The leading on-chain perpetuals exchange on Arbitrum and Avalanche with real yield for liquidity providers
Last updated: July 2026
GMX is the most battle-tested decentralized perpetuals exchange, having processed over $200 billion in cumulative trading volume since its launch on Arbitrum in 2021. It pioneered the GLP liquidity model — a multi-asset pool (GLP) that acts as the counterparty to all trades, with LPs earning 70% of protocol fees in ETH or AVAX directly. This real yield model, distinct from inflationary token emissions, attracted significant capital and drove GMX to peak TVL of over $700 million. Traders can open perpetual positions on BTC, ETH, AVAX, LINK, UNI, and other assets with up to 100x leverage directly from a self-custody wallet, paying a borrowing fee that accrues to LPs. GMX V2 introduced isolated pools (GM pools) for individual trading pairs, enabling faster listing of new assets and reducing systemic risk compared to the V1 shared GLP pool. The GMX token accrues 30% of protocol fees and governs protocol parameters through the GMX DAO. The on-chain settlement model means all trades are transparent and verifiable — there is no off-chain order matching, no counterparty credit risk, and no withdrawal limits. GMX has been audited by ABDK and Blowfish and has an active bug bounty through Immunefi. For DeFi traders who want leverage without a centralized exchange, GMX is the reference implementation.
GMX offers a free plan.
GMX
Free
| Feature | GMX |
|---|---|
| Max Leverage | 100x |
| Settlement Model | On-chain AMM |
| Oracle Type | Chainlink + fast price feeds |
| Funding Rates | ✓ |
| Cross Margin | ✗ |
| Isolated Margin | ✓ |
| Liquidity Provider Yield | ✓ |
| Governance Token | ✓ |
| Multi Chain | ✓ |
| Self Custody | ✓ |
Yes, GMX has a free plan.
GMX is used for the leading on-chain perpetuals exchange on arbitrum and avalanche with real yield for liquidity providers. It's primarily used by Web3 teams in the Perp DEXs category.
See our full alternatives comparison at web3tools.directory/alternatives/gmx.
GMX has a rating of 4.6/5 based on 2140 reviews. Key strength: Real yield for LPs in ETH/AVAX — not inflationary token emissions. Main limitation: GLP counterparty model means LPs lose when traders win — systemic correlation risk.