Side-by-side comparison of two perpetual futures exchanges — updated in real time.
dYdX and GMX v2 are two of the most established perp DEXes, representing the orderbook vs oracle-pool paradigm. dYdX runs its own chain with maker rebates, while GMX v2 offers multi-collateral oracle pools on Arbitrum.
dYdX operates a fully decentralized orderbook on its Cosmos-based L1 with 188 markets, 25x leverage, maker rebates of 0.011%, and a 0.03% taker fee. GMX v2 uses Chainlink oracle-priced isolated GM pools on Arbitrum with 113 markets, 100x leverage, 0.04% maker / 0.06% taker fees. dYdX is significantly cheaper on fees — both the taker fee (0.03% vs 0.06%) and maker economics (rebate vs 0.04% cost) favor dYdX. GMX v2 counters with 4x higher leverage (100x vs 25x) and multi-collateral support including USDC, USDT, ETH, and BTC. GMX v2's isolated pool model means each market carries independent risk, while dYdX's unified orderbook shares liquidity across the platform. Both protocols offer yield opportunities: dYdX's MegaVault (~20% APR) and GMX v2's GM pool yields. dYdX has more markets (188 vs 113) and lower fees, but GMX v2's Arbitrum integration provides deeper DeFi composability. Both have live tokens with established ecosystems.
Choose dYdX for lower fees, maker rebates, more markets, and passive MegaVault yield. Choose GMX v2 for higher leverage (100x vs 25x), multi-asset collateral, and Arbitrum's deep DeFi ecosystem.
