According to a Castle Labs report, the market share of perpetual decentralized exchanges (perp-DEX) in total perpetual futures trading volume increased from 0.11% in January 2023 to 12.33% in September 2026. The segment reached a peak of 14.25% in December 2025, with monthly turnover hitting a record $1.36 trillion in October 2025.
In September 2026, on-chain futures trading volume reached $24.8 billion, while open interest stood at $14.1 billion. Tokenized real-world assets are cited as a primary growth driver, accounting for 19.6% of perp-DEX turnover in July. Platforms like TradeXYZ have expanded offerings to include traditional assets, such as WTI crude oil, for weekend trading.
Hyperliquid currently leads the market with a 56.8% share of the total $14.64 billion in open interest. Other notable platforms include Aster with 9.7%, Variational with 6.2%, Lighter with 5.7%, and edgeX with 4.2%. Castle Labs notes that more than 261 perp-DEX protocols have been launched since the emergence of Hyperliquid, intensifying competition across the sector.
