dYdX

What is dYdX?

dYdX is a decentralized Layer 1 blockchain tailored for perpetual derivatives trading, founded in 2017 by Antonio Juliano, a former engineer at Coinbase and Uber. Built on Cosmos SDK with CometBFT consensus, dYdX supports over 200 markets, including BTC, ETH, and SOL, offering traders up to 100x leverage via a decentralized order book paired with on-chain settlement.

In 2024, dYdX migrated to its dedicated blockchain (V4), boosting performance, scalability, and community-led governance. Its native token, $DYDX, underpins platform governance, staking incentives, and trading rewards. Innovations like MegaVault liquidity pools enable users to quickly launch new leveraged markets, reinforcing its role as a leader in DeFi derivatives.

dYdX Futures Fee Schedule

dYdX has a tiered fee structure for perpetual futures trading based on 30-day trailing volume and market share. At Tier 1, users with less than $1M in volume pay a taker fee of 0.0500% and a maker fee of 0.0100%.

As users' trading volumes increase, fees decrease, with Tier 6 users (over $125M in volume and at least 0.5% market share) paying a taker fee of 0.0250% and a maker fee of -0.0050% (rebate). For Tier 9 users, with over $125M in volume and a market share of 4% or more, the maker fee drops to -0.0110%, the lowest available.

dYdX Regulation & Licensing Explained

dYdX is a decentralized exchange and currently operates without regulatory licenses or oversight.

Where is dYdX Available?

‍dYdX operates globally in over 180 countries but restricts access in regions with strict regulatory requirements, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Myanmar, Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Mainland China.

Users should regularly review dYdX's Terms of Service to confirm eligibility, as restricted regions may change with evolving regulations.

Is dYdX Safe and Legit?

dYdX is a secure and legitimate decentralized derivatives exchange, operating as a Layer 1 blockchain built on Cosmos SDK with CometBFT consensus. Its security model incorporates independent audits by firms such as Informal Systems, an open-source codebase available for public scrutiny, and an active bug bounty program encouraging vulnerability identification.

The protocol leverages proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus with validator-driven block finalization and implements advanced risk management via Permissioned Keys, offering granular access control ideal for institutional traders and API integrations.