DEX Perpetual Volumes Soar to $6.7 Trillion Amid Market Decline

The crypto derivatives market has undergone a significant shift in favor of decentralized exchanges (DEXs), according to data from CoinGecko. In 2025, perpetual swap trading on top DEXs reached $6.7 trillion in annual volume, a 346% increase from the previous year.

This surge is part of a broader trend away from centralized exchanges (CEXs) and toward decentralized alternatives. Two DEXs, Hyperliquid and Lighter, broke into the top 10 perpetual platforms globally, with Hyperliquid ranking No. 7 at $2.9 trillion in annual volume.

Hyperliquid's success can be attributed to its innovative approach, which includes building its own Layer 1 blockchain called HyperCore to handle sub-second trade finality and throughput exceeding 20,000 orders per second.