# Perpetual futures venues, entry by entry

The Perp Reference maintainers · Updated: 24 September 2026 · Venue documents read 18 September 2026 · Order books read on a ten-minute clock across the two days to 20 September 2026

Nine order-book venues, one formula fixed before anything was scored, and a source and a date under every number. The heaviest criterion is the one nobody publishes honestly, so it is read off the books instead.

## What this reference is

This is a reference work, not a shop window. Every entry is built from a venue's own documentation and
terms, read on 18 September 2026, and from the order-book readings described on how we rate. One formula, published
before anything was scored, produces every total; an entry changes which venues appear, never how they
are weighed.

The heaviest criterion is the one no venue can be trusted to report on itself. Reported volume can be
written up, resting depth cannot, so each public BTC book was read every ten minutes instead.

## The site in figures

- **Venues ranked:** 9 of 10 scored — order-book and hybrid venues, each read from its own documentation on 18 September 2026. The tenth venue is read, measured and scored like the rest and its row stands on [how we rate](/scoring-method); a documented BTC cap below 40x keeps it out of the tables here
- **BTC resting within 10 bps:** $100.5 million — added across the scored venues, a median of 117 readings a venue and 113 for edgeX, which joined the window late
- **Open interest:** $12.3 billion — the scored venues' own figures as published by CoinMarketCap on 22 September 2026
- **Perpetual markets listed:** 1,931 — coins, shares, currencies, commodities, indices and pre-IPO across the venues scored here
- **The scale:** 0 to 7 — one formula, fixed on 22 September 2026 and never adjusted since

## The register of ranked venues

Weights: Order-book liquidity 30 · Market coverage 20 · Trading cost 18 · Security record 14 · Custody and settlement 12 · Access 6. One formula scores every page on this site, fixed on 22 September 2026: https://thekiddushclubnft.com/scoring-method

One total per venue, from six weighted criteria settled before a single venue was read. The mark under each figure shows where that total falls on the scale, so a venue that is cheap and thin reads differently from one that is dear and deep. Open interest and the previous day's volume are each venue's own numbers as published by CoinMarketCap.

| No. | Venue | Score of 7 | Model | Maker / taker | Perpetual markets | Documented cap on BTC | Open interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighter | 5.8 | Hybrid, ZK-proven | 0% / 0% | 214 | 50x | $585.4 million |
| 2 | Aster | 5.5 | Own layer 1, operator-run | 0% / 0.040% | 578 | 200x | $1.4 billion |
| 3 | Extended | 5.5 | Hybrid | 0% / 0.025% | 325 | 50x | $84.0 million |
| 4 | edgeX | 5.3 | Hybrid | 0.040% / 0.045% | 172 | 100x | $635.5 million |
| 5 | Hyperliquid | 5.0 | On-chain order book | 0.015% / 0.045% | 324 | 40x | $8.7 billion |
| 6 | EVEDEX | 4.7 | Hybrid | 0.015% / 0.045% | 52 | 200x | $704.9 million |
| 7 | ApeX Omni | 4.7 | Hybrid | 0.020% / 0.050% | 125 | 100x | $160.2 million |
| 8 | Paradex | 4.4 | Hybrid, Starknet appchain | 0% / 0% | 63 | 50x | $23.7 million |
| 9 | dYdX | 3.9 | App-chain, validator-held book | 0.010% / 0.050% | 78 | 50x | $37.3 million |

Open interest is the venue's own figure as published by CoinMarketCap on 22 September 2026.

