On-chain perpetual-focused decentralized exchanges have hit a new milestone, surpassing $1 trillion in total trading volume this month – a sharp rise from $739 billion in September. This surge marks the highest monthly trading activity ever recorded for these platforms, according to data source DefiLlama.
The record volume comes amid increased market turbulence, particularly on Oct. 10, when major cryptocurrencies crashed, triggering a staggering $20 billion in forced liquidations across both centralized and decentralized exchanges. Hyperliquid, the leading on-chain perpetual DEX, alone liquidated 1,000 wallets, with 205 losing over $1 million each.
Notably, Oct. 10 also saw on-chain perpetual markets hit a record single-day trading volume of $78 billion. The surge in volumes on decentralized platforms underscores growing trader confidence in permissionless, high-leverage markets and signals that decentralized exchanges are quickly closing the gap with their centralized counterparts.