Onchain Futures Surpass $1 Trillion in Monthly Trading

On-chain perpetual futures trading has exceeded $1 trillion in monthly volume as crypto traders increasingly seek leveraged exposure

ContentsTraders Shift Toward Leveraged Perpetual FuturesIntegration of Perpetual Futures With DeFiMarket Leaders and Recent DevelopmentsLeading decentralized exchanges like Hyperliquid, Lighter, and Aster dominate the market, driven by sideways altcoin movements that encourage high-leverage strategies.

Traders are using perpetual futures to amplify gains with small capital, benefiting from platforms integrated with decentralized finance. Coinbase researcher David Duong highlighted that demand for on-chain perpetual futures surged in 2025, marking a major milestone in the evolution of decentralized trading.

Traders Shift Toward Leveraged Perpetual Futures

The stagnation in altcoin prices has pushed traders toward perpetual futures to capture higher yields. Duong noted on X that speculative leverage peaked at around 10 percent earlier this year before falling to roughly 4 percent after October liquidations. Perpetual futures allow traders to multiply exposure without expiration dates, catering to both experienced speculators and algorithmic strategies.

Decentralized exchanges have contributed significantly to this growth by offering automated, non-custodial trading with low fees on Layer 2 networks. Platforms such as Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster, and edgeX have created deep liquidity pools, providing 24/7 access to leveraged trading.

Integration of Perpetual Futures With DeFi

Duong explained that perpetual futures are moving beyond high-leverage trading tools and becoming core components of DeFi markets. Integration with DeFi protocols enables new applications, including liquidity pool hedging, interest rate instruments, and collateral for lending platforms.

He also suggested that tokenized equity perpetual futures could offer traders around-the-clock leveraged exposure to U.S. equities, potentially disrupting traditional retail trading. The integration signals a growing trend of composable financial products in decentralized finance, optimizing capital efficiency across markets.

Market Leaders and Recent Developments

Hyperliquid launched its on-chain perpetual futures platform in late 2023 and gained traction in 2024 after adding spot trading. It reached its peak monthly volume in July at $319 billion, according to DeFiLlama. Aster temporarily led the market with $36 billion traded in a single day after its token generation event in September. Lighter also raised $68 million following its public mainnet launch in November.

In the past 30 days, on-chain perpetual futures have recorded roughly $972 billion in trading volume, with Hyperliquid, Lighter, and Aster occupying the top three positions. Hyperliquid Labs will receive its next token allocation on January 6, comprising 1.2 million HYPE tokens worth $31.2 million. The platform currently has 238.4 million HYPE tokens in circulation, valued at around $26 each, giving it a market capitalization of $6.2 billion.

The record trading volumes and growing integration with DeFi demonstrate that on-chain perpetual futures are becoming central to crypto markets. Traders and platforms alike are leveraging this momentum to expand access, liquidity, and innovative financial applications.