2026 Status Report on Crypto Perpetual Contracts

Author: CoinGecko

The landscape of perpetual exchanges is undergoing a structural shift. Since BitMEX pioneered this model in 2016, centralized perpetual exchanges (Perp CEXs) have become the primary liquidity gateway to the cryptocurrency market, handling a staggering $85.3 trillion in trading volume in 2025 alone.

However, driven by rapid product innovation and a surge in on-chain activity, decentralized exchanges (Perp DEXs) have evolved from niche protocols into established competitors.

We've summarized the key highlights, but be sure to carefully read the full report below, which includes all 17 slides.

Five Highlights from CoinGecko's 2026 Crypto Perpetual Contracts Report

1. MEXC and BingX listed the most perpetual contracts between January 2025 and April 2026, with 879 and 565 respectively.

2. In 2026, the average monthly trading volume of the top 11 perpetual centralized exchanges (CEXs) will drop to $4.7 trillion, compared to $7.1 trillion in 2025; BingX has the strongest start to 2026.

3. The average monthly trading volume of the top 12 permanent decentralized exchanges (DEXs) is projected to reach $611.57 billion in 2026, compared to $531.65 billion in 2025. With the rise of highly liquid exchanges, permanent DEXs (Perp DEXs) saw significant growth in 2025, with the ratio of permanent DEXs to centralized exchanges (CEXs) peaking at 13% in November 2025, before declining in 2026. The open interest (OI) share of permanent DEXs grew rapidly before 2025, currently reaching 13.5%, with Hyperliquid DEX being the most prominent example.

1. From January 2025 to April 2026, MEXC and BingX listed the most perpetual contracts, with 879 and 565 respectively.

Since January 2025, MEXC and BingX have been the two exchanges with the most perpetual contracts listed, adding 879 and 565 contracts respectively, averaging 55 and 35 new contracts per month. Both exchanges have adopted a more aggressive strategy, listing perpetual contracts for long-tail crypto assets.

Of the top 11 exchanges, six list fewer than 20 perpetual contracts per month on average, reflecting a more conservative strategy. Crypto.com adds the fewest perpetual contracts, with only 2 in December 2025, and a peak of only 13 in April 2026. It's worth noting that most large exchanges tend to list more perpetual contracts than spot contracts. For example, Binance added 305 perpetual contract markets in the past 16 months, compared to only 125 spot contracts, most of which were meme and AI-related token contracts. Conversely, exchanges like MEXC, BingX, and Gate, which offer the most perpetual contracts, are more aggressive in spot trading. The demand for leveraged small assets is much lower and primarily targets investors with a very low risk tolerance. Unlike spot trading, perpetual contracts typically require longer listing times due to higher compliance requirements, and demand for specific contracts is also lower. Since January 2025, CoinGecko has listed 7,803 new tokens, while the top 11 centralized exchanges (CEXs) have only added perpetual contracts for 1,030 tokens. 2. The average monthly trading volume of the top 11 perpetual centralized exchanges (CEXs) will decrease to $4.7 trillion in 2026, compared to $7.1 trillion in 2025; BingX has the strongest start to 2026. The average monthly trading volume of the top 11 permanent centralized exchanges has decreased by 34.0% from $7.11 trillion in 2025 to $4.69 trillion in the first four months of 2026. BingX has had the strongest start to 2026 so far, with its market share rising from 3% in 2025 to 5% in 2026. In the first four months of this year, it became the seventh largest paid centralized exchange. Meanwhile, Bitget's trading volume declined significantly in 2026, with monthly average trading volume dropping from $740.62 billion in 2025 to $287.08 billion, a decrease of 61.2%. However, it still holds a 6% market share, ranking sixth. At the top of the exchange rankings, Binance and OKX continue to consolidate their positions, with slight increases in trading volume share. In the first four months of 2026, Binance and OKX held market shares of 33% and 15%, respectively. 3. The average monthly trading volume of the top 12 permanent decentralized exchanges (DEXs) will increase to $611.57 billion in 2026, compared to $531.65 billion in 2025.

2026 started strong, with trading volume reaching $751.59 billion in January, but then gradually declined, with trading volume at $481.84 billion in April. However, these figures are still far higher than the same period in 2025, when trading volume was less than $300 billion.

2025 was a significant year in the development of permanent decentralized exchanges (DEXs), with trading volume reaching $6.38 trillion, up from $1.50 trillion in 2024.

2025 was a significant year in the development of permanent decentralized exchanges (DEXs), with trading volume reaching $6.38 trillion, up from $1.50 trillion in 2024.

Despite the sluggish market, trading volume in 2026 is still expected to reach or exceed 2025 levels. As 2026 progresses, emerging Perp DEXs such as Pacifica, Extended, and Variational continue to expand their market share. Notably, all three platforms have "points programs," which may foreshadow upcoming airdrop events. In April, their market shares were 4%, 4%, and 3%, respectively. All three platforms have surpassed established platforms like Jupiter and dYdX. 4. With the rise of highly liquid exchanges, Perp DEXs saw significant growth in 2025, with the ratio of Perp DEXs to Centralized Exchanges (CEXs) peaking at 13% in November 2025, before declining in 2026.

Throughout 2025, the ratio of trading volume between decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and centralized exchanges (CEXs) continued to climb, increasing from 3% in January to 13% in December. However, this ratio subsequently began to decline, reaching approximately 10% by April 2026. This marks the first time since October 2025 that decentralized exchanges have regained a 90% absolute majority.

Most of the trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) is conducted through Hyperliquid.

For reference, Hyperliquid's total trading volume in April was $190.28 billion, accounting for approximately 3.9% of the total trading volume of decentralized exchanges. This places it ninth, behind only BingX ($196.81 billion) and significantly ahead of KuCoin ($83.71 billion). While Perp DEX's growth appears to have slowed temporarily, this could be reversed in the coming months as expectations for airdrops increase and newer Perp DEXs like Pacifica, Extended, and Variational strengthen their points programs. 5. The open interest (OI) share of permanent decentralized exchanges (DEXs) is growing rapidly ahead of 2025, currently reaching 13.5%, primarily led by Hyperliquid DEX. Overall, total open interest in cryptocurrencies has decreased from $120.35 billion at the beginning of 2025 to $99.09 billion at the end of April 2026. This is a decrease of more than 50% from the peak of $210.02 billion on October 7 (before the October 10 liquidation event). Unsurprisingly, centralized exchanges (CEXs) still account for the vast majority of open interest (OI). However, this proportion has decreased from 96.4% at the beginning of 2025 to 86.5% as of April 30, 2026. Since the beginning of October, the open interest share of permanent decentralized exchanges (DEXs) has remained above 10%. The expansion of on-chain real-world assets (RWAs) has fueled the rise of DEXs, with cryptocurrency natives seeking Trading in Finance (TradFi) opportunities during stock market booms through these platforms without having to convert cryptocurrency into cash to fund traditional brokerage accounts. Nevertheless, criminally charged exchanges have also taken notice of this trend and have begun listing new RWA criminally charged contracts.