Gains Network vs GMX
Pick Gains Network for traders outside the US; sign-up code dexsheet.
Pick GMX for traders who want oracle-priced perps on Arbitrum or Avalanche; code dexsheet gets 5% off fees.
On a $1,000 buy and sell, Gains Network costs $0.70 in platform fees vs $1.14 on GMX (checked 2026-10-29).
Open Gains Network — code dexsheet Open GMX — 5% off fees
Checked 2026-10-29 · full table belowGains Network runs Gains (formerly gTrade), an oracle-priced leveraged trading venue on Arbitrum, Base, Polygon and Solana with about 180 listed pairs across crypto, forex, stocks, indices and commodities. Trades open from your own wallet against gToken liquidity vaults, at up to 200x on BTC and ETH, 500x on degen pairs and 1000x on forex majors.
GMX is a decentralized spot and perpetuals exchange on Arbitrum, Avalanche and MegaETH, with 100+ crypto and TradFi markets and up to 100x leverage. Trades execute against GM and GLV liquidity pools at Chainlink oracle prices rather than an order book.
Gains Network saves $0.44 per $1,000 round trip.
Our take
Both price trades from oracles against liquidity pools instead of an order book, and both let you trade from your own wallet. On BTC and ETH, Gains (0.035% per side plus a 0.005% spread) matches GMX's lower 0.04% rate and undercuts its 0.06% rate; it also allows far more leverage and lists forex and around 40 single stocks. GMX's terms do not name the US, while Gains bars US persons outright.
Choose Gains Network if
You live outside the US and want forex, single stocks or very high leverage: 200x on BTC and ETH, 500x on degen pairs, 1000x on forex majors.
Choose GMX if
You want GMX's spot swaps and GM/GLV pools on Arbitrum or Avalanche, a 5% fee discount through a referral code, or a venue whose terms do not name the US as restricted.
Key differences
- Fees: Gains charges 0.035% to open and 0.035% to close BTC and ETH, plus a 0.005% fixed spread per side; other crypto is 0.05% to 0.06% per side. GMX charges 0.04% when a trade reduces the long/short imbalance and 0.06% when it increases it, plus price impact on close and a keeper network fee.
- Worked example, $10,000 BTC position opened and closed: about $8.00 on Gains including the fixed spread, and $8.00 to $12.00 in position fees on GMX before price impact and the keeper fee.
- Leverage: GMX goes up to 100x. Gains allows 200x on BTC and ETH, 150x on most other crypto, 500x on its degen pairs, 1000x on forex majors and 250x on gold and silver.
- Markets: Gains lists about 180 active pairs, including forex majors and crosses and around 40 US and Asian stocks. GMX lists 100+ markets, including gold, silver, oil, SPY and QQQ.
- Holding costs: both charge a borrowing fee to the dominant side and a funding fee that one side can earn.
- Referrals: a GMX referral code takes 5% off open and close fees. Gains' referral program documents no discount for the referred trader; its Gains Credits volume tiers cut fees by 2.5% to 25%.
- Geo: Gains' Terms of Service bar US persons and VPN use to hide a US location. GMX's terms restrict embargoed countries and sanctioned persons but do not name the US.
- Track record: GMX's V1 GLP pool lost about $42 million to an exploit in July 2025; most funds were returned and holders compensated. We found no reported exploit of Gains itself.
How to choose
- BTC or ETH cost: close. Gains matches GMX's 0.04% rate and beats its 0.06% rate; GMX's 5% referral discount tips the 0.04% case its way.
- Forex, single stocks or more than 100x leverage: Gains.
- Want a referral fee discount: GMX.
- Trading from Avalanche: GMX. From Base, Polygon or a Solana wallet: Gains.
- US resident: Gains is off limits under its terms.
Editorial view based on the fee and policy data on this page. Updated 2026-10-29.
