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On-chain Perpetuals Push Crypto Derivatives Past $1 Trillion in 2025
Last Updated: December 30, 2025
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Key Takeaways
- On-chain perpetual futures fueled a big jump in crypto derivatives, which hit $1 trillion in monthly DEX trading by December 2025;
- Traders moved from spot markets to leverage-based perpetual futures as altcoin gains slowed;
- Duong expects tokenized equity futures to expand DeFi’s reach by merging crypto access with stock exposure.
Crypto derivatives trading increased in 2025 as more participants turned to on-chain perpetual futures, according to Coinbase researcher David Duong.
By the end of the year, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) were handling over $1 trillion in monthly trading volume.
In a post on X shared on December 29, Duong explained that this rise partly reflected the lack of a typical altcoin rally. Since there were fewer opportunities for large gains in regular spot markets, traders looked to perpetual futures to use leverage and boost potential returns.
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He noted that these instruments allow users to control larger positions with less capital, which helped fuel their popularity.
Duong said most of the growth came from decentralized platforms such as Aster and Hyperliquid. These venues have become central to on-chain trading, processing a large share of overall activity and reducing the dominance of centralized exchanges.
Perpetual futures are contracts that let traders bet on price changes without an expiration date. This feature makes them appealing for both short-term speculation and longer-term strategies.
Looking forward, Duong suggested that tokenized equity futures could become the next area of development. These products would bring together the flexibility of crypto markets, such as 24/7 access, with interest in US stocks outside traditional trading hours.
Duong concluded that perpetual futures are starting to play a larger role in decentralized finance.
Bitwise's Matt Hougan recently shared his thoughts on Bitcoin's performance over the next decade. What did he say? Read the full story.
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