# Perpetual futures venues, measured

Updated: 24 September 2026 / Venue facts read 18 September 2026 / Books polled on a ten-minute tick, 18 September 2026 12:02 UTC to 19 September 2026 09:10 UTC / Spaces Research

## Documented BTC leverage caps

Among the perp DEXs and hybrid venues here, EVEDEX keeps 200x on BTC to the largest size: $50,000 of notional, then 100x to $200,000. Aster's order book lists 200x only to 400 USDT; its Shield Mode reaches 1001x with a profit cap. edgeX and ApeX Omni stop at 100x, Lighter, Extended and dYdX at 50x, Hyperliquid at 40x.

| Venue | Max BTC leverage | Notional it holds to |
|---|---|---|
| EVEDEX | 200x | holds to $50,000; 100x to $200,000 |
| Aster | 200x | holds to 400 USDT; 100x to $800,000 |
| edgeX | 100x | holds to $1 million; 75x to $3 million |
| ApeX Omni | 100x | one per cent of margin to $100,000 |
| Extended | 50x | holds to $4 million; 25x to $8 million |
| Lighter | 50x | two per cent of margin, no band stated |
| dYdX | 50x | two per cent of margin, no band stated |
| Hyperliquid | 40x | holds to $150 million; 20x above |

Headline caps from each venue's documentation and trading terms, checked 18 September 2026; every cap
falls as the position grows. Aster's separate Shield Mode reaches 1001x with a cap on profit per position,
and oracle-priced Jupiter Perps allows 250x on three markets — neither is an order-book cap. Full ladder: https://spacesdao.org/best-dex-for-leverage-trading

## BTC resting within 10 basis points

Reported volume is easy to inflate, so the column beside it is measured instead: every 10 minutes each
public BTC order book is read and what rests within 10 basis points of the mid price is recorded. The bars
below are medians of those snapshots, with the median spread beside them.

| Venue | Median depth within 10 bps | Median spread |
|---|---|---|
| edgeX | $29.5 million | 0.04 bps |
| EVEDEX | $18.3 million | 4.12 bps |
| Lighter | $16.9 million | 0.01 bps |
| Aster | $16.1 million | 0.01 bps |
| Hyperliquid | $9.6 million | 0.12 bps |
| Extended | $7.4 million | 0.12 bps |
| ApeX Omni | $1.8 million | 0.71 bps |
| dYdX | $845,322 | 1.23 bps |

Median of 114 snapshots per venue, 109 on edgeX. Price impact by order size: https://spacesdao.org/most-liquid-perp-dex

## What this site is

The documentation and trading terms of every venue on this page are read here, and what the tables leave
out — how much BTC actually rests in each order book — is measured rather than reported. Scores come from one published formula, and every number carries
the date it was taken.

- **BTC orders within 10 bps:** $100.5 million — across the 8 scored order-book venues, each a median of between 109 and 114 snapshots
- **Venues tracked:** 14 — order-book, on-chain and oracle-priced, 8 of them scored
- **Open interest:** $12.3 billion — on the 8 scored venues, as reported to CoinMarketCap on 22 September 2026
- **Perpetual markets listed:** 1,868 — crypto, stocks, currencies, commodities, indices and pre-IPO contracts
- **Order books polled:** every 10 minutes — spread, depth and price impact on $10,000 to $1 million orders

## Venue scores on 18 September 2026

One score per venue, from six weighted criteria fixed before any venue was scored. The bar shows which
criterion earned the points, so a venue that is cheap but thin reads differently from one that is deep but
costly. Open interest and volume come from CoinMarketCap.

| # | Venue | Score /10 | Points by criterion, each 0-10 | Median BTC depth | Spread | $100,000 moves the price | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighter | 8.5 | cost 10.0 · liquidity 6.5 · custody 10.0 · security 7.0 · coverage 9.2 · access 8.0 | $16.9 million | 0.01 bps | 0.60 bps | 114 |
| 2 | Extended | 7.8 | cost 8.5 · liquidity 5.7 · custody 7.0 · security 10.0 · coverage 9.6 · access 8.0 | $7.4 million | 0.12 bps | 0.06 bps | 114 |
| 3 | Aster | 7.7 | cost 7.0 · liquidity 6.4 · custody 7.0 · security 10.0 · coverage 10.0 · access 8.0 | $16.1 million | 0.01 bps | 0.38 bps | 113 |
| 4 | edgeX | 7.6 | cost 6.5 · liquidity 6.9 · custody 10.0 · security 7.0 · coverage 8.0 · access 8.0 | $29.5 million | 0.04 bps | 0.02 bps | 109 |
| 5 | ApeX Omni | 6.9 | cost 6.0 · liquidity 4.5 · custody 10.0 · security 7.0 · coverage 7.7 · access 10.0 | $1.8 million | 0.71 bps | 0.38 bps | 114 |
| 6 | Hyperliquid | 6.9 | cost 6.5 · liquidity 6.0 · custody 7.0 · security 7.0 · coverage 9.6 · access 8.0 | $9.6 million | 0.12 bps | 0.06 bps | 114 |
| 7 | EVEDEX | 6.5 | cost 6.5 · liquidity 6.5 · custody 5.0 · security 7.0 · coverage 7.8 · access 8.0 | $18.3 million | 4.12 bps | 2.06 bps | 111 |
| 8 | dYdX | 5.8 | cost 6.0 · liquidity 3.9 · custody 7.0 · security 7.0 · coverage 5.2 · access 8.0 | $845,322 | 1.23 bps | 6.95 bps | 114 |

