Ethereum Settles into Supporting Role as Perpetual Futures Thrive Elsewhere

Ethereum has become the foundation of decentralized finance, powering innovations in onchain lending and tokenized assets. However, perpetual futures trading has largely flourished outside Ethereum's base layer.

The need for fast transactions and deep liquidity makes platforms like Hyperliquid and Solana attractive for traders. AJ Warner, chief strategy officer at Offchain Labs, the lead developer for Arbitrum, notes that perps require frequent transactions, fast execution, and deep liquidity, making Arbitrum a strong fit.

L2s drive performance, but fragmentation grows as Ethereum's mainnet prioritizes security over speed. This has made it challenging for latency-sensitive trading, especially with perpetual protocols gaining traction. The launch of GMX on Arbitrum in 2021 set a template for others to follow.