Side by side
| Gains Network | GMX | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Perp DEX | Perp DEX |
| Status | live | live |
| Chains | Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, Solana | Arbitrum, Avalanche, MegaETH |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Custody | Self-custody | Self-custody |
| KYC | none | none |
| Platform fee, round trip | 0.07% | 0.12% |
| $1,000 round trip | $0.70 | $1.20 |
| Sign-up perk | None documented. The referral docs describe no fee discount or bonus for referred traders; the Gains Credits and GNS-staking fee discounts apply to every trader. | 5% (Tier 1) or 10% (Tier 2/3) off open/close fees |
| Perps taker / maker | 0.035% / 0.035% | 0.06% / — |
| United States | Not available | Unverified |
| United Kingdom | Unverified | Unverified |
| European Union | Unverified | Unverified |
| Launched | — | 2021-09 |
| Reported incidents | 0 | 1 |
Features
| Feature | Gains Network | GMX |
|---|---|---|
| perps | ✓ | ✓ |
| crypto perps | ✓ | — |
| forex perps | ✓ | — |
| stock perps | ✓ | — |
| index perps | ✓ | — |
| commodity perps | ✓ | — |
| oracle pricing | ✓ | ✓ |
| limit orders | ✓ | — |
| stop-loss/take-profit | ✓ | — |
| partial close | ✓ | — |
| one-click trading | ✓ | ✓ |
| gasless trading | ✓ | — |
| email login | ✓ | — |
| practice mode | ✓ | — |
| liquidity vaults | ✓ | — |
| fee discount tiers | ✓ | — |
| API/SDK | ✓ | — |
| spot swaps | — | ✓ |
"—" means the feature was not in the sources we checked, not proof it's missing.
Gains Network: watch out for
- US persons are barred by the Terms of Service, and some asset classes are geoblocked by region.
- Closing a trade in profit within minutes of opening can multiply the price impact by up to 20x on most Arbitrum pairs.
- Borrowing fees always apply to the dominant side and pull the liquidation price closer the longer you hold.
GMX: watch out for
- Holding costs include hourly borrow fees, priced from 45-55%/yr below 75% utilization on typical markets.
- GMX V1's GLP pool lost about $42 million to an exploit in July 2025 before funds were returned.
- Thin markets can carry negative price impact caps of up to 10%.
FAQ
Which is better, Gains Network or GMX?
Both price trades from oracles against liquidity pools instead of an order book, and both let you trade from your own wallet. On BTC and ETH, Gains (0.035% per side plus a 0.005% spread) matches GMX's lower 0.04% rate and undercuts its 0.06% rate; it also allows far more leverage and lists forex and around 40 single stocks. GMX's terms do not name the US, while Gains bars US persons outright.
Is Gains Network better than GMX?
Gains Network is cheaper: a $1,000 buy-and-sell costs $0.70 in platform fees vs $1.14 on GMX. Pick Gains Network if you are traders outside the US who want high-leverage, oracle-priced perps on crypto, forex, stocks and commodities from their own wallet on Arbitrum, Base, Polygon or Solana. Pick GMX if you are traders who want oracle-priced perps on Arbitrum or Avalanche, including gold, oil and US index markets, without an order book.
Which is cheaper, Gains Network or GMX?
Gains Network. On a $1,000 round trip: Gains Network $0.70 vs GMX $1.14, platform fees only.
Can I use Gains Network or GMX in the US?
Gains Network: not available. GMX: unverified. Based on each venue's own terms.
Sources
Last checked . Fees and terms change often; the venue's own page wins if it disagrees with ours.
- Gains docs: Fees & Spread — checked 2026-10-29
- Gains docs: Pair List (max leverage per pair) — checked 2026-10-29
- Gains docs: Start trading on Gains — checked 2026-10-29
- Gains docs: Trade Collaterals — checked 2026-10-29
- Gains docs: FAQ (chains, audits, vault counterparty) — checked 2026-10-29
- Gains docs: Eligibility and Restricted Regions — checked 2026-10-29
- GMX Docs - Fees — checked 2026-10-26
- GMX Docs - Referrals — checked 2026-10-16
- GMX Docs - Intro — checked 2026-10-16
- GMX Docs - Trading overview — checked 2026-10-16
- GMX Docs - Trading on V1 (archived) — checked 2026-10-16
- GMX.io Terms and Conditions — checked 2026-10-16