dYdX Community Approves Market Wind-Down for Low-Volume Assets
On March 13, 2026, the dYdX community voted to wind down trading markets for several low-volume assets, as the protocol continues to optimize its market offerings and concentrate liquidity.
Affected Markets
The governance vote approved the removal of the following perpetual markets:
- LUNC-USD (Terra Classic)
- ENJ-USD (Enjin Coin)
- GALA-USD (Gala Games)
- THETA-USD (Theta Network)
- XTZ-USD (Tezos)
A separate proposal also addressed winding down markets for OM, QTUM, WSTETH, and several other assets.
Rationale
The wind-down decisions were driven by several factors:
- Low trading volume — these markets consistently generated minimal fees
- Liquidity fragmentation — each market requires dedicated market maker capital
- Validator resources — every market consumes computational resources on the dYdX Chain
- Focus strategy — concentrating on high-demand markets improves overall platform quality
Wind-Down Process
The market removal follows a structured process:
- Position closure period — traders given advance notice to close positions
- Reduced leverage — maximum leverage lowered during wind-down
- Final settlement — remaining positions settled at mark price
- Market delisting — trading pair removed from the orderbook
Governance in Action
This decision showcases dYdX's fully decentralized governance model. Unlike centralized exchanges that delist assets unilaterally, dYdX requires community consensus through on-chain voting. The proposals passed with strong support from validators and token holders.
What It Means
As the perp DEX market matures, exchanges are becoming more selective about which assets they support. Rather than maximizing the number of markets, the trend is toward curating high-quality, liquid markets that serve active traders. dYdX's wind-down reflects this industry-wide shift toward quality over quantity.