According to analysis from Coinbase researcher David Duong, crypto derivatives trading accelerated sharply in 2025, with monthly volumes for onchain perpetual futures pushing past the $1 trillion mark. By late 2025, decentralized exchanges were processing over $1 trillion in monthly perpetual futures volume, a level that rivals activity on some centralized venues.
Duong, in a post published on X, attributed this seismic shift partly to the absence of a traditional altcoin season. With fewer opportunities for outsized gains in spot markets, traders instead sought leverage through perpetual futures to boost returns. He noted that the "unprecedented degree of leverage" available in these instruments has made them especially attractive, enabling traders to control large positions with relatively small amounts of capital.
The growth has been led primarily by decentralized trading platforms, marking a broader shift toward self-custodial derivatives trading. Onchain venues such as Aster and Hyperliquid accounted for a significant share of the activity. Duong stated this trend reflects growing confidence in onchain infrastructure and improvements in execution, liquidity, and user experience.
Competition among platforms has intensified. Data from DeFiLlama shows Hyperliquid processed roughly $319 billion in trades in July 2024, a record month. Following its token launch in September 2024, Aster briefly topped decentralized perp rankings with nearly $36 billion in 24-hour volume. In November 2024, Lighter raised $68 million after launching its public mainnet. Over the past 30 days alone, onchain perpetual futures generated about $972 billion in trading volume, with Lighter, Aster, and Hyperliquid as the leading venues.
Looking ahead, Duong suggested equity perpetual futures could emerge as the next major growth area, combining crypto's always-on trading and leverage with demand for exposure to major US equities. He emphasized that perpetual futures are evolving into "core, composable primitives within DeFi markets," opening new opportunities for dynamic hedges, interest rate instruments, and use as collateral in lending protocols.
