The trading volume of perpetual contracts in DeFi reached a historic high — $1.24 trillion over the past 30 days. This is a new record for decentralized platforms, which continue to increase activity amid growing interest in futures.
Record Month for DeFi Futures
Trading volume of perpetual contracts on decentralized exchanges by year
According to DeFiLlama, the trading volume for October has already surpassed the August figure of $762 billion, and the month is not over yet. In the last 24 hours alone, users conducted transactions totaling more than $45.7 billion.
The leading platform was Hyperliquid with $316.38 billion for the month. Lighter took second place with $259.32 billion, and Aster rounded out the top three with $178.27 billion. Together, these three protocols accounted for nearly two-thirds of all DeFi volumes in the perpetuals category.
Hyperliquid also filed an application with the SEC to raise $1 billion to buy back additional HYPE tokens. This decision highlights the project’s growing ambitions and its intention to strengthen its position in the decentralized derivatives segment.
Stakes Are Rising — Both for DEX and CEX
October was a breakthrough month for the futures market. Over the week, Aster showed $88.68 billion in volume, surpassing Lighter ($64 billion) and Hyperliquid ($62 billion). However, over the month, it was Hyperliquid that took first place, providing more than $316 billion in trading.
Open interest also hit a new high, reaching $16.84 billion. Of this, $7.5 billion was on Hyperliquid, $3.34 billion on Aster, and $1.58 billion on Lighter.
Analysts predict that by the end of October, the total trading volume of DeFi futures will approach $1.3 trillion. Investors are actively using perpetual contracts thanks to 24/7 trading, high leverage, and the ability to profit from both rising and falling markets.
Centralized Exchanges Still Lead
Despite the rapid growth of DeFi, centralized exchanges retain leadership in volumes. In the last 24 hours, Binance reported $70.2 billion in perpetual contract trading, and Bybit — about $26 billion.
Open interest on Binance amounted to $30 billion, and on Bybit — $17.2 billion. At the same time, exchanges offer hundreds of instruments: MEXC — more than 1,100 contracts, Binance — 612, Gate — 741, and Bybit — about 715.
A Decade of Development and a Sudden Crash
Infinex founder Kain Warwick noted that the DeFi futures market has come a long way over the past ten years. Previously, it was shaped by dYdX, Synthetix, and GMX, but it was Hyperliquid that was the first to scale without losing performance.
Record volumes coincided with a period of high volatility. After the market crash on October 11, when liquidations exceeded $20 billion, more than 1,000 positions were closed on Hyperliquid alone. Of these, 205 traders lost over $1 million each.
On the eve of the crash, daily trading volume on DeFi platforms reached $78 billion — an absolute record for the sector.
What’s Next?
The perpetual contracts market has become one of the main drivers of DeFi in 2025. Institutional players are beginning to pay attention to decentralized platforms, where trading is becoming increasingly stable and deep.
If the trend continues, DeFi futures may for the first time match centralized exchanges in volumes. And judging by the growth rate, that moment is not far off.
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