Exchanges Report Low Trading Volume
Spot and derivatives trading volume for Q3 has declined by over 15% in August, according to data from CCData. There is an expectation of further decline in Q4. This decrease in centralized exchanges may also impact decentralized derivative exchanges due to growing DeFi adoption.
Decentralized Derivatives Ecosystem
Protocols like Vertex, MUX, and Hyperliquid have seen growth in the last six months, despite having less TVL than top market leaders. The market appears to favor exotic trading options over typical choices.
Top Decentralized Derivatives Exchanges
GMX
GMX is a decentralized derivatives and spot exchange that has reached nearly $700M in TVL, making it a market leader with a user-friendly UI, low fees, and high throughput.
GMX allows on-chain trading with leverage and no KYC check, offering a simple and spaced out trading dashboard similar to CEX options.
Several types of fees apply on GMX, including staking fees and variable borrowing fees.
GMX V2 supports trading for BTC, ETH, AVAX, DOGE, LINK, and other popular options.
GMX’s main competitor is dYdX but currently has a higher TVL.
dYdX
dYdX is a decentralized exchange offering perpetual trading options for over 35 popular cryptocurrencies and 20x leverage using STARK, but its UI may be more complex than competitors.
dYdX charges takers 0.050% and makers 0.020% in fees.
dYdX offers trading for 35 cryptocurrencies, including major pairs.
MUX
MUX is a multi-chain decentralized derivatives trading platform offering leverage of up to 100x with over 30 cryptocurrencies for trading and a fixed position fee of 0.06%.
MUX charges a fixed trading fee of 0.10% and funding payments, with spreads ranging from 0% to 0.12% depending on the asset.
ApolloX
ApolloX is an orderbook exchange allowing leverage of up to 150x, and it uses a hybrid system for efficient liquidity and order matching while preserving privacy and decentralization.
ApolloX charges takers 0.07% and makers 0.02% in fees.
ApolloX supports around 28 cryptocurrencies and offers leverage based on the asset chosen.
Hyperliquid
Hyperliquid is a derivatives trading platform that uses a fully on-chain order book, offering 50x leverage and 0.025% fees for takers and 0.002% maker rebate fees.
Hyperliquid supports up to 51 cryptocurrencies, including popular and memecoins.
Closing Thoughts
The derivatives protocol you choose will depend on your appetite for risk and trading style, as some offer exotic trading options, higher leverage, and innovative staking, while others offer more conservative options with lower risk and reward.