## Where the points come from

Each column is scored out of ten before the weights are applied; the last column is the weighted total out of 7.

| Venue | Liquidity | Coverage | Cost | Security | Custody | Access | Total |

|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|

| Lighter | 6.5 | 9.2 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 8.0 | 5.8 |

| Aster | 6.4 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 5.5 |

| Extended | 5.7 | 9.6 | 8.5 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 5.5 |

| edgeX | 6.9 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 8.0 | 5.3 |

| Hyperliquid | 6.0 | 9.6 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 5.0 |

| EVEDEX | 6.5 | 7.8 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 4.7 |

| ApeX Omni | 4.5 | 7.7 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 4.7 |

| Paradex | 1.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 4.4 |

| dYdX | 3.9 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 3.9 |


## Order-book readings taken by this site

Reported volume is the easiest number on a venue's front page to inflate, so this reference prints a measurement instead. Every ten minutes each public BTC book was read and what rested within 10 basis points of the mid was recorded. The figures are medians, and the last column says how many readings stand behind each row.

| Venue | Median spread | Resting within 10 bps | Impact, $100,000 | Snapshots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lighter | 0.01 bps | $16.9 million | 0.60 bps | 115 |
| Aster | 0.01 bps | $16.1 million | 0.38 bps | 117 |
| Extended | 0.12 bps | $7.4 million | 0.06 bps | 115 |
| edgeX | 0.04 bps | $29.5 million | 0.02 bps | 113 |
| Hyperliquid | 0.12 bps | $9.6 million | 0.06 bps | 118 |
| EVEDEX | 4.12 bps | $18.3 million | 2.06 bps | 115 |
| ApeX Omni | 0.71 bps | $1.8 million | 0.38 bps | 118 |
| Paradex | 2.67 bps | $32,811 | 132.47 bps | 118 |
| dYdX | 1.23 bps | $845,322 | 6.93 bps | 118 |

Spread, resting depth and price impact are measured, read straight from each venue's public order book. No account was opened and no order was placed.

## The two costs of crossing a book

A venue charges twice to cross its book, once in the fee it prints and once in the spread it leaves. Each mark sits at the taker cost of a round trip, from the venue's own schedule on 18 September 2026, against the median spread recorded on 20 September 2026. Bottom left is cheap on both counts, which is why a fee table read alone misleads. The spread axis is compressed, with gridlines at 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 2 basis points, so that books an order of magnitude apart stay apart.

## Documented leverage caps on the BTC perpetual

A headline multiple says nothing by itself; the size it survives says the rest. Every cap in this column stands beside the notional it holds to, which is how 200x on a 400 USDT position, 200x held to $50,000 and 40x held to $150 million sort themselves out — the largest multiple here covers the smallest order, and the smallest multiple covers the largest.

- **EVEDEX, 200x** — to $50,000 notional (100x to $200,000)
- **Aster, 200x** — to 400 USDT (100x to $800,000)
- **edgeX, 100x** — to $1 million (75x to $3 million)
- **ApeX Omni, 100x** — to $100,000, 1% initial margin
- **Extended, 50x** — to $4 million (25x to $8 million)
- **Lighter, 50x** — 2% initial margin, no tiers
- **Paradex, 50x** — 2% initial margin, 300 BTC
- **dYdX, 50x** — 2% initial margin, no tiers
- **Hyperliquid, 40x** — to $150 million (20x above)

Caps come from each venue's documentation, trading terms or public market data, read on 18 September 2026 and reconfirmed on 21 September 2026 where a ladder had moved. Each of these ladders steps down as a position grows. Aster's Shield Mode is not in the column — it goes further than any rung listed here, but it caps the profit one position may take and is not a limit on the order book.

## What a venue asks for, and what it lists

| Entry | How an account opens | What must be shown | Asset classes | Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lighter | Wallet signature | None in the documentation we read | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO, bonds | 214 |
| Aster | Wallet signature or email | Terms allow limited identity verification procedures | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO | 578 |
| Extended | Wallet signature, EVM or Starknet | Terms reserve the right to deny access after a KYT risk assessment | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO | 325 |
| edgeX | Wallet or MPC login | None in the user terms we read | crypto, stocks, commodities, FX | 172 |
| Hyperliquid | Wallet signature or email code | None in the onboarding documentation | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices | 324 |
| EVEDEX | Wallet signature | None to trade; on-chain AML screening on deposits | crypto, commodities, FX, stocks, indices, pre-IPO | 52 |
| ApeX Omni | Wallet, or email with a Privy wallet | Docs state no KYC and no forms | crypto, stocks, commodities, indices | 125 |
| Paradex | Wallet signature; account derived from the address | None in the account documentation | crypto, stocks, commodities, indices | 63 |
| dYdX | Wallet signature, or Google, Apple or email | None to trade | crypto, commodities | 78 |

