Decentralized perpetual trading volume is set for a massive month in October, having just passed a record $1 trillion with a week still to spare as traders place big bets on the crypto markets.
The $1 trillion milestone has already beaten August’s record of $762 billion by a considerable margin, according to data from DeFiLlama.
While Hyperliquid leads October with $317.6 billion in trading volume, Lighter, Aster, and edgeX have also fared well, seeing $255.4 billion, $177.6 billion and $134.7 billion, respectively, with the rest made up of smaller decentralized exchanges. Those platforms contributed to a record $78 billion in decentralized perps volume on Oct. 10 alone.
Given the current run rate, decentralized perps volume is on track to finish October at about $1.3 trillion — nearly doubling August’s tally.
Perps have become popular due to their 24/7 trading, high leverage, no expiration, and the ability to profit from both rising and falling markets — attracting speculative traders seeking higher returns with minimal holding requirements.
Centralized Exchanges Still Lead Perpetual Trading, but Decentralized Platforms Are Gaining
Decentralized perps trading volume remains a fraction of that seen on centralized exchanges. For instance, Binance and Bybit recorded $69.3 billion and $26 billion in trading volume over the last 24 hours, respectively, according to CoinGecko data.
However, that lead is narrowing rapidly as crypto innovators continue to develop more user-friendly interfaces for crypto perp traders.
Hyperliquid Identified as a Breakthrough Protocol
Decentralized perps platforms have been operational for nearly a decade, with early leaders including Synthetix, dYdX, and GMX. However, Hyperliquid is recognized as the first protocol to achieve significant scaling and success, as stated by Infinex founder Kain Warwick in a recent conversation with Cointelegraph.
MetaMask, one of the most widely adopted crypto wallets, integrated Hyperliquid on Oct. 8, enabling users to access Hyperliquid’s perpetual swaps exchange directly within its application.