The perpetual trading segment in cryptocurrency is experiencing a major transformation. Since BitMEX pioneered this model in 2016, centralized platforms have dominated as the main gateways to market liquidity. According to CoinGecko, these platforms registered an impressive $85.3 trillion in trading volume just in 2025.
MEXC and BingX lead new perpetual listings
A surge in product development and on-chain activity has propelled decentralized perpetual exchanges from niche protocols to formidable rivals. CoinGecko’s 2026 Crypto Perpetuals Report highlights that this shift is becoming more apparent in trading volume, open interest, and the pace of new product launches.
Between January 2025 and April 2026, MEXC and BingX topped the charts for listing the most new perpetual contracts. MEXC added 879 new contracts, averaging 55 per month, while BingX followed with 565, or about 35 monthly contracts. These aggressive listing strategies particularly target smaller and long-tail crypto assets.
Both exchanges are clearly pursuing a bold approach by listing less mainstream tokens, whereas six of the top 11 exchanges remain more cautious, introducing fewer than 20 new perpetual contracts each month.
Binance is also pivoting: the number of new perpetual markets it launched in the last 16 months surpassed its spot listings, with 305 perpetual and 125 spot markets. Many of these listings featured memecoins and AI-themed token contracts.
Centralized volume slips as DEX stays robust
The report observes that the average monthly trading volume for the top 11 centralized perpetual exchanges dropped from $7.11 trillion in 2025 to $4.69 trillion during the first four months of 2026—a decline of 34 percent.
BingX stood out among centralized platforms in 2026, increasing its market share from three percent in 2025 to five percent by April. This ranked BingX as the seventh largest centralized perpetual exchange in the early part of the year.
Bitget saw a steeper drop, with average monthly volume falling from $740.62 billion in 2025 to $287.08 billion in 2026, a 61.2 percent plunge. Nonetheless, Bitget maintained the sixth spot with a six percent market share.
Despite these shifts, Binance and OKX held their dominance at the top, capturing 33 percent and 15 percent of total market share, respectively, during the first four months of 2026.
Hyperliquid effect on Perp DEXs
The decentralized perpetual exchange (Perp DEX) landscape is evolving differently. Among the top 12 Perp DEXs, average monthly volume grew from $531.65 billion in 2025 to $611.57 billion in 2026. While volume started strong at $751.59 billion in January 2026, it dropped to $481.84 billion in April.
Nevertheless, the 2026 volumes remain well above the levels seen in early 2025, when monthly trading hovered below $300 billion. The year 2025 marked a breakthrough for Perp DEXs.
Total trading volume on these decentralized platforms surged from $1.50 trillion in 2024 to $6.38 trillion in 2025.
A significant portion of this growth is driven by Hyperliquid. In April, Hyperliquid reached $190.28 billion in trading volume, equaling about 3.9 percent of the overall perpetual market and placing it immediately behind BingX as the ninth largest player by volume.
DEX/CEX trading ratio peaked in 2025
Throughout 2025, the ratio of DEX to CEX trading volume rose, climbing from three percent in January to thirteen percent in December. This trend reversed slightly in 2026, with the ratio dipping back to ten percent by April—confirming that centralized exchanges recaptured a dominant ninety percent share.
Still, the rise of new-generation Perp DEXs like Pacifica, Extended, and Variational may soon challenge this balance. Their recent growth signals a potential shift ahead.
The launch of points programs by Pacifica, Extended, and Variational has fueled airdrop expectations. In April, Pacifica and Extended each claimed four percent market share, and Variational took three percent, surpassing longstanding DEX names like Jupiter and dYdX.
Open interest share strengthens for DEXs
Crypto market open interest started 2025 at $120.35 billion, but by the end of April 2026, it had dropped to $99.09 billion. This figure represents less than half of the all-time high recorded on October 7, which stood at $210.02 billion.
While centralized exchanges still dominate open interest—with market share falling from 96.4 percent in early 2025 to 86.5 percent by April 2026—Perp DEXs have gained ground, maintaining more than a ten percent share since October and reaching 13.5 percent by the end of April.
The report also points out that the expansion of on-chain real-world assets (RWA) is feeding the momentum for Perp DEXs.
As crypto-native users increasingly seek exposure to traditional market opportunities without converting their crypto, Perp DEXs are emerging as a preferred gateway.
Centralized perpetual exchanges have begun tracking this trend by listing RWA-backed perpetual contracts, indicating that competition will now extend beyond just trading volume.
