Following Lighter, these 23 high-volume Perp DEXs may be the "big winners" of 2026.

Written by: June, Deep Tide TechFlow

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

Based on current trends, 2026 is highly likely to see a new wave of strong releases. Many decentralized exchanges (DEXs) offering perpetual contracts are still in the pre-TGE stage, but have already launched ongoing points or incentive programs, generating substantial on-chain trading volumes with genuine user participation.

For participants who want to plan ahead, understanding the current performance of these projects is more important than simply chasing narratives.

Based on DefiLlama's perpetual contract trading volume data over the past 30 days, the following is a list of top-ranked Perp DEXs that have not yet issued their own tokens, for reference and research.

Based on trading volume, the most noteworthy unlisted token of 2026 is Perp DEX.

EdgeX (@edgeX_exchange)

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

• 30-day trading volume: $91.005 billion

• Funding: 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-custodied trading via mobile/web applications.

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

GRVT (@grvt_io)

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

• 30-day trading volume: $35.683 billion

• Funding: $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 fully self-custodied and zero-knowledge privacy technology for perpetual contracts and options trading.

It pioneered the "hybrid exchange" model to connect traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi); it places great 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

• Funding: Incubated by Paradigm (a crypto derivatives institutional liquidity platform)

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

Focused on a unified DeFi ecosystem, featuring 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: US$29.309 billion

• Funding: $6.5 million raised (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 such as gold, oil, S&P 500, Nasdaq, etc.), up to 100x leverage, deep liquidity, low fees, and seamless connection to EVM wallets without the need for a bridge.

Founded by former Revolut executives, with Ruslan Fakhrutdinov (former head of Revolut's crypto business) as CEO, Starknet migrated from StarkEx to StarkEx 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-raised funds

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

• The team has professional backgrounds in Binance, FTX (including former COO Constance Wang), Jane Street, Fidelity, and OpenAI; they prioritize trader-centric design and do not have native token incentives.

Reya (@reya_xyz)

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

• 30-day trading volume: $14.615 billion

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

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

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

Trade.xyz (@tradexyz)

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

• 30-day trading volume: $11.684 billion

• Financing: Self-raised funds

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 such as US stocks and indices.

Built by the Hyperunit team; its standout features are 24/7 liquidity for traditional equity 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: US$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 cross-margin trading for spot, margin, and perpetual futures, with CEX-like 5-15 millisecond latency and full self-custody capabilities.

Developed by core contributors to the Kraken team; specializing in achieving superior capital efficiency through dynamic collateral netting, integration with money markets, and a vault of liquidity providers that derive yield from trading flows.

Variational (@variational_io)

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

• 30-day trading volume: $9.65 billion

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

Variational is a peer-to-peer derivatives trading protocol on Arbitrum that supports applications like Omni (a retail perpetual contract platform), supports hundreds of markets, has zero trading fees, and aggregates liquidity through a quote request (RFQ) model.

Founded by former Genesis Trading executives with deep market-making expertise, its key innovations include bilateral settlement of customizable derivatives (including exotic options and options), 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

• Funding: Undisclosed (Delphi Ventures, Ethena)

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

It quickly became the dominant application on Hyperliquid, capturing a significant market share through its superior 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

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

Ostium is a decentralized perpetual contract exchange on Arbitrum that specializes in synthetic exposure trading of real-world assets (such as commodities like gold/oil, forex, stocks, and indices) and cryptocurrencies. It uses an RFQ model to achieve narrow spreads and deep liquidity without requiring tokenization.

Founded by Harvard alumni, it is committed to disrupting traditional CFD brokers by providing transparent, self-custodied, on-chain alternatives with verifiable execution and no broker-dealer 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, achieving CEX-level execution with latency of less than 20 milliseconds and full self-custodial operation.

The Ethena native project, deeply integrated with ENA governance approval; aims to become the flagship on-chain venue for hedging and trading around USDe, offering interest-bearing stablecoin rewards and the potential to distribute tokens to ENA holders.

