perpetual trading.

The exchange employs a sophisticated liquidity system combining decentralized limit order books (DLOB), automated market maker (AMM) backstops, and Just-in-Time (JIT) liquidity auctions. This multi-tiered setup ensures consistent market depth, narrow spreads, and low slippage even under volatile market conditions.

Drift supports full cross-margin trading, allowing users to deposit various collateral types and passively earn yield through Backstop AMM Liquidity (BAL). Utilizing accurate, real-time oracle pricing from Pyth, Drift offers traders secure execution and robust risk management, solidifying its position as a preferred choice within Solana’s DeFi derivatives ecosystem.

Drift Protocol Highlights:

• Fees: Maker rebates up to -0.01%; taker fees from 0.03% to 0.10%, with discounts for major markets and higher volumes.
• Assets: 40+ perpetual markets, including BTC, ETH, SOL, APT, and ARB.
• Deposit Methods: SOL, USDC, plus 20+ supported collateral tokens.
• Leverage: Up to 20x leverage available across major markets like BTC, ETH, and SOL; leverage varies for other assets.

4. dYdX

Launched in 2017 by ex-Coinbase engineer Antonio Juliano, dYdX pioneered decentralized perpetual futures trading. Although its market share declined from 73% in early 2024 to about 5% today, it maintains a trusted reputation with zero major exploits since inception.

Currently, dYdX handles around $140 million in daily volume and maintains approximately $250 million in open interest. Its recent v4 upgrade introduced the Cosmos-based dYdX Chain, featuring a fully decentralized on-chain orderbook and matching engine for secure, rapid trade settlement.

The platform closely mirrors centralized exchanges like Binance and Bybit, providing an intuitive, professional interface based on our testing. Integrated analytics track real-time open interest, funding rates, and volume, helping traders quickly evaluate market conditions.

dYdX Platform Highlights:

• Fees: Maker rebates up to -0.011%; taker fees from 0.05%, reducing with volume.
• Assets: Over 180 perpetual markets including BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, DOGE, LTC, and SUI.
• Deposit Methods: Supports USDC via MetaMask and other EVM-compatible wallets.
• Leverage: Up to 20x on BTC and ETH, and 10x on leading altcoins like SOL, DOGE, XRP, and SUI.

5. GMX

GMX led the decentralized perps space in 2023 before being overtaken by Hyperliquid. It currently processes around $250 million in daily volume, primarily on Arbitrum, with continued activity on Avalanche. A recent deployment on Solana generates about $2 million daily, expanding GMX’s footprint to capture additional growth opportunities.

GMX employs an oracle-based pricing mechanism, with liquidity supplied by its GLP token pools. The exchange supports over 21 perpetual contracts, including BTC, ETH, AVAX, SOL, and PEPE, providing leverage up to 50x. The GLP liquidity model shares fee revenue and staking rewards with liquidity providers, fostering deep on-chain liquidity.

However, GMX recently experienced a $40 million exploit linked to vulnerabilities in the GLP pricing system. Although the funds were ultimately returned, the incident highlights inherent risks of decentralized perpetual trading reliant on pooled liquidity models.

GMX Platform Highlights:

• Fees: Opening and closing fees ranging from 0.04% to 0.07%; stablecoin swaps at 0.005%.
• Assets: 21+ perpetual markets including BTC, ETH, AVAX, SOL, and PEPE.
• Deposit Methods: Accepts ETH, USDT, AVAX, and USDC via MetaMask and other Web3 wallets.
• Leverage: Up to 50x leverage across major perpetual contracts.

6. Jupiter Perps

Jupiter Perps is another Solana-based decentralised perps futures exchange, processing roughly $380 million in daily volume across perpetual contracts for SOL, ETH, and WBTC. It provides leverage up to 100x on SOL and 150x on ETH and WBTC, sourcing liquidity directly from its multi-asset JLP pool (SOL, ETH, WBTC, USDC, USDT).

Liquidity providers mint JLP tokens, earning ~10% APY from 75% of trading fees, hourly borrow charges, and traders' losses. Pricing relies on multi-oracle feeds (Edge, Chainlink, Pyth), limiting direct price impact. Trades execute via on-chain requests fulfilled off-chain by keepers, combining transparency with Solana’s speed.

Jupiter’s interface offers gasless transactions, limit orders, and multi-asset collateral deposits via Jupiter Instant swaps. While effective, its keeper-based model introduces latency compared to fully on-chain solutions. Jupiter suits traders committed to Solana, accepting slightly higher fees and narrower asset choice for deep liquidity and convenience.

Jupiter Platform Highlights:

• Fees: Flat 0.06% base fee per trade, plus price-impact and hourly borrow fees.
• Assets: SOL, ETH, WBTC perpetual contracts.
• Deposit Methods: SOL, ETH, WBTC, USDC, USDT via Solana wallets.
• Leverage: Up to 100x for SOL, 150x for ETH and WBTC.

What are Decentralized Perpetual Exchanges?

