Delphi Digital: Perpetual Decentralized Exchanges Set to Compete with Banks as Comprehensive Financial Solutions

In recent insights from Delphi Digital, it appears that perpetual decentralized exchanges (perp DEXs) are transitioning from the fringes of cryptocurrency trading to a more central role in the financial market. These platforms are believed to have the potential to develop into all-in-one financial institutions capable of taking on traditional banks.

Key Takeaways

Perpetual DEXs are moving towards becoming comprehensive financial platforms that could rival traditional banks.
They are gaining market share by offering structural efficiencies and integrating multiple financial services.
Significant growth has been observed in both perp DEX volumes and spot trading participation.
Traditional banks still hold advantages in areas like regulatory clarity and consumer protections, necessitating further advances for perp DEXs to effectively compete.

This shift is largely due to the appeal of blockchain infrastructure, which minimizes the need for intermediaries, reduces costs, and operates around the clock, even amidst volatile token prices.

Perp DEXs enable users to trade perpetual futures contracts with leverage and no expiration date, a service that has typically been managed by centralized exchanges and traditional derivatives firms.

The Advancements of Perp DEXs in Decentralized Finance

Recent analyses from Delphi Digital indicate that perp DEXs are now poised to capture a larger market share from conventional financial products, thanks to their structural efficiencies that existing traditional systems struggle to replicate.

The research firm pointed out that traditional finance remains segmented and costly to maintain, whereas decentralized solutions have the ability to integrate multiple financial services into a single on-chain framework.

In a post shared on X, Delphi Digital highlighted Hyperliquid’s initiative towards native lending as a crucial indicator of the sector’s direction.

This development implies that perp DEXs could evolve into comprehensive financial platforms that manage trading, custody, clearing, and credit all on a single blockchain.

Competitive platforms like Aster, Lighter, and Paradex are now striving to offer similar features.

This trend is part of a larger shift within the crypto industry, where trading platforms are branching out from mere execution to include lending, custody, and capital management.

Growing Market Share of Perp DEXs

Data shows that the transformation is already in progress, with perp DEXs consistently increasing their revenue and trading volume at the expense of centralized exchanges over the past three years.

According to CoinGecko, perp DEXs made up only 2.1% of the perpetual trading volume on centralized exchanges as of January 2023. However, by November 2025, this percentage soared to 11.7%. This statistic indicates that nearly one out of every nine dollars traded in perpetual futures was executed through a decentralized platform.

Overall, the total volume for perp DEXs tripled in 2025 to reach $12.09 trillion, a significant rise from $4.1 trillion at the beginning of that year. Approximately $7.9 trillion of this activity was conducted within 2025, showcasing how rapidly adoption has accelerated.

Currently, the sector boasts over $20 billion in total value locked, with monthly trading volumes frequently surpassing $1 trillion and open interest around $20 billion.

Surge in DEX Spot Trading as the Gap Narrows with CEXs

Spot trading has also shown impressive growth, albeit at a slower rate. In January 2021, decentralized exchanges comprised just 6.0% of the spot trading volume compared to centralized exchanges. By November 2025, this figure had increased to 21.2%, peaking at 37.4% in June 2025 during a rise in memecoin interest, especially on PancakeSwap.

However, the report and associated data underscore that the sector still has significant progress to make. The $12 trillion in annual transaction volume managed by perp DEXs is minimal compared to the $846 trillion in notional value associated with outstanding over-the-counter derivatives reported by the Bank for International Settlements in mid-2025.

Traditional banks retain advantages regarding regulatory clarity, integration with fiat currencies, and services like uncollateralized lending and consumer protections.

Industry experts assert that for perp DEXs to effectively compete with banks, they must continue to extend their offerings beyond derivatives into areas like lending, payments, and tokenized real-world assets. Additionally, they need to enhance security, improve user experience, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Many platforms are already innovating with on-chain order books, zero-fee transactions, incentive schemes, and high-throughput blockchains to elevate their performance and accessibility.