What is a perp DEX?
How perpetual DEXs work.

What a perp DEX is, in one paragraph

A perp DEX (perpetual decentralized exchange) is a trading venue for perpetual futures where you trade from your own crypto wallet instead of depositing money with a company. A perpetual future is a contract that tracks the price of an asset — bitcoin, ether, a stock index or gold — and never expires, so you can hold a long (betting the price rises) or a short (betting it falls) for as long as your collateral covers the margin. On 09 Oct 2026 · 00:25 UTC the 49 perp DEXs in our directory held $13.68B of open positions, led by Hyperliquid, Aster, Variational.

Perpetual futures vs regular futures

A regular futures contract has an expiry date: on that date it settles and you must roll into a new contract. A perpetual has no expiry. To stop its price drifting away from the real (spot) price without an expiry to pull it back, perpetuals use a funding rate: when the perpetual trades above spot, longs pay shorts; when it trades below, shorts pay longs. For example, at our last hourly capture Hyperliquid’s BTC funding was 0.0013% per hour, about 10.9% a year on the position size. Compare live funding rates across DEXs →

Perp DEX vs centralized exchange

On a centralized exchange (CEX) you deposit funds to the company, which holds them and matches your orders. On a perp DEX your collateral sits in smart contracts or on an exchange-specific blockchain, and withdrawals do not depend on a company approving them. Many perp DEXs need no account or identity check: you connect a wallet. The trade-offs are real: smart-contract and oracle bugs can lose funds, some venues still match orders on their own servers (“hybrid” designs), and most exclude users from certain countries in their terms. See which venues restrict which countries →

How a perp DEX works

Perp DEXs use two main designs. Order-book venues match buyers and sellers like a traditional exchange, often on a blockchain built for the purpose; about 27 of the 50 venues we track describe an order-book model. Pool venues let you trade against a shared liquidity pool at an oracle price; about 6 use a pool or vault model. In both, you post collateral (usually USDC), pick leverage, and the venue tracks your profit and loss against a mark price. 42 of the venues also list perpetuals on stocks, commodities or currencies — synthetic contracts, not ownership of the asset. RWA perp DEXs →

What it costs to trade

You pay a trading fee on each order. Across 45 venues whose fee pages we checked, the median base-tier taker fee is 0.04%, so a $10,000 market order costs about $4.00. Maker orders (resting limit orders) usually pay less or nothing. On top come funding payments while a position is open, and the spread and price impact of large orders. Fees compared by venue →

The risks, plainly

Liquidation: with leverage, a small price move against you can wipe out your collateral; at 10× a move of roughly 9% is enough at typical margin rules. Try the liquidation calculator → Platform risk: exploits, oracle failures and outages happen, including at large venues. Each venue page lists audits and incidents from official sources. Incentive noise: points programs and rebates can inflate reported volume; we prefer open interest and fees as harder-to-fake signals.

How to choose a perp DEX

Start with what you need: the markets you want, where you live, whether you accept KYC, and how much leverage you really use. Then compare liquidity (open interest), fees and track record. Use the venue finder, read the shortlist with published criteria, or browse every perp DEX ranked daily.

The largest perp DEXs right now

• Hyperliquid$8.33B
• Aster$1.32B
• Variational$1.00B
• Lighter$804.18M
• GRVT$446.68M
• AAntarctic$333.19M