Perpetual DEX trading volume dropped 34% year-over-year while open interest fell only 10%, signaling reduced trader engagement despite sustained leverage positions.
DeFi & Yields ·
Perpetual DEX trading volume has contracted sharply over the past year while open interest has remained largely stable, pointing to a decline in trading activity relative to the size of leveraged positions held. Average daily volume across perpetual exchanges fell from $32.4B to $21.4B across consecutive six-month periods, while open interest decreased only from $16.4B to $14.8B, according to data shared by DefiLlama Research. The disparity reflects a shift in capital efficiency: the turnover rate, or how frequently capital cycles through the market in a single day, declined from roughly 1.98x to 1.45x.
The divergence between volume and open interest suggests that traders are holding larger positions with less frequent trading activity. Capital that previously turned over nearly twice daily is now cycling through markets less than one and a half times per day, indicating considerably thinned trading depth even as the aggregate size of open leverage positions has remained substantial.
What remains unclear is whether this repricing of leverage reflects reduced retail participation, lower volatility prompting fewer trades, or structural shifts in how traders manage hedging and directional exposure on decentralized derivatives platforms.