Perp DEX trading surpasses $1 trillion for the first time

In September 2025, perpetual contract trading on decentralized exchanges topped $1 trillion for the first time, according to DefiLlama.

Market volatility, high open interest in crypto futures, and intense competition among decentralized exchanges were the main drivers of growth. Data show that Hyperliquid and its newer high-growth rival Aster accounted for the vast majority of the surge. Hyperliquid’s 30-day perpetual volume stood near $280.7 billion, while Aster posted roughly $493.6 billion over the same period. Lighter rounded out the top three DEXs by perpetual volume, with strong activity exceeding $150 billion in 30-day volume.

September’s volatile market led to a record high in perpetual futures trading. Bitcoin’s price trajectory was a major driver of the volatility. In the first half of the month, Bitcoin climbed from around $109,000 into the over $115,000 zone, even touching highs in the $116,000-$117,000 range. However, the latter half of the month saw a sharp reversal: Bitcoin dipped below $110,000 during late September corrections.

These movements prompted widespread liquidations, including a “wipeout” of $1.5 billion in leveraged crypto positions. The intense intraday volatility incentivized traders to open and adjust leveraged positions quickly, amplifying perpetual futures activity.

Perpetual contract trading on decentralized exchanges from June 2024 to September 2025. Source: DeFiLlama

Ethereum, like Bitcoin, experienced ups and downs, falling below $4,300 at times before recovering later. ETF activity and institutional money contributed to the fluctuations. Mid-month inflows were followed by large outflows, especially in Ethereum products, which added to the downward pressure toward the end of September.

Competition among perpetual DEXs is growing. Many platforms give users native tokens as rewards for generating trading activity, lowering the effective cost of trading and attracting participants. As of early October 2025, Aster, launched in September 2025, has become the dominant DEX by perpetual contract volume, overtaking Hyperliquid with a daily trading volume of $80 billion compared to Hyperliquid’s $9.4 billion. The total perpetual volume in the last 24 hours on DEXs is above $107 billion.

Perp DEXs hit record $1.14T monthly trading volume in September