- Decentralized perpetual futures volumes exceeded $1.2T per month in 2025, with Hyperliquid holding a major share.
- Speculative exposure peaked near 10% but fell to 4% after October liquidations, signaling leverage reset without altcoin rallies.
- Perpetual futures are becoming DeFi building blocks, with equity perps seen as a bridge to 24/7 tokenized stock trading.
According to Coinbase Institutional’s 2026 Crypto Market Outlook crypto derivatives activity expanded through 2025 as decentralized perpetual futures volumes exceeded $1.2 trillion per month.
The report stated that Hyperliquid retained a large market share during this period. It also noted that purely speculative exposure approached 10 percent before falling after October liquidation events.
Rising Volumes and Shifts in Speculative Exposure
The report indicated that decentralized exchanges processed monthly perpetual futures volumes above $1.2 trillion by late 2025. This occurred while access through U.S. venues increased, although the report did not describe a single location for the expansion.
It added that traders pursued outsized returns due to stagnant altcoin spot markets. However, speculative positioning declined from 10 percent to 4 percent after October liquidations, according to the systematic leverage ratio.
Transitioning to broader market structure, Coinbase Institutional’s outlook described perpetual futures and options as signals of mainstreaming. The document stated that participants turned to leverage because it offered amplified exposure with limited capital. It emphasized that these dynamics emerged without a conventional altcoin season.
Perpetual Futures as DeFi Building Blocks
The 2026 outlook reported that perpetual futures are evolving into composable components within decentralized finance. It stated that integrations with lending protocols could allow perps to operate as collateral.
It further mentioned strategies such as dynamic hedge layers for liquidity pools and interest rate-linked structures. These examples were presented as functional use cases rather than forecasts.
The report also described a synergistic environment in which market participants manage risk while earning passive yield. It framed the integrations as structural rather than promotional and did not attach projections to these mechanisms.
Equity Perps and Potential Retail Demand
Looking forward, the document suggested that equity perpetual futures may extend crypto’s derivative framework. It stated that tokenized equities could offer 24/7 access to U.S. stock exposure, including S&P 500 and Nasdaq names. It linked this possibility to rising retail participation in equities worldwide. However, the report did not provide dates for implementation or identify jurisdictions for rollout.
The outlook described these instruments as a possible bridge between digital markets and traditional assets. It connected accessibility, leverage, and continuous trading hours as the primary drivers mentioned in the document.
