Perp DEX volumes hit record $1.2 trillion in October as incentives, liquidations drive surge

Total trade volume for perpetual futures (perp) DEXs saw record highs of $1.2 trillion in October, nearly double the previous month’s total. This push was led primarily by Lighter, Aster, EdgeX, Pacifica, and ApeX, all of which saw record monthly volumes.

Hyperliquid was the outlier among major perp DEXs as it ended the month about 16% below its peak two months prior. With this, Lighter is now the leading perp DEX on the market with a 27% share. Meanwhile, Hyperliquid’s market share has fallen to just 10% at the time of writing, down from 33% just a month ago.

Record perp DEX volumes across the board can be boiled down to two main reasons: incentive programs and the 10/10 liquidation event. For the former, almost every leading perp DEX is running a "points program" or similar schemes that are expected to convert into airdrops.

There are, of course, more nuances for specific platforms beyond just simply incentive programs. For example, Aster benefits from a direct distribution pipeline supported by BNB Chain and, by extension, Binance. Lighter benefits from offering zero maker/taker fees, a design that naturally attracts high-frequency volume.

On the other hand, the Oct. 10 market selloff forced unwinds across long and short perps, causing liquidation engines to execute market orders at scale. The aftermath of the event led to significant losses for a large number of traders, some of whom likely continued to trade at higher frequencies to "revenge trade" in an attempt to recoup their losses.

In the next month or two, we’d expect total perp DEX volume across the board to cool off from October’s figures, barring any further cascading liquidation events. But we should also expect a higher baseline than pre-October figures, supported by ongoing incentive programs.

This is an excerpt from  The Block's Data & Insights newsletter . Dig into the numbers making up the industry's most thought-provoking trends.