Market share surpassing 20%, interpreting the technological revolution behind the rise of decentralized perpetual futures

Author: Coinmonks

Compiled by: Plain Blockchain

At the beginning of this year, a clear public signal indicated a shift in focus.

In early October, Hyperliquid launched permissionless listing (HIP-3). Now, builders can list perpetual futures markets by staking 500,000 HYPE, with restrictions such as validator penalties and open interest limits. This move coincides with decentralized perpetual futures reaching new highs in market share against centralized exchanges, fueling the narrative that “on-chain is winning.”

Meanwhile, CZ (Founder of Binance) responded to rumors linking Hyperliquid on X, even engaging with a widely discussed post about “shorting $10 billion on Hyperliquid.” Whether you interpret this as concern or simple rumor control, the Binance founder mentioning a DEX publicly shows where attention has shifted.

Looking at market structure: by mid-2025, DEX perpetual futures will account for approximately 20%–26% of global perpetual futures trading volume, up from single digits two years ago. The ratio of futures trading volume between DEX and CEX hit about 0.23 in Q2 2025, a clear directional signal indicating liquidity and users are migrating on-chain.

Executing Gives You the Advantage

Three leverage factors drive profit and loss (PnL):

• Execution and Slippage (latency, depth, queue)
• Liquidation Design (mark price vs. index price; auto-deleveraging ADL vs. insurance fund)
• Fee Surface (classic order book / taker vs. zero fees / profit sharing)

This section will describe how each platform leverages these factors to organize their systems, with indicators explaining their behavior, rather than just listing tables.

@E6# Applying Chain CLOBs: When latency becomes a feature (and reflected in PnL)

Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 changed the supply side of liquidity. After permissionless listing (requiring only 500,000 HYPE margin), long-tail markets no longer fade away quickly. You can see open interest sustain through the first funding rate cycle without evaporating; liquidity on days three and seven remains sufficient for large trades. This stickiness, combined with consistently top daily trading volumes, explains why traders now assume Hyperliquid has depth on “niche” trading pairs — because it often does.

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On Solana, Bullet emphasizes speed. During two-minute periods of intense volatility, its “network expansion” design keeps confirmation times in the low milliseconds (Celestia DA, application-specific optimizations). The result is tighter slippage in fast markets: when SOL rises a few tenths of a percent in seconds, trade prices are closer to the intended price than on slower stacks. This isn’t marketing hype but real basis points saved per trade.

EdgeX implements the same idea with zk technology. During macro data releases, takers crossing the spread typically pay only a few basis points because its matching engine preserves queue positions. After a month of news-driven trading, this advantage accumulates into a meaningful edge — one reason trading desks consider it a “fast lane” alternative.

A Solana story ties these together: when Drift hit over a billion dollars in daily volume, market makers compared execution prices across platforms within the same minute; Pacifica, still invite-only, had a comparable impact on BTC/SOL during those windows. The conclusion: Solana’s throughput is now shared across multiple platforms, not just a single one — allowing traders to choose routes based on strategy rather than loyalty.

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@E6# zk-L2 Order Book: Not Just Verifying Results, But Verifying the Engine

Lighter turns “don’t trust, verify” into infrastructure. Matching and clearing are covered by zk proofs, so price-time priority and ADL paths are auditable state transitions, not policy documents. During market sell-offs, you can see this: liquidations unfold as described, and insurance fund usage aligns with stress paths. That’s why backtest results here withstand real-world conditions better.

ApeX )Omni### emphasizes user experience without sacrificing custody: a gas-free frontend, major trading pairs with up to 100x leverage, and CEX-level APIs — all supported by hundreds of millions in daily trading volume, ensuring order cancellations and replacements remain agile during funding rate reversals. For high-frequency traders, key metrics aren’t nominal value but whether sub-second cancellations remain effective amid rapid order book changes.

@E6# Fee Alchemy: “Zero” Means “Different”

Two designs force you to update your spreadsheets:

1. Avantis (Base) removes opening/closing/borrowing fees, charging only on profitable closes ###ZFP(, with zero fees / profit sharing ). In a month of high-leverage, high-frequency trading, PnL variance tightens because fee drag halts erosion during volatile markets. Analysts see ZFP as a “discount”: it alters optimal holding times, especially for short-term trading flows.
2. Paradex (Starknet) improves retail pricing (RPI), keeping taker fees at $0. Its cost-effectiveness depends on the spread. During calm periods, taker fees + improvements often outperform classic order book / taker models; during news events, spreads widen, reversing the advantage. Paradex’s RPI post is a good primer — the key metric is the effective cost per trade (spread ± improvement), not promotional banners.

