Perpetual futures traded on decentralized exchanges have quietly climbed to their highest open interest level of 2026, reaching approximately $20.9B in mid-to-late August. That figure was sitting around $14.8B at the start of the month, which means billions in new leveraged positions were opened in a matter of weeks.
The kicker: trading volumes on these same platforms have actually fallen by roughly 34% over the past six months. More money parked in open positions, fewer trades being executed.
Hyperliquid is running away with it
If the perp DEX sector were a race, Hyperliquid lapped the field months ago. The platform accounts for somewhere between $12.25B and $13.22B of the total open interest, commanding north of half the entire market.
Its closest competitor, Aster, holds about $2B. That’s not a rivalry, that’s a different weight class.