Decentralized perpetual exchanges are blockchain-based platforms enabling users to trade perpetual futures directly on-chain without intermediaries. Unlike traditional futures, perpetuals have no expiration, relying on funding rates to maintain alignment with underlying spot prices.

These exchanges offer traders transparent pricing, self-custody of assets, and direct risk management, contrasting centralized platforms that control funds and settlement processes off-chain.

Leading decentralized perpetual exchanges, including Hyperliquid, dYdX, and GMX, attract traders through deep liquidity, efficient execution, and secure smart contracts, delivering a decentralized alternative to centralized futures trading.

Perps DEX vs Perps CEX: Which is Best?

Traders face a fundamental choice between centralized exchanges (CEXs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) when trading perpetual futures. Each has distinct strengths appealing to different trading priorities.

Perpetual Contract Liquidity & Trading Efficiency

CEXs dominate perpetual futures due to deep liquidity, tight spreads, and minimal slippage. In Q1 2025, the top 10 CEXs handled $5.4 trillion in volume, with Binance alone commanding $2 trillion (37.5% market share). CEX liquidity allows traders to execute multimillion-dollar trades with negligible market impact (typically under 0.3% slippage).

DEXs historically struggled with fragmented liquidity but have rapidly improved. Their relative volume to CEXs jumped from 9% to 26% since early 2024, indicating rising adoption and trust.

User Experience & Security

CEXs offer comprehensive ecosystems, including fiat deposits, advanced derivatives, integrated yield programs, and robust custodial security like Binance's $1 billion SAFU fund. They provide dedicated 24/7 support and seamless cross-chain transactions, significantly enhancing convenience.

DEXs provide full asset control, operate without KYC, and deliver enhanced privacy. However, users assume full responsibility for custody, face technical hurdles like wallet management and asset bridging, and generally receive community-driven rather than direct support.

Trading Fees for Perps DEXs

Traders must carefully evaluate perpetual DEXs based on fees, as they directly influence profitability. Three core costs impact trader outcomes: trading fees, funding rates, and slippage.

• Trading Fees: DEXs apply maker fees (adding liquidity) and taker fees (removing liquidity). For example, Hyperliquid charges 0.045% taker fees with 0.015% maker rebates. dYdX as an alternative uses tiered pricing, offering maker rebates up to 0.011% and taker fees from 0.025% to 0.05%.
• Funding Rates: Perpetual contracts periodically charge or reward traders through funding rates (typically every 1 to 8 hours) to align perpetual prices with spot markets. Persistent funding costs can substantially affect long-term positions.
• Spreads and Slippage: Liquidity depth impacts spreads and order execution quality. High-liquidity platforms such as Hyperliquid and GMX feature tight spreads, minimizing slippage and hidden trading costs. Platforms with lower liquidity lead to wider spreads, causing higher slippage and unfavorable fills.

Considering these costs holistically ensures traders select the most suitable, cost-efficient DEX aligned with their trading style.

Decentralized Perpetual Exchange Risks

Decentralized perpetual exchanges provide transparency and asset self-custody but carry distinct risks traders must carefully assess:

• Smart Contract Risks: Complex smart contracts powering DEXs carry inherent vulnerabilities. Even audited protocols like GMX have faced exploits, resulting in significant fund losses due to code flaws or logic errors.
• Liquidity and Counterparty Exposure: DEX liquidity models, such as peer-to-pool systems (GMX, Jupiter), expose liquidity providers directly to trader gains. During sharp market moves, profits can rapidly drain pools, eroding LP capital. Fragmented liquidity across multiple chains may also worsen slippage.
• Oracle Manipulation: DEX platforms relying on external price oracles (Chainlink, Pyth) risk manipulation or latency issues. Inaccurate pricing can trigger improper liquidations, funding distortions, and arbitrage exploitation, harming traders and overall stability.
• Regulatory Uncertainty: DEXs operate in an uncertain regulatory environment. Rising global scrutiny may lead to tighter restrictions or compliance burdens, potentially affecting user access, liquidity, and platform viability.
• Operational Dependencies: Platforms depending on off-chain processes like keeper-driven settlements and hybrid liquidity solutions (Drift, Jupiter) face operational risks. Keeper outages or system delays can degrade trading performance or temporarily halt order executions.

Given these factors, traders and liquidity providers should thoroughly weigh these risks against the clear benefits of decentralized perpetual trading, especially as this market segment matures and evolves.

Final Thoughts

Hyperliquid has built a clear moat in decentralized perpetual futures trading by directly solving common issues like complicated fees, liquidity fragmentation, and slow execution. Its vertically integrated Layer-1 blockchain enables fast, reliable trading experiences and deep liquidity.

With a dominant market share exceeding 80%, Hyperliquid processes over $15 billion in daily trading volume, more than 20 times that of competitors like dYdX, ApeX, and Drift.

Looking forward, Hyperliquid is actively enhancing its ecosystem through initiatives such as HIP-3, enabling rapid listings of community-launched perpetual markets. These ongoing efforts strengthen its liquidity flywheel, continually reinforcing market depth and trader adoption.