Perp DEX Protocol Updates & Reviews
Curated research tracking Hyperliquid, GMX, dYdX, Level Finance, and developments that materially affect perpetual-market users.
We select updates for their effect on execution, costs, liquidity, solvency, or user access—not for the volume of social engagement around them. Relevant items include primary announcements of fee or funding changes, new collateral and market parameters, chain or matching-engine upgrades, governance decisions, oracle and liquidation changes, security disclosures, insurance-fund events, and credible market-structure research. Routine token-price commentary and unsupported rumors are excluded. Preference goes to protocol documentation, governance forums, incident reports, and other sources readers can inspect directly. Every feed card links to its source; our analyst note explains why the development may change a comparison or risk assessment without reproducing the source article. We weigh significance by likely user impact: a changed maintenance margin or withdrawal restriction matters more than a cosmetic interface release. Venue coverage reflects the protocols in our maintained perp reviews, while ecosystem-wide infrastructure news is included when it affects their traders or liquidity providers. The feed is a research filter, not a real-time trading signal, and readers should verify current contract, market, and fee parameters before opening a position.
Latest perp DEX updates
Level is the most-considered BNB Chain perp DEX and the only major perp with explicit tranched LP risk tiers. The 2023 referral exploit is on its record and affects how to evaluate its trust history.
Valid pick for BNB Chain native users and for LPs wanting explicit risk-tier choice (Senior tranche = the conservative pool-perp yield option). Read our full Level Finance review before depositing.
Primary source for tracking changes to Level's tranche economics and fee splits — both materially affect LP and trader returns and aren't surfaced cleanly anywhere else.
Worth monitoring monthly if you're an LP in any LLP tranche. Trader-side changes are less frequent but tranche-rebalance proposals can shift Senior-tranche yield meaningfully.
Hyperliquid's combination of -0.01% maker rebate and a fully on-chain orderbook is structurally distinct from every other perp DEX. Understanding the actual mechanics matters for evaluating why fills are CEX-grade.
Currently our top default pick for active perp traders in the Hyperliquid vs GMX vs dYdX comparison. The HLP vault is more aggressive than GMX GM pools — higher variance but a market-making role rather than passive counterparty.
GMX V2's per-asset isolated pools materially change the LP risk profile vs V1 GLP. Anyone considering providing liquidity needs to understand the isolation model before depositing.
For traders, zero slippage on large size remains GMX's defining advantage in the Hyperliquid vs GMX vs dYdX comparison. For LPs, GM pools are the most-considered passive perp-LP exposure in 2026.
dYdX v4 moved off StarkEx onto its own Cosmos chain — a fundamentally different trust model from v3. Users carrying assumptions from v3 need to update them before evaluating dYdX against Hyperliquid or GMX in 2026.
Still the most conservative pick for BTC/ETH/SOL perps — longest exploit-free track record. The sovereign-chain model is less battle-tested than Ethereum L2 but the orderbook itself is institutional-grade.