Top DEX grabs 70% perpetual open interest

TLDR

Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange, now controls roughly 70% of open interest across on-chain perp DEXs, becoming the dominant venue for decentralized leverage trading.

1. Hyperliquid has grown into a top-10 global derivatives venue while holding over 70% of perp DEX open interest and a similar share of revenue.
2. This concentration gives deep liquidity and 24/7 access to crypto and real-world assets, but also creates single-venue risk for on-chain derivatives.
3. Key things to watch are rivals like Aster and edgeX, the rise of real-world-asset perps, and whether Hyperliquids dominance starts to erode.

Deep Dive

1. Hyperliquids 70% Grip

Recent reporting shows Hyperliquid holding more than 70% of open interest across all decentralized perpetual contracts, with daily volumes above $8 billion, outpacing its four closest on-chain competitors combined. That makes it the most liquid on-chain alternative to centralized giants such as Coinbase and Binance, and a top-10 derivatives exchange by overall volume among both CEXs and DEXs.

A CoinGlass-based analysis notes that in 2025 Hyperliquids share of the perp DEX sector reached about 70% at times, as it processed around $2.9 trillion in decentralized perps volume and led the segment by a large margin. Arthur Hayes has separately cited Hyperliquids roughly 70% share of perp DEX revenue and comparatively low volume-to-open-interest ratio as signs of deep, real activity rather than incentive-driven wash trading.

2. Why Concentration Matters

The upside of this dominance is execution quality. Reports highlight tight slippage on large Bitcoin perpetual orders and strong depth in non-crypto markets like oil, gold and equity indices, with oil perps alone reaching hundreds of millions in open interest and over $1 billion in daily volume during macro stress.

At the same time, the on-chain perps sector itself has grown: DEXs now capture close to 20% of global perpetuals volume, up from single digits a couple of years ago, even as centralized venues still handle the majority. Within that DEX slice, having 70% of open interest on one protocol concentrates risk: a bug, oracle failure, governance mistake, or major liquidation event on Hyperliquid could ripple through a large share of on-chain leverage.

3. Competition, RWAs And Next Signals

Hyperliquids growth has been driven partly by real-world-asset perpetuals. Its HIP-3 segment (tokenized oil, metals, FX, S&P 500 index, etc.) has pushed on-chain RWA perp open interest above $2 billion, with RWAs now around 20% of perp OI on some platforms.

Competitors are trying to chip away at that lead. Aster has briefly taken double-digit market share at times before Hyperliquid reclaimed around 70%, and edgeX has emerged as another large perp DEX with hundreds of millions in open interest. Analysts also flag fee competition and potential over-valuation of Hyperliquids HYPE token as future pressure points.

Conclusion

A single DEX capturing roughly 70% of perpetual open interest signals that on-chain derivatives have matured around a clear liquidity center. That is positive for execution and product breadth, especially for 24/7 RWA exposure, but it also concentrates technical and market-structure risk on one protocol. For crypto users who care about leverage, the key edge is understanding that on-chain perps are currently a one-major-venue story and monitoring whether that concentration holds or begins to fragment.