dYdX vs Backpack Exchange
Same lines, side by side: fees, leverage, markets, KYC, custody and referral perks, from official pages and DefiLlama.
| Line | dYdX | Backpack Exchange |
|---|---|---|
| 30-day volume | #P12 · $1,037.0MEdge | #P13 · Not tracked |
| Trading fees | 0.050% taker · 0.010% makerSeven tiers on 30-day trailing volume across all markets: 5.0/1.0 bps below $1M, 4.5/1.0 above $1M, 4.0/0.5 above $5M, 3.5/0 above $25M, 3.0/0 above $50M, 2.5/-0.7 above $100M and 2.5/-1.1 above $200M, so the largest makers are paid. Staking DYDX adds a further discount on net positive fees; maker rebates are excluded from that discount. | Tier table published as an imageBackpack documents one tier table covering spot and perpetual futures, sorted by 30-day volume, with tiers recalculated every hour and the effective tier driven by whichever is highest between BP staking, volume and pre-TGE Mad Lad NFT holdings. The table itself is published as a screenshot on guide.backpack.exchange, so the numbers cannot be read in text; the USDT/USDC pair is charged 0% and does not count toward tiers. |
| New-user perk | Referred users start at fee tier 3 instead of tier 1, worth up to $550 of fee savings | Fee rebates on referred accounts |
| Max leverage | up to 50× | up to 75×Edge |
| Perp markets | 78 | 103Edge |
| Identity check | No KYCEdge | KYC required |
| Custody | Non-custodial, wallet signature | Custodial: your balances sit on the exchange, wallet is a separate product |
| Settles on | dYdX Chain (Cosmos app-chain) | Backpack Exchange (centralised matching) |
| Collateral | USDC | USDC, USDT |
| Where it runs | Web | Web, iOS, Android |
| Chains | EVM · NobleEthereum, Noble | Solana · EVM · Bitcoin · SuiSolana, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, Avalanche, Bitcoin, SuiEdge |
| Documented features | 4 of 10 | 7 of 10Edge |
| Order book | Yes | Yes |
| Cross margin | Yes | Yes |
| Spot trading | Not documented | Yes |
| Vaults / copy vaults | Yes | Not documented |
| Copy trading | Not documented | Not documented |
| Stocks, gold or forex | No | Yes |
| Points program | No | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Not documented | Yes |
| Telegram bot | Not documented | Not documented |
Which one should you pick?
Pick dYdX if
You publish content about perps: the 30% to 50% taker-fee share with instant USDC payouts is the best economics here.
The most generous affiliate programme of the series, and the clearest case of a venue that lost the volume war: 78 active markets and $1.04B of 30-day volume, against $204B for Hyperliquid. The order book, the fee ladder and the payout mechanics are fully documented.
dydx.trade
Pick Backpack Exchange if
You want a CEX-style experience with unified portfolio margin, stocks next to perps, and a referral that pays in cash.
The only centralised venue of the series, and the only one where you give up custody: accounts are KYC-verified, balances sit on the exchange and the 10% referral rebate is paid on trading fees rather than points. Backpack also lists US stocks and ETFs next to 103 perpetual markets.
backpack.exchange
