Onchain perpetual futures trading has entered a sustained downturn, declining for five consecutive months after reaching a peak in October 2025. Data from DefiLlama shows that volume on perpetual decentralized exchanges (DEXs) fell to $699 billion in March 2026, compared to $1.36 trillion in October. The decline has been gradual but consistent, with volumes slipping through November and December before losses continued into the first quarter of 2026. Perpetual futures volumes are widely regarded as a measure of speculative demand and leveraged positioning within crypto markets.
Daily trading figures reinforce the broader trend. On April 4, perp DEX volume dropped to $8.4 billion, the first time it had fallen below $10 billion since September 6, 2025, and the lowest recorded level since July 5, 2025, according to DefiLlama. This single-day figure underscores the degree to which activity has softened from the highs seen in late 2025. The data points to a meaningful shift in trader behavior following the surge that characterized much of last year.
Despite the overall decline, trading activity remains heavily concentrated among the leading platforms. Over the past 30 days, Hyperliquid recorded approximately $185.5 billion in reported volume, representing roughly 34% of total volume across the top 10 perp DEXs. This places Hyperliquid well ahead of its closest competitors in the current environment.
Other platforms trail considerably behind the market leader. edgeX reported $73 billion in volume over the same period, while Aster recorded $68 billion. Lighter posted around $50 billion and Grvt came in at nearly $40 billion. Smaller venues including ApeX Protocol, Variational, and StandX each recorded between roughly $16 billion and $33 billion in 30-day volume, illustrating how liquidity tends to consolidate around a handful of dominant platforms.
The current slowdown follows a period of rapid expansion in onchain derivatives trading throughout 2025. Perp DEXs nearly tripled their cumulative volume last year, reaching $12.09 trillion in total, with approximately $7.9 trillion — around 65% — generated during 2025 alone. Monthly activity averaged close to $1 trillion during the fourth quarter of that year, a pace that has not been sustained into 2026.
Perpetual futures exchanges have become an increasingly competitive arena across crypto ecosystems. Blockchains have moved quickly to launch or host perp DEXs in an effort to capture trading flows, though historical patterns suggest liquidity gravitates toward a small number of established platforms. The current concentration of volume at the top of the market reflects this dynamic, even as overall activity retreats from its late-2025 highs.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
