The Onchain perp DEX volume has been on a downward trajectory for five consecutive months after reaching its highest point in October 2025. Based on DefiLlama data, the perp volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) dropped to $699 billion in March 2026 from the peak level of $1.36 trillion seen in October.
Falls in Onchain Perp DEX Volumes
The downtrend has been quite consistent throughout with volumes going down in November and December and losses being even greater in the first quarter of 2026.
At the same time, the daily trading volume seems to be diminishing as well. On April 4th, Onchain perp DEX trade volume shrank to $8.4 billion, which was the first time that it went below $10 billion since September 6th, 2025. Besides, this also represents the lowest figure since July 5th 2025 as per DefiLlama.
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Top Perp DEX Platforms
According to DefiLlama data, the trading activity is still pretty much limited to the top perp DEX platforms. Hyperliquid, for instance, generated about $185.5 billion in reported volume over the past 30 days, which made up roughly 34% of the total volume among the top 10 perp DEXs.
This puts the platform way ahead of their competitors such as edgeX which announced a trading volume of $73 billion and Aster at $68 billion.
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Perp DEX Slowdown Follows Rapid Growth
The slowdown came after onchain derivatives trading went through a phase of very fast growth. Onchain perp DEXs almost tripled the cumulative volume to $12.09 trillion in 2025, out of which approximately $7.9 trillion, roughly 65%, was done in 2025 alone. This was mainly stimulated by quarterly monthly activities each month reaching nearly $1 trillion.
To sum up, the decrease in Onchain perp DEX volumes is an indicator of a prolonged downturn in the market. As the crypto environment keeps changing, it is necessary for the platforms to change with the times and focus on security and innovation.
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