dYdX

What dYdX does

dYdX is a decentralized exchange protocol offering perpetual futures, margin, spot trading, and borrow/lend pools, serving professional and active crypto traders, algorithmic/quantitative traders, trading teams, and social/community traders. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Zug, Switzerland (with corporate operations via dYdX International Ltd. and dYdX Trading Inc. dba dYdX Labs), the platform operates as a community-governed protocol rather than a custodial intermediary. As of 2025, dYdX supports 386 markets and has processed over $1.55 trillion in cumulative trading volume, with 98,200+ DYDX token holders governing the ecosystem.

The core technology is dYdX Chain, a standalone Layer 1 blockchain built on Cosmos SDK using Tendermint Proof-of-Stake consensus, featuring a fully decentralized off-chain orderbook and matching engine. This architecture eliminates gas fees for trading while maintaining institutional-grade execution speed, supported by specialized infrastructure including the Order Entry Gateway Service (OEGS) for one-hop order delivery and Designated Proposers for predictable network topology. MEV mitigation is provided via encrypted order execution and Skip Protocol's validator monitoring dashboard. Cross-chain deposits are accepted from Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, and Optimism; USDC bridging uses Circle's CCTP on Noble and Axelar/Squid for one-click onboarding.

The business model is fee-based, generating transaction fees of 10-20 bps for takers and 5-10 bps for makers on perpetual trades. Protocol revenue is distributed 100% to ecosystem participants: 75% to DYDX token buybacks, 5% to the Treasury SubDAO, 5% to MegaVault, and the balance to staking rewards (as of November 2025). Additional revenue mechanics include partner revenue share for routed order flow, builder codes for order builders, and a 30-50% affiliate revenue share program. dYdX Labs does not directly capture protocol revenue per its legal disclaimers; economic value flows to the Foundation, token holders, and ecosystem participants. The company has raised approximately $87M across multiple funding rounds since 2017, including a $65M Series C led by Paradigm in June 2021, and acquired Pocket Protector in July 2025 to expand social trading capabilities.

Name

dYdX

Legal name

dYdX International Ltd.

Website

https://dydx.xyz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

dYdX is a decentralized exchange protocol offering perpetual futures, spot trading, and margin across 386 markets, serving professional crypto traders, algorithmic traders, and trading teams. Operating on its own Cosmos-based Layer 1 chain with gasless trading and self-custody, it has processed over $1.55 trillion in lifetime volume.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchange

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210), Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221)

akta.pro primary industry

Perpetuals & Derivatives DEXs (FSADABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

DEX Aggregators & Smart Order Routing (FSADABAC), DEX Aggregation & On-Chain Execution (routing, RFQ, intent-based trading) (FSAPAEAD), Decentralized Derivatives (perps, options, futures, synthetics) (FSAPAEAC)

Keywords

• Decentralized exchange
• Perpetual futures trading
• Crypto derivatives
• Algorithmic trading api
• Decentralized finance

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Trading Fees (Protocol Fees): dYdX charges trading fees on perpetuals: 10-20 bps for takers and 5-10 bps for makers. Fee tiers are based on trading volume, with higher volume traders receiving better rates. These fees are the primary revenue stream for the protocol.
2. Protocol Fee Distribution: 100% of protocol revenue is distributed to ecosystem participants. As of November 2025, 75% goes to DYDX buybacks, 5% to Treasury SubDAO, 5% to MegaVault, and remaining to staking rewards.
3. Partner Revenue Share: Governance-approved partners can earn a percentage of trading fees generated by orders routed through their platforms. This creates a sustainable framework for ecosystem growth.
4. Builder Codes: External parties can submit orders with builder codes and collect fees for building and routing orders. Fees are added on top of each fill, no governance proposal required.
5. DYDX Token Economics: Token buyback program converts protocol fees into DYDX repurchases, with purchased tokens staked to support network security. All token unlocks set to conclude by June 2026.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

dYdX is a decentralized exchange protocol built on its own Cosmos SDK-based Layer 1 blockchain (dYdX Chain) that enables perpetual futures, spot, margin trading, and prediction markets across 200+ markets. The protocol runs an off-chain orderbook and matching engine with no gas fees, charging transaction-based protocol fees on executed trades. It offers self-custody, deep liquidity, advanced order types, and institutional-grade execution accessible via web, mobile, Telegram, and API.

Product overview

dYdX is a decentralized exchange protocol and ecosystem offering perpetual futures trading, spot trading, and prediction markets. The core product is the dYdX Exchange protocol operating on the dYdX Chain (a Cosmos-based Layer 1 blockchain), which provides deep liquidity and institutional-grade trading infrastructure. The ecosystem includes mobile applications (iOS/Android), the Telegram-based Pocket Pro Bot for social trading, Solana Spot Trading integration, and MegaVault for liquidity provision. Incentive programs include the Surge trading competition program with fee rebates and rewards, the DYDX Buyback Program, Partner Revenue Share, and Trading Leagues. The protocol supports over 200 markets with advanced order types, and integrates with third-party platforms including Crypto.com, THORWallet, QuantConnect, and various fiat onramps. The native DYDX token powers governance and network security.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MegaVault: A liquidity solution for dYdX Chain that enables users to deposit USDC and receive yield.
• Surge
• Trading Leagues
• Pocket Protector
• dYdX Unlimited
• Pocket Pro Bot

