Onchain Perpetuals Top $1T Monthly Volume as Crypto Traders Chase Leverage

Crypto derivatives trading accelerated sharply in 2025 as traders increasingly turned to onchain perpetual futures, pushing monthly volumes past the $1 trillion mark, according to analysis from Coinbase researcher David Duong.

By late 2025, decentralized exchanges were processing more than $1 trillion in monthly perpetual futures volume, a level that rivals activity on some centralized venues.

In a post published Monday on X, Duong said the shift was partly driven by the absence of a traditional altcoin season.

Crypto Traders Turn to Perpetual Futures as Leverage Replaces Spot Gains

With fewer opportunities for outsized gains in spot markets, traders instead sought leverage through perpetual futures to boost returns.

Perpetual futures, commonly known as perps, allow traders to gain leveraged exposure to price movements without an expiration date.

Duong noted that the “unprecedented degree of leverage” available in these instruments has made them especially attractive, enabling traders to control large positions with relatively small amounts of capital.

The growth has been led primarily by decentralized trading platforms rather than centralized exchanges.

Onchain venues such as Aster and Hyperliquid accounted for a significant share of the activity, underscoring a broader shift toward self-custodial derivatives trading.

https://t.co/CtiuQyARQY

— David Duong🛡️ (@DavidDuong) December 29, 2025

According to Duong, this trend reflects growing confidence in onchain infrastructure and improvements in execution, liquidity and user experience.

Looking ahead, Duong suggested that equity perpetual futures could emerge as the next major growth area.

Tokenized stock derivatives could combine crypto’s always-on trading environment and leverage with demand for exposure to major US equities outside traditional market hours.

Such products would extend the reach of perpetual futures beyond crypto-native assets and deepen their integration into decentralized finance.

“We think perpetual futures are evolving beyond isolated, high-leverage trading vehicles and are becoming core, composable primitives within DeFi markets,” Duong said.

Competition Heats Up Among Onchain Perpetual Futures Platforms

Competition among onchain perpetual futures platforms has intensified alongside the volume growth.

Hyperliquid, which launched its perp platform in late 2023, gained broader traction in 2025 after adding spot trading.

Data from DeFiLlama shows the exchange processed roughly $319 billion in trades in July, marking a record month.

Other players have also made rapid gains. Following its token launch in September, Aster briefly topped decentralized perp rankings with nearly $36 billion in 24-hour trading volume, accounting for more than half of total perp DEX activity at the time.

In November, Lighter raised $68 million after launching its public mainnet, adding fresh capital to an increasingly crowded field.

Over the past 30 days alone, onchain perpetual futures generated about $972 billion in trading volume, with Lighter, Aster and Hyperliquid emerging as the leading venues.