TLDR
Over the past 30 days, onchain perpetuals leaders were Lighter, Aster, and Hyperliquid by trading volume, while Binance led centralized perps by share this year.
- Lighter, Aster, and Hyperliquid posted about $203B, $171.8B, and $160.6B in 30?day volume per a market update.
- Among centralized venues, Binance led with roughly 29% of 2025 derivatives volume, followed by OKX, Bybit, and Bitget per an annual summary.
Deep Dive
1. Onchain Leaders
Onchain perpetual futures volume has surged, with Lighter, Aster, and Hyperliquid emerging as the top three venues over the last month (about $203B, $171.8B, and $160.6B respectively) per a market update.
- Analysts note Lighters recent volume strength coincided with token launch expectations and incentives, while Hyperliquid stands out for operating without active incentives and leading revenue (~$47M over the same period), per a Blockworks analysis.
- Broader context shows onchain perpetuals eclipsing $1T in monthly volume in late 2025, reflecting a structural shift toward leveraged products on decentralized venues per a research recap.
Onchain perps are now competitive with CEXs on throughput. Incentive?driven bursts can inflate volumes, so watch retention and revenue quality, with Hyperliquids organic profile a useful benchmark.
2. Centralized Perps
Centralized derivatives activity remained highly concentrated in 2025, with Binance leading by share (about 29% of global derivatives volume), followed by OKX, Bybit, and Bitget per an annual summary.
- Liquidity depth and open interest were similarly concentrated, with Binances BTC order book depth and daily average open interest outpacing peers, while the top five controlled over 80% of OI per a year?end overview.
- This concentration implies deeper books and narrower spreads at the top venues, with a steep drop?off beyond the first tier, which affects execution quality during volatile periods.
For large tickets and consistent execution, top CEX perps still provide the deepest liquidity. Outside the first tier, spreads widen and slippage rises, especially during deleveraging events.
Conclusion
Onchain perpetuals captured meaningful share, with Lighter, Aster, and Hyperliquid leading recent volumes, while Binance continues to dominate centralized perps by annual market share. The practical takeaway is to match venue choice to your goal: onchain for composability and emerging incentives, top?tier CEXs for depth and tighter execution.
