This Trend In DEXs Can Break Crypto Markets

Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.

Grab a coffee as the crypto market enters another record-setting phase. Volumes are climbing to new highs, sparking debates about whether this signals strength or exposes fragility beneath the surface in a system increasingly fueled by leverage and speculation rather than steady demand.

Crypto News of the Day: Total Perps Volume Hits ATH, Surpassing $100 Billion

In late September, perpetual futures trading volume surged to an all-time high (ATH) above $100 billion. This marks a milestone for decentralized exchanges (DEXs) specializing in perpetual contracts.

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The surge highlights a new phase in crypto, where speculation is the product and not just a feature. Perpetual DEXs are 24/7, self-custodial venues where traders can long or short crypto assets with leverage, without expiry dates.

Unlike centralized exchanges (CEXs), perps live entirely on-chain, with oracles and automated funding rates anchoring contract prices to spot markets.

The model has matured fast, thanks to regulatory pressure on CEXes, improved execution tech that mimics centralized speed, and a revenue meta where projects directly accrue value through fees and token buybacks.

“Crypto’s largest PMF → ability to make people rich. Perp DEXes do exactly that and allow users to long any degeneracy in our hyper-financialized world,” wrote DeFi researcher Ash.              

Between 2023 and 2025, perp DEX volume jumped from $647.6 billion to $1.5 trillion, representing a 138% year-on-year surge.

Market share rose from under 10% to 26% of all perpetual futures trading globally. The second quarter (Q2) of 2025 alone saw a record $898 billion in perp volume.

Behind the boom are platforms pushing innovation at breakneck speed. Hyperliquid (HYPE), built on its own Layer-1 (L1) with a fully on-chain order book, has led the charge, funneling real value to token holders through buybacks.

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Aster (ASTER) has leaned on BNB Chain integrations with dark pool orders and yield-bearing stablecoin. Others include Avantis, native to the Base chain, which blends crypto with real-world assets (RWA), and edgeX, Pacifica, and Lighter, which bring unique architectures around oracles, fairness, and execution.

Hidden Dangers Behind the Perp DEXs Boom

While the $100 billion milestone is significant, troubles abound. Critics argue that perp volumes are dwarfing spot markets.

This raises concerns that prices are being propped up by speculative leverage rather than genuine demand.

“6x more volume is coming from leverage than actual spot buying. That’s a red flag… speculative longs, not real demand, are propping up the price. This kind of setup often leads to flushes, not breakouts,” wrote Blasto, a trader and crypto analyst on X (Twitter).

Spot trading volumes remain muted, with perp activity at times exceeding spot by a factor of two. According to Boxmining founder Michael Gu, this on-chain perps meta could explain why altseason feels muted.

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The consequences of this leverage-heavy environment are stark. With margin levels rising, even small drawdowns in Bitcoin or Ethereum could trigger cascading liquidations.

“In hindsight, perhaps every single person on CT ruthlessly farming perps DEXes and increasing all leverage in the system by 100x was not a great idea,” DeFi researcher Mert Helius chimed.      

Meanwhile, the contrast with broader DeFi metrics is glaring. While total value locked (TVL) across protocols has yet to reclaim 2022 highs, perp DEX volumes have multiplied many times over.

The disconnect signals that capital is not building long-term liquidity pools. Rather, it is churning through leveraged bets. This milestone cements perp DEXes as crypto’s hottest product in 2025.

Notwithstanding, the imbalance between leverage and spot demand raises the question of whether crypto’s current rally is being built on genuine adoption or borrowed time.

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