The volume traded on onchain perpetual decentralized exchanges (perp DEXs) has declined for five consecutive months, falling to $699 billion in March 2026 from a peak of $1.36 trillion in October 2025. Daily trading volume recently dropped to $8.4 billion, the lowest level since July 2025. Despite the broader slowdown, top platforms such as Hyperliquid continue to dominate the sector’s activity.
Onchain perpetual decentralized exchange (perp DEX) volume has been declining for five straight months after reaching its highest point in October 2025. Based on DefiLlama data, the volume dropped to $699 billion in March 2026 from a peak of $1.36 trillion in October.
The downtrend has been consistent, with volumes decreasing in November and December. Losses were even greater throughout the first quarter of 2026.
Daily trading volume has also diminished significantly. On April 4, Onchain perp DEX trade volume shrank to $8.4 billion. This was the first time it went below $10 billion since September 6, 2025, and represented the lowest figure since July 5, 2025 as per DefiLlama.
Trading activity remains concentrated on the top perp DEX platforms. Hyperliquid, for instance, generated about $185.5 billion in reported volume over the past 30 days. This made up roughly 34% of the total volume among the top 10 perp DEXs.
The platform is far ahead of competitors such as edgeX, which announced a trading volume of $73 billion, and Aster at $68 billion.
The slowdown follows a period of rapid growth for onchain derivatives trading. Onchain perp DEXs almost tripled their cumulative volume to $12.09 trillion in 2025. Approximately $7.9 trillion, or roughly 65%, of that volume occurred in 2025 alone, mainly stimulated by quarterly monthly activities each reaching nearly $1 trillion.