Products and services

• dYdX Exchange (Core Protocol)
• Solana Spot Trading
• Prediction Markets
• MegaVault
• Pocket Pro Bot
• dYdX Mobile App
• dYdX Trading API

Quantifiable outcome

• Trading volume increased 2-3x after fee holiday implementation on BTC-USD and SOL-USD markets
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pyth NetworkcoreTechnology or Integration · 14 June 2026dYdX is an early adopter of Pyth Network's 24/7 indices for US stocks, gold, silver, and crude oil. This enables around-the-clock trading on dYdX, supporting perpetual futures, tokenized assets, and derivatives products.
• VoltradecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTrading competition partnership with Voltrade for RWA trading competitions. Voltrade users can trade PAXG-USD, XAG-USD, and WTI-USD perpetual markets on dYdX with $5,000 prize pools and daily lottery rewards.
• THORWalletcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTHORWallet integrated dYdX's decentralized perpetual trading protocol, enabling users to trade over 200 markets with leverage without risking custody of assets. Includes $165,000 USDC trading competition and ongoing incentives.
• Crypto.comcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCrypto.com Onchain Wallet integration provides access to dYdX perpetuals trading. Users can deposit USDC, trade perpetuals, and manage positions within the Crypto.com app. Hosts Onchain Royale trading competitions with up to $20,000 prizes.
• QuantConnectcoreTechnology or IntegrationQuantConnect integration enables algorithmic traders to research, backtest, and deploy trading strategies on dYdX. The LEAN engine handles all communication with dYdX API, providing stable infrastructure for live trading.
• CoinbasecoreTechnology or IntegrationCoinbase integration enables users to deposit and withdraw funds directly to their dYdX wallet address via Coinbase exchange, simplifying onboarding for new users.
• Skip ProtocolcoreTechnology or IntegrationSkip Protocol developed the MEV dashboard for dYdX, highlighting validator behavior and MEV extraction. Also part of the market maker ecosystem for the protocol.
• Circle (CCTP on Noble)coreTechnology or IntegrationCircle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) on Noble enables users to send USDC from other chains directly to dYdX Chain in a simple and secure manner.
• Pocket ProtectorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerdYdX acquired Pocket Protector, a team known for creating a social-first trading app on Solana. The acquisition aims to expand dYdX's product offerings and leverage Pocket Protector's technology to enhance growth and market presence. Powers the Telegram-based Pocket Pro Bot.
• Chaos LabsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChaos Labs developed governance proposals for trading reward distributions, including the $5M season 1 launch incentives distribution to traders.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hyperliquid: Hyperliquid is the dominant decentralized perpetual futures exchange, built on its own L1 blockchain with an on-chain orderbook. It directly competes with dYdX for the same algorithmic and pro trader audience and is the primary reason for dYdX's market share decline from 73% to 7%.
• GMX: GMX is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange originally on Arbitrum/Avalanche using a GLP liquidity model rather than an orderbook. It serves similar pro and DeFi-native traders but competes on a different mechanism, making it a comparable perps DEX peer.
• Aevo: Aevo is a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures and options built on a custom rollup, with an off-chain orderbook matching dYdX's architecture. It targets similar institutional and pro trading use cases in DeFi.
• Drift Protocol: Drift is a leading Solana-based perpetual futures DEX with a vAMM and orderbook hybrid model. As dYdX launches Solana spot, Drift represents the incumbent on-chain perpetuals venue on that chain with overlapping retail and DeFi-native traders.
• Perpetual Protocol: Perpetual Protocol is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange that migrated to a v3 orderbook-based architecture on Arbitrum. It directly competes for the same on-chain perpetuals trading audience as dYdX with comparable product offerings.
• Synthetix: Synthetix is a decentralized derivatives protocol on Optimism that powers perpetuals via its synthetic asset infrastructure. It serves as both a peer and a complementary layer for some DEX perps venues, comparable to dYdX's derivatives focus.

Emerging players

• Jupiter Perps: Jupiter Perps is the perpetual futures product from Jupiter, the leading Solana DEX aggregator. It leverages Jupiter's massive user base and routing layer to compete in Solana perpetuals, overlapping with dYdX's newly launched Solana spot footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Binance: Binance is the world's largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange, offering deep perpetual futures liquidity that competes with dYdX for high-volume derivatives traders. It operates a much broader portfolio but represents the primary alternative venue dYdX users compare against.
• Bybit: Bybit is a top centralized derivatives exchange known for perpetual futures and deep liquidity. As a broader incumbent, it competes with dYdX for the same pro and algorithmic trader segment that values execution quality and low fees.
• OKX: OKX is a major centralized exchange with significant perpetual futures market share and a Web3 wallet product. It competes with dYdX across both centralized perpetuals trading and on-chain DeFi infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dydxprotocol
• GitHubgithub.com/dydxprotocol
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@dYdXprotocol
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dydx-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors37 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about dYdX