Vest (@VestExchange)

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

• 30-day trading volume: $1.286 billion

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

Vest is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Arbitrum, featuring the zkRisk engine for real-time risk pricing, unlimited open interest, rapid asset listings (including long-tail and real-world assets), and highly capital-efficient liquidity with no insolvency risk.

Specializing in providing the general public with access to thousands of markets (cryptocurrencies, stocks, forex) through fair, manipulation-resistant pricing and no position limits.

Astros (@astros_ag)

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

• 30-day trading volume: $170.35 million

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

Astros is a native perpetual futures DEX on Sui that provides highly leveraged trading with deep liquidity by directly integrating NAVI Protocol’s lending pools to enhance capital efficiency and generate real returns.

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

Hibachi (@hibachi_xyz)

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

• 30-day trading volume: $204.34 million

• Funding: $5 million raised (Dragonfly, Electric Capital, echo)

Hibachi is a privacy-first decentralized perpetual contract exchange on Arbitrum and Base, featuring off-chain CLOBs with latency below 10 milliseconds, zk crypto positions/balances implemented via Celestia DA, and fully on-chain settlement with proof-of-solvency.

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

It pioneered “proofable” trading with institutional-grade privacy, CEX-like speed, and uncompromising self-custody.

Bullpen (@BullpenFi)

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

• 30-day trading volume: $162.09 million

• Funding: Undisclosed (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, the Solana spot market (including Meme coin), and prediction markets via Polymarket through a unified, mobile-friendly interface.

Founded by KOL Ansem; focused 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

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

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

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

StandX (@StandX_Official)

• Financing: Self-raised funds

StandX is a decentralized perpetual futures DEX running on Solana and BNB Chain. It features high-performance trading capabilities and uses DUSD (a native interest-bearing stablecoin) as exclusive margin collateral, allowing users to automatically earn passive income without staking or locking up their shares.

Founded by an experienced team including former Binance Contracts Head and Goldman Sachs engineers; innovating by making idle margin capital productive while maintaining a Delta-neutral platform design and points-based activities for traders/LPs.

Backpack (@Backpack)

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

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

Backpack Exchange is a regulated centralized cryptocurrency exchange (CEX) that offers spot, margin, and perpetual futures trading with cross-collateralization, lending, and low-fee features, and seamless integration with the multi-chain Backpack self-custodied wallet.

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

Public testnet phase

Decibel (@DecibelTrade)

• Financing: Not disclosed

Decibel is a fully on-chain trading engine built natively on Aptos. It unifies spot trading, perpetual futures, and yield strategies within a single cross-margin, multi-collateral interface, offering CEX-like speed and sub-second finality. It was developed in collaboration with Aptos Labs and the Decibel Foundation.

Directly supported by Aptos Labs, it is designed as a neutral, composable execution layer for the global on-chain market; it is 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, vault) to earn XP based on trading volume and ranking.

• Participate in the trading arena.

• Add the deposit waiting list to decibel.trade.

RiseX (@risextrade)

• Financing: Not disclosed

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

Powered by Rise Chain’s ultra-low latency infrastructure (integrating technology from the acquired BSX Labs); positioned as the home of the global on-chain market; 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 your test USDC.

• Earn points by making transactions daily.

other

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 a feature-rich order book while maintaining full on-chain transparency and self-custody. It was built by experienced traders focused on precision and advantage.

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

How to participate:

• Invitation only; no public code available.

• To obtain an access code, please follow/reply to @01Exchange's post, interact with community members who shared the code, or send a private message to an active user.

• Once inside, engage in numerous transactions, invite friends, and participate in events/leaderships.

Cascade (@cascade_xyz)

• Current status: Early access deposits are now available (invitation only); trading is not yet available.

• Funding: $15 million raised (from 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 a wider range of asset classes.

Before the full-scale trading launch, momentum is being built up through liquidity strategies and reward points.

How to participate:

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

• The codes will be distributed in limited quantities/randomly to users on the waiting list or through the community.

• After obtaining the code: Deposit/pre-allocate to CLS (the recent cap is approximately $1 million to $3 million in total, $10,000 per account) to earn points.

Note: Data sources: DefiLlama (as of January 5th), SoSoValue, CryptoRank. Information compiled and constructed with the assistance of Grok.