Author: June, Deep Tide TechFlow

As Lighter completes its TGE by the end of 2025, the focus in the perpetual contract DEX space is beginning to shift, with the market gradually turning its attention to the evaluation of the next batch of potential token issuance projects.

Current trends suggest that 2026 is likely to usher in a new wave of strong release cycles. Several perpetual contract decentralized exchanges are still in the pre-TGE phase but have already launched ongoing points or incentive programs, generating considerable on-chain trading volume with real user participation.

For participants looking to position themselves early, understanding the current actual performance of these projects is more important than simply chasing narratives.

Based on the perpetual contract trading volume data from DefiLlama over the past 30 days, the following is a list of currently top-ranked, yet-to-be-issued Perp DEXs for reference and research.

The Most Noteworthy Yet-to-be-issued Perp DEXs for 2026 Based on Trading Volume

EdgeX (@edgeX_exchange)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #4

• 30-day trading volume: $91.005 billion

• Financing: Incubated by Amber Group

EdgeX is a high-performance perpetual contract and spot DEX built on StarkEx (Ethereum L2 ZK-rollup technology), offering ultra-low latency execution, deep liquidity, and self-custody trading through mobile and web applications.

Specializing in professional-grade order book trading, it boasts up to 200,000 TPS and a forced withdrawal safety net.

GRVT (@grvt_io)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #6

• 30-day trading volume: $35.683 billion

• Financing: Raised $35 million (QCP Singapore, ABCDE Capital, Further Ventures, etc.)

GRVT is a hybrid cryptocurrency derivatives exchange built on ZKsync Validium L2, combining CEX-level user experience with full self-custody and zero-knowledge privacy technology for perpetual contract and options trading.

It pioneered the "hybrid exchange" model to connect traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi); it places a strong emphasis on compliance and scalability for institutional/retail users.

Paradex (@paradex)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #7

• 30-day trading volume: $30.249 billion

• Financing: Incubated by Paradigm (cryptocurrency derivatives institutional liquidity platform)

Paradex is a zero-fee perpetual contract DEX with privacy features, built on Starknet's high-performance application chain, supporting deep liquidity across hundreds of markets, including cryptocurrencies and pre-market trading.

Focusing on a unified DeFi ecosystem, it offers atomic settlement, institutional-grade privacy, and a mobile-optimized trading experience.

Extended (@extendedapp)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #8

• 30-day trading volume: $29.309 billion

• Financing: Raised $6.5 million (StarkWare, Semantic Ventures, Cherry Crypto)

Extended is a high-performance decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Starknet, offering over 50 markets (cryptocurrencies and traditional financial assets like gold, oil, S&P 500, Nasdaq), up to 100x leverage, deep liquidity, low fees, and seamless connection to EVM wallets without cross-bridging.

Founded by former Revolut executives, with CEO Ruslan Fakhrutdinov (former head of crypto business at Revolut). It migrated from StarkEx to Starknet in 2025 to achieve full composability.

Pacifica (@pacifica_fi)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #9

• 30-day trading volume: $17.783 billion

• Financing: Self-funded

• Pacifica is a Solana-native hybrid perpetual futures DEX equipped with AI-assisted tools, utilizing off-chain order matching for speed and on-chain settlement for security/transparency.

• The team has professional backgrounds from Binance, FTX (including former COO Constance Wang), Jane Street, Fidelity, and OpenAI; prioritizing trader-first design without native token incentives.

Reya (@reya_xyz)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #10

• 30-day trading volume: $14.615 billion

• Financing: Raised $19 million (Coinbase Ventures, Stani Kulechow, Framework Ventures, etc.)

Reya is a high-performance perpetual futures DEX built on Reya Chain (a trading-optimized L2 based on Ethereum rollup architecture), featuring millisecond execution, gas-free trading, deep shared liquidity achieved through passive pools, and an MEV-resistant FIFO matching mechanism.

Founded by DeFi veterans behind Voltz Protocol; specializing in highly capital-efficient margin mechanisms (up to 3.5 times efficiency improvement for traders), cross-collateralization with interest-bearing assets, and institutional-grade performance secured by Ethereum validators.

Trade.xyz (@tradexyz)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #11

• 30-day trading volume: $11.684 billion

• Financing: Self-funded

Trade.xyz is a professional perpetual contract DEX deployed on Hyperliquid L1 (via HIP-3), providing direct access to the Hypercore high-speed on-chain order book while focusing on 24/7 trading of non-crypto assets like US stocks and indices.

Built by the Hyperunit team; its standout feature is providing around-the-clock liquidity for traditional stock perpetual contracts, with ultra-low fees and permissionless market deployment within the Hyperliquid ecosystem.

Nado (@nadoHQ)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #12

• 30-day trading volume: $10.341 billion

• Financing: Not disclosed

Nado is a high-performance central limit order book (CLOB) DEX built on Ink (Kraken's Ethereum L2), offering unified full-margin trading for spot, margin, and perpetual futures with CEX-like 5-15 millisecond latency and full self-custody functionality.

