In 2025, perpetual decentralized exchanges (DEXs) entered a rapid growth phase characterized by an expansion in trading volumes and other key metrics. The rise of the hybrid centralized limit order book (CLOB) model has significantly improved performance and user experience, closing the gap with centralized exchanges (CEX).
In this report, HTX Research examines the perpetual DEX landscape, its evolution, current trends, and new exchanges emerging as key players.
How the evolution of perpetual DEX will drive market growth
Decentralized perpetual futures exchanges emerged in 2019 and have experienced significant growth and evolution since then. These have proven to be one of the most successful practical use cases of DeFi.
Perpetual DEX was the first to adopt a CLOB-based design led by dYdX, mirroring CEX by combining off-chain order books and on-chain settlement. As the market evolved, a new generation of on-chain models emerged that used automatic market maker (AMM) mechanisms with pooled liquidity for oracle prices, such as GMX and Perpetuals Protocol.
Currently, hybrid CLOB designs, represented by Hyperliquid, dominate the persistent DEX market. These exchanges combine on-chain storage and settlement with custom app-chain or on-rollup order matching systems for near-instantaneous execution. This approach offers clear technical advantages, including more accurate price discovery, tighter spreads, and support for high-frequency trading.
These technological advances, along with easier user onboarding and the removal of KYC requirements, have driven the adoption of perpetual DEXs. The company’s share of the global perpetual futures market rose from 2.7% at the end of 2023 to 26% by mid-2025, highlighting the growing demand for decentralized trading infrastructure.
Read the full report to learn how persistent DEX innovation is reshaping decentralized derivatives trading.
Major PERP exchanges and emerging players
Hyperliquid launched in early 2023 and became the market leader within a year and a half. Its market share peaked at 73% in the second quarter of 2025, before new competitors took over some of its user base. It currently holds $9 billion in open interest, accounting for approximately 32% of total trading volume and over 54% of perpetual futures open interest.
One of the key factors in Hyperliquid’s success was its airdrop strategy, which encouraged users to actively trade on the platform over an extended period of time. The project distributed a large airdrop and its native token, HYPE, outperformed the market in the weeks following the distribution, generating further momentum.
A similar approach was quickly adopted by new entrants Aster and Lighter, which became Hyperliquid’s main competitors. These two exchanges have captured some of Hyperliquid’s market share. Aster leverages its deep integration with the Binance ecosystem to achieve rapid growth and currently ranks #2 in open interest.
Airdrop campaigns have helped in user acquisition, but competition in this space continues to increase. In the short term, the industry will continue to be in an arms race focused on features and price. In the medium term, success will depend on liquidity depth, organizational readiness, and cross-chain accessibility.
Learn more about the leading Perp DEXs in 2025, their technical features, and traction in the full report.
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