dYdX
dYdX is an order-book perpetuals exchange running on its own appchain, the dYdX Chain (v4), whose protocol, indexer and front end are open source. Fees are tiered by 30-day volume and set by governance.
Cost: Perps taker fee is 0.05% and maker fee 0.01% at Tier 1 (under $1M 30-day volume), falling to 0.025% taker and a -0.011% maker rebate at Tier 7 ($200M+). Staking DYDX cuts net fees by up to 50%. A $1,000 buy-and-sell costs about $1.00 in dYdX fees.
Checked 2026-10-16 · sources below- Round trip fee
- 0.1% buy + sell, platform fee
- $1,000 buy + sell
- $1.00 before network + pool fees
- US availability
- Not available UK: not available · EU: unverified
- Custody
- non-custodial
- KYC
- none
- Platforms
- web
- Launched
- —
Users paid dYdX about $295K in fees in the 30 days to 2026-10-17 (DefiLlama) — a rough measure of how much it is actually used.
Best for: Non-US, non-UK, non-Canadian traders who want an open-source, order-book perps venue with volume-tiered fees.
dYdX fees
| Fee | Type | Rate | Applies to | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perps taker fee (Tier 1) | platform | 0.05% | Buy and sell | 5.0 bps; protocol fee set by governance |
| Perps maker fee (Tier 1) | platform | 0.01% | Buy and sell | 1.0 bps |
| Funding | protocol | — | Buy and sell | Paid between longs and shorts; not a platform fee. |
Fee tiers
| Tier | Rate | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 0.05% | < $1M 30d volume (taker; maker 0.01%) |
| Tier 2 | 0.045% | >= $1M 30d volume (taker; maker 0.01%) |
| Tier 3 | 0.04% | >= $5M 30d volume (taker; maker 0.005%) |
| Tier 4 | 0.035% | >= $25M 30d volume (taker; maker 0%) |
| Tier 5 | 0.03% | >= $50M 30d volume (taker; maker 0%) |
| Tier 6 | 0.025% | >= $100M 30d volume (taker; maker -0.007%) |
| Tier 7 | 0.025% | >= $200M 30d volume (taker; maker -0.011%) |
Perps: taker 0.05%, maker 0.01% — Tier 1. Staking discounts: Tier 1 gets 25% off with 3,000 staked DYDX or 50% off with 20,000; discounts apply only to net positive fees, not rebates. Docs also state traders currently receive 50% trading rebates after each trade (C factor set to 0 by governance).
Platform fees only. On-chain network/priority fees, pool (LP) fees and price impact are extra and vary by trade.
Is dYdX legit?
dYdX Chain is designed to be decentralized end to end; dYdX docs state none of the protocol, indexer or front-end components are run by dYdX Trading Inc.
Backers: Three Arrows Capital, DeFiance Capital (co-leads, Series B) ($10,000,000), 2021-01; Paradigm (lead, Series C); a16z and others ($65,000,000), 2021-06.
Incidents on record
- 2026-02-05: Compromised dYdX client packages on npm and PyPI. Malicious versions of @dydxprotocol/v4-client-js (npm) and dydx-v4-client (PyPI) were published after attackers took over a maintainer's publishing credentials; they contained wallet-stealer and remote-access malware. dYdX told affected users to isolate machines, move funds to a new wallet and rotate keys. GitHub-hosted versions were reported clean. Source
- 2023-11-17: YFI market manipulation drained ~$9M from v3 insurance fund. A targeted attack linked to YFI price manipulation on dYdX v3 cost the v3 insurance fund about $9 million. dYdX said no customer funds were impacted. Source
Where dYdX is available
| Region | Status |
|---|---|
| United States | Not available |
| United Kingdom | Not available |
| European Union | Unverified |
The dydx.trade Terms (last updated 12 March 2026) state the services are not available to persons who reside in, are citizens of, or are located or incorporated in the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada ('Blocked Persons'), nor to sanctioned jurisdictions. The EU is named only as a sanctions authority. Separately, The Block reported on Dec 11, 2025 that dYdX opened Solana spot trading to US traders, with perps still unavailable to US users; the current dydx.trade terms do not carve out that exception. The Terms also say the website is not aimed at or marketed to persons in the European Union, but they do not bar EU residents, so the EU stays unknown. (source)
We report what the venue's own terms say. Don't use a VPN to get around restrictions; venues can freeze accounts that do.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Protocol, indexer and front end are open source, and dYdX Trading Inc. does not run any of them.
