Perp DEX Market Sees 34% Trading Volume Drop Amid Trader Caution
The decentralized perpetual futures exchange (perp DEX) market has seen a notable cooldown over the past six months. Trading volume across perp DEXs has dropped 34% to around $21 billion in daily aggregate volume.
However, open interest has only declined by about 10% during this period, indicating that traders are not closing out their positions en masse. Instead, they seem to be sitting on their hands and not opening new ones at the same pace as before.
The numbers paint a clear picture of the decline in trading volume. Monthly perp DEX volume peaked at $1.36 trillion in October 2025 but had cratered to $699 billion by March 2026.
Hyperliquid and Aster have been dominating the landscape, with their combined 30-day volumes exceeding $496 billion.