Surge in Onchain Perpetual Futures Activity Highlights Growing Crypto Derivatives Market
Cryptocurrency derivatives trading experienced a significant uptick in 2025, primarily driven by increased activity in decentralized perpetual futures. According to research from Coinbase analyst David Duong, decentralized exchanges processed over $1 trillion in monthly perpetual futures volume by the year’s end, underscoring the expanding influence of onchain derivatives markets.
Duong explained that this growth was partly fueled by the absence of a traditional altcoin season, prompting traders to seek higher returns through leverage rather than spot trading. The unprecedented levels of leverage available in perpetual futures allowed traders to amplify their exposure with relatively small capital outlays, leading to a surge in trading activity.
Most of this activity is concentrated on decentralized platforms, with exchanges such as Aster and Hyperliquid accounting for substantial portions of the volume. Hyperliquid, which launched its onchain perpetual futures platform in late 2023, saw its trading volume reach an estimated $319 billion in July, following the addition of spot trading services. Such records exemplify the platform’s rapid growth and importance within the onchain derivatives landscape.
Perpetual futures, also known as “perps,” are crypto derivatives that enable traders to hold leveraged positions without an expiration date, providing continuous exposure to underlying asset prices. These instruments, initially prominent in spot markets, are now evolving into core components of the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Duong believes that equity perpetual futures may represent the next frontier of growth, as tokenized stock derivatives offer 24/7 access and leverage for US equities outside regular trading hours.
Competition among onchain perpetual futures providers has intensified. For instance, Aster briefly led decentralized perpetual futures with nearly $36 billion in 24-hour trading volume shortly after its launch. In November, Lighter, an onchain platform founded by Vladimir Novakovski, raised $68 million in a funding round after launching its mainnet. According to data from DeFiLlama, the combined volume of onchain perpetual futures in the past month reached approximately $972 billion, with Lighter leading at around $203 billion, followed by Aster and Hyperliquid.
As onchain derivatives markets continue to evolve, they are increasingly viewed as fundamental, composable primitives within DeFi — transforming from isolated, high-leverage trading tools to integral elements shaping the future of decentralized finance.