A notable trend on X: after Paradex explained RPI, quant traders posted costs adjusted for spread based on trade volume. Under five figures USD, RPI usually wins; above that, depth dominates fee labels. Real-time route adjustments are necessary.

@E6# Pegging Mark Price and Passive Liquidity (Fewer “Why Was I Liquidated?” Moments)

Reya optimizes for clean mark prices rather than raw speed. By anchoring unrealized PNL to a hybrid oracle basket, during price spikes, the gap between mark and index prices narrows. In volatile markets, traders experience a few extra levels of liquidation distance — the difference between being wiped out and surviving to the next candle.

@E6# RFQ: When Certainty Outweighs Time Priority

Variational’s Omni replaces open order books with quote requests $0 RFQ(, quoted by an Omni LP hedging across CEX/DEX/OTC, sharing market maker PnL with depositors. The key metric isn’t nominal value but the ratio of trades executed at quotes when order books thin. During two-minute BTC rapid moves, takers report higher fill rates than on sparse CLOBs — precisely when certainty is worth more than a basis point.

@E6 Market Share Shift (And Why It’s Sticky)

Three data points form a structural argument:

1. By mid-2025, DEX perpetual futures market share rises to low-to-mid 20%, up from about 4%–6% in 2024. This isn’t seasonal; it’s a growth curve.
2. The DEX to CEX futures volume ratio hit about 0.23 in Q2 2025, aligning with multiple market data sources.
3. Hyperliquid’s permissionless listings and CZ’s public discussions amplified this narrative as these ratios hit new highs. The timing is clear: DEXs are no longer fringe players — they’re part of the main conversation.

@E6# Solana’s Three-Track Ecosystem (How to Plan Trading Flows)

Drift is endurance-focused — maintaining stable depth, cross-margin, and low slippage on key pairs during about ) billion in daily volume. When surpassing that, traders compare execution prices across platforms with the same order size, using Drift as a benchmark.

Pacifica is speed-focused — even in beta, it hit over ### billion in daily volume, with execution prices within the same hour rivaling Drift, making it a true alternative rather than a “points-based” platform.

Bullet is raw speed — a millisecond-level channel for event trading, where basis point slippage equals profit, routing trades here is essential.

@E6# Starknet CLOB Clusters (No Longer Just a Science Project)

Extended and Paradex often reach hundreds of millions in daily volume and hundreds of billions over 30 days. Key features: Extended shows shallower slippage curves on main pairs than a “young” platform; Paradex’s ###Taker Fee( is cheaper off-peak — until spreads widen during news. Real-time route adjustments are necessary.

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@E6# AsterDEX: Features vs. Depth

Hidden orders are live. Trust Wallet integration broadens user funnel. During the same window, third-party trackers flagged suspicious volume patterns and delisted perpetual data sources. The mature approach: enjoy rapid feature iterations but only deploy large capital after testing depth, open interest, and fees against your order size.

@E6# Privacy Without Sacrificing Execution

Hibachi combines an off-chain CLOB with succinct zk proofs and encrypted data availability on Celestia, keeping balances and positions private and provable. The key KPI isn’t TVL; it’s execution quality under privacy — whether your trade prices and slippage meet expectations when inventory isn’t broadcast.

@E6# High Leverage Is a Slogan, Not a Plan

“Up to 1000x” sounds exciting; at this leverage, a 0.10% adverse move triggers auto-liquidation. If you want to test it, keep positions small and set hard stops. In practice, using clean 25–50x leverage on gasless CLOBs (like WOOFi Pro on Orderly) is sufficient and easier to manage risk.

@E6# How to Choose — Practical, Metric-Driven

1. Prioritize execution. During CPI/FOMC/Earnings reports, measure realized slippage and delay in cancel/replace orders. If milliseconds and queue position matter, apply chain / zk CLOBs — Hyperliquid, EdgeX, Bullet, Lighter, ApeX — often outperform.
2. Second, consider fees. Backtest ZFP (pay from profit) and RPI (taker fee) based on order size and volatility. The “cheapest” platform varies hourly.
3. Third, consider liquidation. When depth thins, prefer small mark-price vs. index-price gaps (Reya), proven liquidation paths (Lighter), or RFQ hedging (Variational).
4. Always verify liquidity. Use 24h/7d/30d trading volume and open interest ###OI$3 for common-sense checks — then send real test orders on your trading pairs (not just BTC/ETH).

@E6# 2026 Configuration — In a Nutshell

Run a speed-focused platform (Hyperliquid / EdgeX / Bullet), a fee-hedging platform (Avantis ZFP or Paradex RPI), and a trusted native chain option (Drift/Pacifica on Solana; Extended/Paradex on Starknet). Then let latency, proofs, effective fees, and liquidation logic — measured by your order volume — guide where you open positions.