The perpetual futures landscape is undergoing a significant shift, with decentralized exchanges (DEXs) rapidly gaining market share against centralized exchanges (CEXs).
New data from CoinGecko shows that the DEX-to-CEX perps trading volume ratio has climbed from just 2.1% in January 2023 to 11.7% in November 2025, its highest level on record. The move signals a meaningful reversal after years of CEX dominance in derivatives trading.
A Sharp Rise in On-Chain Derivatives
For most of the past decade, perpetual futures trading has been almost entirely controlled by centralized platforms. But the data now shows clear acceleration on the decentralized side. After hovering under 3% for two years, DEX activity started trending upward in early 2025, gaining momentum throughout the year.
By November 2025, DEXs were processing nearly 12% of all perps volume, marking a structural shift driven by better UX, deeper liquidity, and trust concerns surrounding centralized exchanges.
A major contributor to this surge is Hyperliquid, which alone recorded $2.74 trillion in trading volume in 2025, according to the report. The platform’s performance showcases how modern, high-performance on-chain engines are beginning to rival traditional order-book exchanges.
Why Traders Are Returning to DEXs
Several factors have fueled this resurgence. Institutional-friendly designs, reduced custody risk, and faster settlement have made decentralized perps more appealing. The collapse of several CEXs in recent years also pushed traders toward systems where funds remain in their own wallets.
At the same time, new improvements in Ethereum scaling and alternative high-throughput chains have removed many of the bottlenecks that previously slowed DEX adoption. Platforms like Hyperliquid, Aevo, dYdX, and Vertex have demonstrated that on-chain derivatives can be both fast and cost-efficient without compromising transparency.
A Structural Shift, Not a Temporary Spike
The trendline suggests that this growth is not a short-term anomaly. Between mid-2024 and late-2025, DEX perps volume steadily rose each month, a clear sign of sustained demand rather than speculative surges.
If this trajectory continues, analysts expect decentralized platforms to claim 15–20% of global perps volume as early as 2026, a level previously thought unlikely given the dominance of Binance, OKX, and Bybit.
For now, the latest data makes one thing clear: DEXs are making a decisive comeback, and the gap between centralized and decentralized perps trading is shrinking faster than many expected.
