Perp DEX Trading Cools as Volumes Slides For Five Straight Months

Onchain perpetual futures trading has cooled for five straight months since peaking in October 2025.

Perp volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) fell to $699 billion in March 2026 from October’s $1.36 trillion, according to DefiLlama data.

The decline has been steady across the period, with volumes slipping through November and December before losses extended through the first quarter of 2026. 

Daily activity also shows signs of softening. On April 4, perp DEX volume fell to $8.4 billion, the first time it dropped below $10 billion since Sept. 6, 2025. This also marks the lowest level since July 5, 2025, according to DefiLlama. 

The trend signals a sustained cooldown in onchain perpetual futures trading following the 2025 surge. Perp volumes serve as a proxy for speculative demand and leveraged positioning in crypto markets.

Hyperliquid leads perp DEX volumes over the past 30 days

DefiLlama data shows that trading activity remains concentrated among the top perp DEX platforms. In the past 30 days, Hyperliquid put up about $185.5 billion in reported volume, accounting for roughly 34% of total volume among the top 10 perp DEXs.

This puts the platform significantly ahead of rivals such as edgeX, which reported $73 billion, and Aster, at $68 billion.

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Other platforms recorded notably lower volumes over the same period, including Lighter at about $50 billion and Grvt at nearly $40 billion. Smaller venues like ApeX Protocol, Variational and StandX each recorded between roughly $16 billion and $33 billion in 30-day volume. 

The data shows that a large share of onchain perpetual futures activity is concentrated in the top platforms, as overall volumes have declined from late-2025 highs. 

Perp DEX slowdown follows rapid growth

The slowdown follows a period of rapid growth in onchain derivatives trading. In 2025, perp DEXs nearly tripled cumulative volume to $12.09 trillion, with about $7.9 trillion, about 65%, generated in 2025 alone.

This was largely driven by monthly activity averaging nearly $1 trillion each month in the fourth quarter.

Perpetual futures exchanges are becoming a key battleground across crypto ecosystems. Blockchains have been racing to launch or host perpetual DEXs to capture trading activity, though liquidity has historically tended to consolidate around a small number of dominant platforms.

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