Trading volume on decentralized exchange (DEX) perpetual markets plunged to $355.78 billion in July 2025, marking the lowest monthly figure this year. This data spans 17 venues, including platforms like Lighter, Hyperliquid, and Aster. The drop reverses a modest rebound seen earlier between April and June, when volumes showed signs of recovery after a steady decline from October's $1.19 trillion peak.
The July volumes nearly touched April's low of $311.41 billion, signaling a renewed shift in trader preferences. the ratio of DEX-to-CEX futures trading has fallen sharply to 11.49% from 21.6% in November 2025, indicating that centralized exchanges (CEX) are now attracting a larger share of perpetual market activity.
Despite this, traditional traders remain committed to perpetual markets, as evidenced by rising open interest (OI) figures on HIP-3 a platform supporting 24/7 commodities and equities trading. OI hit an all-time high of $3.96 billion on July 30, underscoring a growing pool of capital being allocated to these assets. Though OI slightly receded to $3.59 billion by the end of July, it still reflects solid engagement.
HIP-3’s trading volume peaked at $9.19 billion on July 29, though it came down to around $6.99 billion by month-end. A significant portion of this activity was tied to equities, with $741.04 million traded in S&P 500-linked contracts alone. This suggests that while DEX perpetual volumes are shrinking, interest in traditional asset derivatives remains strong within decentralized infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the broader crypto market is cooling off, particularly among U.S. investors who sold about $265 million in Bitcoin ETFs on one day alone in late July. The total outflow for the week ending July 31 was around $61.53 million, somewhat cushioned by earlier inflows that week. This sentiment aligns with the overall slowdown in crypto trading activity observed over recent months.
