Costs, licensing, consumer protection Privacy, self-custody, censorship resistance

dYdX

dYdX

4.2/5 3.6/5 · Data verified on

dYdX offers over 220 perpetual markets with competitive fees (0.02%/0.05%) on a decentralised Cosmos PoS chain. Its main drawbacks are liquidation risk on derivatives and a less user-friendly experience than centralised exchanges, compounded by the complexity of the Cosmos chain.

61
Transparency: Medium
61/100 · see methodology
61
Data exposure: Medium
61/100 · lower is better for sovereignty · methodology

Data & conditions

Liquidity model CLOB
Maker / Taker fee 0.01% / 0.05%
Markets Spot + Perp
Supported chains dYdX Chain (Cosmos SDK)
TVL (as of Jun 13) $327M
24h volume $4.5B
Native token DYDX
Fund custody Non-custodial (funds in your wallet)
Supported wallets MetaMask, Keplr, Phantom, Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect, Privy, Ledger, Trust Wallet
Audits Informal Systems (audit completo dYdX Chain v4, zero issue critiche), Peckshield (token bridge e contratti di governance)
Governance DAO + DYDX token (Cosmos SDK governance)
KYC Full
Supported countries US, EEA, APAC, LATAM, MENA, AFRICA · 200+ countries
Regulator None
Segment B2C
MiCA / License status None (decentralized protocol) DEX Cosmos

Strengths

  • 220+ markets perp; fee 0,02%/0,05% competitive; Cosmos PoS decentralized.
  • Self-custody: funds stay in your wallet — the platform cannot touch them.
  • Permissionless and decentralized: no approval needed to operate.
  • Public security audits.

Weaknesses

  • Liquidation risk; less user-friendly vs CEX.
  • Full KYC required: verified identity, zero pseudonymity.
  • Subject to regulation (DEX Cosmos): reporting to authorities and freezes on order.

Verdict

A B ★ 4.2/5 ★ 3.6/5

For the mainstream user the score reflects the absence of any protection: no regulator, no guarantees, self-held keys and derivatives liquidation risk fully on the trader. The experience is also less immediate than a centralised exchange, owing to the Cosmos chain's complexity. The grade stays high for robustness, but this is not a tool built for those seeking protection.

Here dYdX is worth a lot: over 220 perpetual markets on its own decentralised Cosmos PoS chain, a CLOB order book and on-chain settlement, with competitive fees (0.02% maker, 0.05% taker) and no KYC at the protocol level. Genuine decentralisation, fund control and censorship resistance make it a benchmark for sovereign derivatives trading; the Cosmos learning curve is the only real friction.

Privacy & anonymity 30% 2.3
Fund control 20% 5.0
Censorship resistance 20% 3.3
Trustless / auditability 20% 4.2
Costs 10% 4.5

Promp's editorial rating based on real fees and net annual cost. Promp reviews third-party products independently.

"Sovereignty" rating: score computed on privacy/anonymity (30%), fund control (20%), censorship resistance (20%), trustless/auditability (20%) and costs (10%). Same data, different weights.

FAQ

Is dYdX truly decentralized?

dYdX is a non-custodial decentralized exchange: funds stay in your wallet. Liquidity model: CLOB. Governance token: DYDX.

Which blockchains does dYdX support?

dYdX is available on dYdX Chain (Cosmos SDK).

What is dYdX's TVL?

dYdX's Total Value Locked is about $327M (snapshot 2026-06-13). The figure is dynamic: check the live value on DefiLlama.

What are dYdX's fees?

dYdX's trading fees range 0.01% – 0.05%. On top of these there are on-chain gas fees, which vary with network congestion.

Does dYdX support perpetuals and leverage?

dYdX offers perpetual contracts, with up to 100x leverage. It supports spot token swaps.

Sources

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Update history

✓ Terms unchanged since Jun 1, 2026

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