- Tier 1 perps fees are 0.05% taker and 0.01% maker, falling to 0.025% taker with a maker rebate at the top tier.
- Staking 20,000 DYDX cuts Tier 1 net fees by 50%.
- Affiliates earn 30% to 50% of referred taker fees under the January 2026 structure.
Cons
- dydx.trade terms block US, UK and Canadian persons.
- Malicious dYdX client packages were published to npm and PyPI in February 2026.
- Fee schedule and staking discounts can be changed at any time by governance.
Features
perpsorder bookspotstaking discountsbuilder codesapiopen source
Alternatives to dYdX
Lighter
Non-US, non-UK retail perps traders who want zero trading fees and can accept slower taker execution than paid accounts.
0%Round trip
Paradex
Non-US traders who place orders manually through a web UI and want zero-fee perps plus options from one margin account.
0%Round trip
Ostium
Traders who want onchain leveraged exposure to stocks, forex, commodities and indices from a self-custodied wallet, outside the US.
0.06%Round trip
Aster
Non-US, non-UK traders who want zero maker fees on order-book perps, very high leverage modes, or privacy-shielded orders.
0.08%Round trip
Head to head
Where dYdX ranks
- #6 in Best perp DEXes for beginnersof 10
- #10 in Best perp DEXesof 10
- #10 in Lowest-fee perp DEXesof 10
Explainers related to dYdX
- What is the bid-ask spread? (and what it costs you)
- What is leverage in crypto trading? (margin, multiples and risk)
- What is a limit order in crypto? (limit vs market order)
- What is liquidation in crypto trading? (how leveraged positions get closed)
- What are perpetual futures (perps)? A trader's explainer
- What is a perpetual futures funding rate? (and how it affects your position)
- What is a stop-loss order in crypto? (and why it can fill below your stop)
dYdX FAQ
Is dYdX legit?
dYdX is a live, open-source perpetuals exchange on its own appchain. Past incidents include a ~$9M v3 insurance-fund loss from YFI manipulation in November 2023 and compromised npm/PyPI client packages in February 2026. Its terms block US, UK and Canadian persons.
What are dYdX trading fees?
At Tier 1 (under $1M 30-day volume) perps cost 0.05% taker and 0.01% maker. Fees fall with volume to 0.025% taker, and makers earn up to a 0.011% rebate at $200M+. Staked DYDX discounts net fees.
Can US users trade on dYdX?
The dydx.trade Terms, updated 12 March 2026, say the services are not available to US, UK or Canadian persons. The Block reported in December 2025 that dYdX opened Solana spot trading to US users, with perps still unavailable to them.
How do DYDX staking discounts work?
Bonded DYDX reduces net trading fees by tier. At Tier 1, 3,000 staked DYDX gives 25% off and 20,000 gives 50% off. Discounts do not apply to maker rebates, and unbonding tokens do not count.
Sources
Last checked . Fees and terms change often; the venue's own page wins if it disagrees with ours.
- dYdX Docs - Rewards, Fees and Parameters — checked 2026-10-16
- dYdX Docs index (architecture, builder codes, revenue share) — checked 2026-10-16
- dydx.trade Terms of Use (last updated 12 March 2026) — checked 2026-10-16
- dydx.xyz Terms (last updated 6 June 2025) — checked 2026-10-16
- The Block - Spot trading rollout opens dYdX to US-based traders for first time — checked 2026-10-16
- CoinStats/BeInCrypto - dYdX Affiliate Booster and upgraded commission structure — checked 2026-10-16
- The Hacker News - Compromised dYdX npm and PyPI packages — checked 2026-10-16
- The Block - dYdX publishes post-mortem on $9 million November attack — checked 2026-10-16
- The Block: dYdX closes $65M raise — checked 2026-10-16