Developed by core contributors from the Kraken team; specializing in achieving exceptional capital efficiency through dynamic collateral net settlement, integrated money markets, and liquidity provider vaults that earn from trading flow.

Variational (@variational_io)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #17

• 30-day trading volume: $9.65 billion

• Financing: $13 million (Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly, Sequoia Capital, etc.)

Variational is a peer-to-peer derivatives trading protocol on Arbitrum, supporting applications like Omni (retail perpetual contract platform), with hundreds of markets, zero trading fees, and liquidity aggregation through request for quote (RFQ) mode.

Founded by former Genesis Trading executives with deep market-making expertise; its notable innovation lies in customizable derivatives (including exotic options and options) with bilateral settlement, rapid asset listing, and direct revenue redistribution to users and liquidity providers.

Based (@BasedOneX)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #29

• 30-day trading volume: $3.491 billion

• Financing: Not disclosed (Delphi Ventures, Ethena)

Based is a professional trading front-end (super app) built on Hyperliquid L1, providing seamless access to the Hyperliquid high-performance on-chain order book for perpetual futures trading, featuring advanced tools, farming, and rewards integration.

Quickly becoming the dominant application on Hyperliquid, capturing a significant market share through exceptional user experience and revenue generation for traders and liquidity providers.

Ostium (@OstiumLabs)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #34

• 30-day trading volume: $2.377 billion

• Financing: $24 million (General Catalyst, Jump Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, etc.)

Ostium is a decentralized perpetual contract exchange on Arbitrum, specializing in synthetic exposure trading of real-world assets (such as commodities like gold/oil, forex, stocks, indices) and cryptocurrencies, using RFQ mode for narrow spreads and deep liquidity without tokenization.

Founded by Harvard alumni; committed to disrupting traditional CFD brokers by providing transparent, self-custodied, on-chain alternatives with verifiable execution and no broker counterparty risk.

Ethereal (@etherealdex)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #37

• 30-day trading volume: $1.563 billion

• Financing: Not disclosed

Ethereal is a non-custodial spot and perpetual contract DEX built on the Ethena Network (as a high-performance L3 application chain), using USDe as the primary collateral to achieve CEX-level execution with latency below 20 milliseconds and full self-custody.

An Ethena native project, it is deeply integrated with ENA governance approval; it aims to become the flagship on-chain venue for hedging and trading around USDe, offering yield-bearing stablecoin rewards and the potential for token distribution to ENA holders.

Vest (@VestExchange)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #39

• 30-day trading volume: $1.286 billion

• Financing: Raised $5 million (Jane Street, Amber Group, Big Brain Holdings, etc.)

Vest is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Arbitrum, featuring a zkRisk engine for real-time risk pricing, unlimited position sizes, rapid asset listing (including long-tail and real-world assets), and high capital efficiency liquidity with no risk of insolvency.

Specializing in fair, manipulation-resistant pricing and no position size limits, it enables the public to access thousands of markets (cryptocurrencies, stocks, forex).

Astros (@astros_ag)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #58

• 30-day trading volume: $170.35 million

• Financing: Incubated by NAVI Protocol (Sui's leading liquidity protocol)

Astros is a native perpetual futures DEX on Sui, providing high-leverage trading with deep liquidity through direct integration with NAVI Protocol's lending pools to enhance capital efficiency and generate real yields.

Founded by Jerry Liu; it leverages Sui chain's high performance and creates a self-sustaining trading-lending ecosystem that does not rely on token incentives, positioning Sui as a top derivatives hub.

Hibachi (@hibachi_xyz)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #64

• 30-day trading volume: $204.34 million

• Financing: Raised $5 million (Dragonfly, Electric Capital, echo)

Hibachi is a privacy-first decentralized perpetual contract exchange on Arbitrum and Base, featuring an off-chain CLOB for latency below 10 milliseconds, zk-encrypted positions/balances enabled by Celestia DA, and full on-chain settlement with solvency proof.

Founded by an elite team from Citadel, Tower Research, IMC, Meta, Google, and Hashflow;

It pioneered "provable" trading with institutional-grade privacy, CEX-comparable speed, and uncompromising self-custody.

Bullpen (@BullpenFi)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #71

• 30-day trading volume: $162.09 million

• Financing: Not disclosed (Delphi Ventures, 6th Man Ventures)

Bullpen is an on-chain trading terminal that provides seamless access to perpetual futures and spot trading on Hyperliquid L1, Solana spot markets (including meme coins), and prediction markets via Polymarket through a unified mobile-friendly interface.

Co-founded by KOL Ansem; it focuses on providing professional-grade tools, one-click execution, and cross-protocol aggregation for retail and professional traders.

