dYdX 2025 Annual Report: Transition from Volatility Cycles to Institutional-Grade Liquidity

Core Insights - By 2025, decentralized derivatives have become a significant segment of DeFi, with dYdX emerging as a leading platform, achieving over $1.5 trillion in cumulative trading volume and evolving into a comprehensive market infrastructure layer [1][2] Market Performance - The year 2025 marks the transition of DeFi from an experimental phase to one of sustainable institutional participation, as highlighted in the dYdX 2025 Annual Ecosystem Report [2] - On-chain perpetual volumes are nearing the $10 trillion mark globally, indicating a maturation of the decentralized finance landscape [3] - dYdX experienced a U-shaped recovery in trading volume, with a notable surge in Q4 2025 to $34.3 billion, following a dip to $16 billion in Q2 [4] Key Developments - The rebound in trading volume was attributed to the launch of the community-led Market Mapper and Fee Holidays, which enhanced liquidity in flagship trading pairs [5] - dYdX introduced a revamped tokenomics model, scaling its DYDX Buyback Program, which is managed by the Treasury SubDAO [5][6] - Protocol revenue reached $64.7 million since the launch of dYdX v4, with $48 million in rewards distributed for staking security [6] User Engagement - The total number of markets expanded to 386, reflecting a 200% increase in asset availability [6] - There was an 85% year-over-year increase in DYDX holders, totaling over 98,100 unique addresses [6] Governance and Community Initiatives - Through governance-led upgrades, the community voted to allocate 75% of net protocol revenue towards the systematic repurchase of DYDX tokens, which are staked to enhance network decentralization and security [7]