Decentralized exchange (DEX) dYdX has made headlines by surpassing Uniswap, a long-standing leader in the sector, to become the platform with the largest 24-hour trading volume.
This achievement is particularly significant following dYdX’s strategic migration from the Ethereum blockchain to the Cosmos ecosystem.
dYdX, a crypto derivatives platform, announced its decision to transition from an Ethereum-based layer-2 network to its stand-alone blockchain within the Cosmos ecosystem as part of its version 4 (v4) upgrade. This move was aimed at optimizing decentralization and trading flow.
Despite Ethereum’s substantial user base and higher transaction costs, dYdX migrated to Cosmos, and recent trading data indicates a successful outcome. dYdX’s v4 has achieved a 24-hour trading volume of $757 million, surpassing Uniswap v3, which recorded $608 million, per CoinMarketCap data.
Meanwhile, the DEX’s v3 market on Ethereum, which is still operational, registered $567 million in the same period, securing a third-place position. Since the launch of dYdX v4, the cumulative trade volume has reached $17.8 billion.
This follows a strong performance in 2023 when the DEX’s v3 market on Ethereum surpassed $1 trillion in trading volume, with several days exceeding $2 billion. The dYdX Chain has also recently achieved a milestone by distributing over 3 million USDC as staking rewards.
With a community of over 9,300 stakers, the platform boasts a current staking annual percentage rate (APR) of 14.28%, while 80 million dYdX tokens are staked to ensure the chain’s security. Additionally, over 2 million dYdX tokens have been distributed as trading rewards, and 468 million ethDYDX has been successfully bridged to dYdX.
dYdX has set itself apart by focusing on the trading of perpetual futures, contracts without expiration dates that allow investors to speculate on the price movements of underlying assets without physical settlement. The innovative approach aligns well with the preferences of modern investors in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector.
According to Paul Veradittakit of Pantera Capital, users in the DeFi space are on the lookout for platforms capable of handling a large volume of trades with speed and efficiency. Veradittakit also highlighted that the problem is worsened by high transaction fees, which eat into user gains and reduce the platform’s attractiveness.
He notes that dYdX v4’s transition to a standalone blockchain using the Cosmos SDK addresses these challenges directly, promising improved trading throughput, reduced transaction costs, and customized on-chain logic for sophisticated and high-frequency trading needs.