Read on 18 September 2026 from each venue's own terms, help pages and market list. A list of closed countries is never complete.

## How an entry is put together

Six criteria, fixed on 22 September 2026: order-book liquidity 30, market coverage 20, trading cost 18,
security record 14, custody and settlement 12, access 6. Liquidity is heaviest because a book that
cannot absorb the order is no substitute at any fee, and coverage comes next because the other
reason a reader cannot move is that the market is not listed. Cost sits third: across the scored
venues the entry-tier taker fee spans less than a tenth of a percent, and the tiers charging nothing
charge latency instead. Audits, bounties and incidents from the last two years make the security
record; custody asks where a trade is recorded and whether a withdrawal can be forced without the
operator; access carries least because it filters who may use a venue rather than how well it works.
The rubric, criterion by criterion, is on [how we rate](/scoring-method).

## Index of entries

**Ranked entries**

- [Hyperliquid competitors](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/hyperliquid-competitors) — six of the field, ordered by the score an outside auditor gave each of them
- [Perp DEX for large orders](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/perp-dex-for-large-orders) — ordered by the BTC depth in the readings, not by reported volume
- [Cheapest perp DEX](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/cheapest-perp-dex) — ordered by what a round trip costs at the entry tier
- [Perp DEX leverage limits](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/perp-dex-leverage-limits) — every documented cap set beside the notional it holds to
- [Perp DEX account requirements](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/perp-dex-account-requirements) — sign-in, documents and the screening each venue describes
- [GMX alternatives](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/gmx-alternatives) — what changes when an oracle pool is swapped for an order book
- [Perp DEX settlement compared](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/perp-dex-settlement-compared) — where a trade is recorded, and who can block a withdrawal

**Head to head, and terms explained**

- [Hyperliquid vs dYdX](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/hyperliquid-vs-dydx) — two chains that hold their own books, eleven times apart on depth
- [edgeX vs ApeX Omni](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/edgex-vs-apex-omni) — two hybrids on rollups, each documenting a way out without the operator
- [What is a perp DEX](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/perp-dex-defined) — the definition, and what separates a book from a pool

**The reference itself**

- [How we rate](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/scoring-method) — six criteria, their weights and the rubric behind each
- [About this reference](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/about) — who writes the entries and where the figures come from
- [Privacy](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/privacy) — what this site stores about a reader
- [Terms](https://thekiddushclubnft.com/terms) — the terms these entries are published on

## Sources

1. Lighter — https://lighter.xyz
2. Aster — https://www.asterdex.com
3. Extended — https://extended.exchange/
4. edgeX — https://pro.edgex.exchange
5. Hyperliquid — https://hyperliquid.xyz
6. EVEDEX
7. ApeX Omni — https://omni.apex.exchange/
8. Paradex — https://www.paradex.trade
9. dYdX — https://www.dydx.xyz
10. CoinMarketCap, open interest as each venue reports it, captured 22 September 2026 — https://coinmarketcap.com/rankings/exchanges/dex/?type=derivatives

11. The Perp Reference maintainers, order-book readings taken on a ten-minute clock across the two days to 20 September 2026 and reported as medians.

The Perp Reference maintainers, 24 September 2026. Corrections and disputed figures: corrections@thekiddushclubnft.com.

The maintainers are paid to publish this reference, and a venue with an entry here may be the party that paid for it.