Weights: Trading cost 25 · Liquidity 25 · Custody and settlement 20 · Security record 15 · Market coverage 10 · Access 5. One formula for the whole site, fixed on 18 September 2026: https://spacesdao.org/methodology

Depth, spread and price impact are medians over our own readings of each public BTC book; the readings column says how many there were. No account was opened and no order placed.

## What trades there beyond crypto

| Venue | Asset classes | Perp markets |
|---|---|---|
| Lighter | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO, bonds | 214 |
| Extended | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO | 325 |
| Aster | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices, pre-IPO | 578 |
| edgeX | crypto, stocks, commodities, FX | 172 |
| ApeX Omni | crypto, stocks, commodities, indices | 125 |
| Hyperliquid | crypto, stocks, FX, commodities, indices | 324 |
| EVEDEX | crypto, commodities, FX, stocks, indices, pre-IPO | 52 |
| dYdX | crypto, commodities | 78 |

Asset classes and market counts as each venue's own documentation and trading terms recorded them on 18 September 2026. Session hours carry no column: what the venues publish covers different slices of their market lists, several publish nothing we could find, and one cell per venue would read as a comparison their documents do not support.

## What each venue asks for before you trade

| Venue checked | What opens an account | Identity check |
|---|---|---|
| Lighter | Wallet signature | None in the documentation we read |
| Extended | Wallet signature, EVM or Starknet | Terms reserve the right to deny access after a KYT risk assessment |
| Aster | Wallet signature or email | Terms allow limited identity verification procedures |
| edgeX | Wallet or MPC login | None in the user terms we read |
| ApeX Omni | Wallet, or email with a Privy wallet | Docs state no KYC and no forms |
| Hyperliquid | Wallet signature or email code | None in the onboarding documentation |
| EVEDEX | Wallet signature | None to trade; on-chain AML screening on deposits |
| dYdX | Wallet signature, or Google, Apple or email | None to trade |

Read from the terms and help pages each venue publishes, on 18 September 2026.

## How the scores are built

Six criteria, fixed on 18 September 2026 before any venue was scored: trading cost 25,
liquidity 25, custody and settlement 20, security record 15, market coverage 10 and access 5. Fees, markets,
leverage limits, restricted countries and audits come from each venue's own documentation and terms. Liquidity
is measured: the public BTC perpetual order book of every venue is read every 10 minutes, and the tables
report medians with the number of snapshots behind them. Page conditions decide which venues appear in a
ranking; the weights never change between pages. Full method on [How we rate](/methodology).

## Rankings, comparisons and guides

**Rankings**

- [Best hybrid crypto exchanges](https://spacesdao.org/best-hybrid-crypto-exchanges) — venues that match off-chain and settle on-chain, scored on six criteria
- [Best DEX for leverage trading](https://spacesdao.org/best-dex-for-leverage-trading) — leverage ladders, notional caps and auto-deleveraging rules
- [Most liquid perp DEXs](https://spacesdao.org/most-liquid-perp-dex) — BTC depth measured every 10 minutes, not reported volume
- [Best perp DEX for beginners](https://spacesdao.org/best-perp-dex-for-beginners) — practice modes, email sign-in and minimum deposits

**Lists and comparisons**

- [Perp DEX list](https://spacesdao.org/perp-dex-list) — every venue we track, with model, fees, markets and status
- [Perp DEX fees compared](https://spacesdao.org/perp-dex-fees-compared) — entry-tier rates and the cost of a $10,000 round trip
- [Aster alternatives](https://spacesdao.org/perp-dex-instead-of-aster) — order-book venues for traders comparing or leaving Aster
- [EVEDEX vs Hyperliquid](https://spacesdao.org/evedex-vs-hyperliquid) — a hybrid against a layer-1 order book
- [Hyperliquid vs Lighter](https://spacesdao.org/hyperliquid-vs-lighter) — zero default fees and ZK proofs against a layer-1 book

**Method and guides**

- [What is a hybrid crypto exchange](https://spacesdao.org/what-is-a-hybrid-crypto-exchange) — how off-chain matching and on-chain settlement split the work
- [How we rate](https://spacesdao.org/methodology) — six criteria, their weights, formulas and data sources
- [About Spaces Research](https://spacesdao.org/about) — who writes this site and how the numbers are collected

Spaces Research, 24 September 2026. Corrections: editorial@spacesdao.org.

Publication on this site is commissioned and paid for, and a venue compared here may be the sponsor behind the page.