Open interest on perp DEXs hits 2026 high as traders hold leveraged bets longer

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. Hyperliquid’s dominance stems from a few structural advantages: deep liquidity, an order-book matching engine that performs closer to centralized exchange standards, and the ability to spin up permissionless markets. The platform has also expanded well beyond crypto-native assets. Through its HIP-3 framework, Hyperliquid now supports perpetual con...