Liquid (@liquidtrading)

• 30-day perpetual contract trading volume ranking: #72

• 30-day trading volume: $156.55 million

• Financing: Raised $7.6 million (Paradigm, General Catalyst, Alpen Capital, etc.)

Liquid is a non-custodial perpetual contract DEX aggregator that integrates top venues like Hyperliquid, Lighter, and Ostium into a mobile-first application, offering cross-platform position management, yield vaults, real-time analytics, and automated risk tools.

Founded by Franklyn Wang (former head of AI at Two Sigma); it specializes in simplifying fragmented perpetual contract trading, providing optimal execution, reducing fees, and offering institutional-grade features while maintaining full self-custody across multiple chains.

StandX (@StandX_Official)

• Financing: Self-funded

StandX is a decentralized perpetual futures DEX operating on Solana and BNB Chain, featuring high-performance trading capabilities, using DUSD (a native yield-bearing stablecoin) as exclusive margin collateral, automatically generating passive income without staking or locking.

Founded by an experienced team including former Binance contract leads and Goldman Sachs engineers; it innovates by making idle margin capital productive while maintaining a delta-neutral platform design and incentive activities for traders/LPs.

Backpack (@Backpack)

• 30-day trading volume: $32 billion (perpetual futures)

• Financing: Raised $37 million (Placeholder, FTX Ventures, Wintermute, etc.)

Backpack Exchange is a regulated centralized cryptocurrency exchange (CEX) offering spot, margin, and perpetual futures trading, with cross-collateral, lending, and low-fee features, seamlessly integrated with the multi-chain Backpack self-custody wallet.

Founded by Armani Ferrante (from the Coral team behind Mad Lads xNFTs); it stands out as a hybrid wallet-exchange platform with a strong Solana foundation, acquiring EU regulation through the acquisition of FTX EU, with high perpetual contract trading volumes comparable to major CEXs.

Public Testnet Phase

Decibel (@DecibelTrade)

• Financing: Not disclosed

Decibel is a full-chain trading engine built natively on Aptos, unifying spot trading, perpetual futures, and yield strategies in a single full-margin, multi-collateral interface, with CEX-like speed and sub-second finality. Developed in collaboration with Aptos Labs and the Decibel Foundation;

Directly supported by Aptos Labs, designed as a neutral, composable execution layer for global on-chain markets; currently in the public testnet phase.

How to participate:

• Visit app.decibel.trade, connect your Aptos wallet, mint test USDC, and trade (perpetual contracts, spot, vaults) to earn volume-based XP and rankings.

• Participate in trading arena competitions.

• Join the pre-deposit waitlist at decibel.trade.

RiseX (@risextrade)

• Financing: Not disclosed

RiseX (RISEx) is the flagship integrated perpetual contract DEX on Rise Chain (a high-performance Ethereum L2), featuring a full on-chain order book, shared liquidity via MarketCore, CEX-level execution, and programmable market deployment capabilities for spot/perpetual contracts, with future support for options and prediction markets.

Supported by Rise Chain's ultra-low latency infrastructure (integrating acquired BSX Labs technology); positioned as the home for global on-chain markets; currently in the public testnet phase, with plans to launch the mainnet in early 2026.

How to participate:

• Go to testnet.rise.trade, connect your EVM wallet, and claim test USDC.

• Trade daily to earn points.

Others

01.xyz (@01Exchange)

• Current status: Private testnet (invitation only)

• Financing: Not disclosed

01.xyz is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange powered by the N1 blockchain (utilizing the high-performance NordVM engine), offering CEX-level speed, low latency, and feature-rich order books while maintaining full on-chain transparency and self-custody. Built by seasoned traders focused on precision and advantage;

Currently in the private testnet phase, positioned as the next-generation venue for unrestricted scale perpetual contract trading based on dedicated Layer 1 infrastructure.

How to participate:

• Invitation only; no public code available.

• To obtain an access code, follow/reply to posts from @01Exchange, interact with community members sharing codes, or DM active users.

• Once inside, trade extensively, invite friends, and participate in events/rankings.

Cascade (@cascade_xyz)

• Current status: Early access deposits are live (invitation only); trading not yet live

• Financing: Raised $15 million (Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, Variant Fund, etc.)

Cascade is a high-performance perpetual contract DEX on Arbitrum, emphasizing deep liquidity, narrow spreads, and institutional-grade execution for cryptocurrencies and potentially broader asset classes.

Before full trading launches, it is building momentum through liquidity strategies and reward points.

How to participate:

• Strictly invitation only; access code required for deposits/pre-allocations.

• Codes will be distributed in limited/random batches to waitlist users or through community distribution.

• After obtaining a code: deposit/pre-allocate to CLS (recent cap around $1-3 million total, $10,000 per account) to earn points.

Note: Data source: DefiLlama (as of January 5), SoSoValue, CryptoRank. Information organized and compiled with assistance from Grok.

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