Crypto derivatives trading increased in 2025 as more participants turned to on-chain perpetual futures, according to Coinbase researcher David Duong.
By the end of the year, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) were handling over $1 trillion in monthly trading volume.
In a post on X shared on December 29, Duong explained that this rise partly reflected the lack of a typical altcoin rally. Since there were fewer opportunities for large gains in regular spot markets, traders looked to perpetual futures to use leverage and boost potential returns.
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He noted that these instruments allow users to control larger positions with less capital, which helped fuel their popularity.
Duong said most of the growth came from decentralized platforms such as Aster and Hyperliquid. These venues have become central to on-chain trading, processing a large share of overall activity and reducing the dominance of centralized exchanges.
Perpetual futures are contracts that let traders bet on price changes without an expiration date. This feature makes them appealing for both short-term speculation and longer-term strategies.
Looking forward, Duong suggested that tokenized equity futures could become the next area of development. These products would bring together the flexibility of crypto markets, such as 24/7 access, with interest in US stocks outside traditional trading hours.
Duong concluded that perpetual futures are starting to play a larger role in decentralized finance.
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