Bitcoin dominates perp DEX trading with $569 billion this summer

Bitcoin was by far the most traded instrument on perpetual DEX platforms this summer, with a total trading volume of $569 billion. Even more striking is that nearly a quarter of the combined volume in the top 10 did not consist of crypto assets, but of tokenised versions of stocks and commodities. The boundary between traditional financial markets and decentralised trading is thus visibly blurring.

At a glance

• Bitcoin generated $569 billion in trading volume on perp DEXs, followed by Ethereum with $270 billion.
• Tokenised assets such as SpaceX, SK Hynix, oil, gold and SanDisk together account for 23.3% of the total volume in the top 10.
• SpaceX led the segment of tokenised assets, partly due to increased trading activity around the company’s stock market listing in June.

Bitcoin far ahead, Ethereum a distant second

According to data from CryptoRank.io and Blockworks, Bitcoin ended the summer with $569 billion in trading volume on perpetual DEX platforms, more than double Ethereum’s $270 billion. Perpetual DEXs are decentralised exchanges where traders can open positions without an expiration date, similar to futures but without an end date.

Solana and Hyperliquid followed with $83 billion and $80 billion, respectively. Hyperliquid was included in a US crypto index ETF earlier this year, illustrating the platform’s growing prominence.

Tokenised assets take nearly a quarter of volume

What stands out this summer is the rise of tokenised versions of non-crypto assets. SpaceX reached $99 billion, making it the most traded tokenised asset, followed by SK Hynix with $73 billion. Oil ($41.4 billion), gold ($33.8 billion), the XYZ100 index ($31.1 billion) and SanDisk ($26.2 billion) also appeared in the top 10.

Together, these tokenised assets account for 23.3% of the combined volume. SpaceX benefited from increased trading activity around the company’s stock market listing in June. The SEC recently modernised the rules for tokenised securities on the blockchain, paving the way for further growth in this segment.

Demand for perp markets grows beyond crypto

The figures show that demand for decentralised perpetual markets is no longer limited to crypto assets. Traders are increasingly using these platforms to take positions in stocks and commodities, without the involvement of traditional brokers or exchanges.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $77.900, up 0.5% over the past 24 hours. How sentiment around Bitcoin futures develops further remains a factor to watch for traders on both centralised and decentralised platforms.