GMX vs dYdX
Same lines, side by side: fees, leverage, markets, KYC, custody and referral perks, from official pages and DefiLlama.
See the 14 differences
| Line | GMX | dYdX |
|---|---|---|
| 30-day volume | Edge#07 · $22,518.0M | #12 · $1,037.0M |
| Trading fees | Edge0.04% to 0.06% per open or closeThere is no maker/taker split: the position fee is 0.04% when your trade reduces the imbalance between long and short open interest and 0.06% when it increases it, charged on open, close, increase and decrease. TradFi markets have their own rates (GOLD, SILVER and oil trade at 0.01%/0.02% during on-hours). Price impact, hourly borrow fees and swaps are billed on top. | 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. |
| New-user perk | 5% or 10% off opening and closing fees depending on the tier of the code you use | Referred users start at fee tier 3 instead of tier 1, worth up to $550 of fee savings |
| Max leverage | Edgeup to 100× | up to 50× |
| Perp markets | Edge132 | 78 |
| Identity check (KYC) | No KYC | No KYC |
| Custody | Non-custodial, wallet only | Non-custodial, wallet signature |
| Settles on | Arbitrum (GMX V2 contracts) | dYdX Chain (Cosmos app-chain) |
| Collateral | USDC, USDT, WETH | USDC |
| Where it runs | Web | Web |
| Chains | EdgeEVMArbitrum, Avalanche, MegaETH, Ethereum, Base, BNB Chain | EVM · NobleEthereum, Noble |
| Documented features | 4 of 10 | Edge7 of 10 |
| Order book | No | Yes |
| Cross margin | Not documented | Yes |
| Spot trading | Yes | Yes |
| Vaults / copy vaults | Yes | Yes |
| Copy trading | Not documented | Not documented |
| Stocks, gold or forex | Yes | No |
| Points program | No | No |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Not documented | Yes |
| Telegram bot | Not documented | Yes |
Which one should you pick?
Pick GMX if
You want oracle pricing with no spread hunting, on Arbitrum, and you trade the lighter side of the market.
GMX prices trades against pooled liquidity and Chainlink oracles rather than a book, so its cost structure looks like a swap: an open/close fee that varies with the balance of open interest, plus borrow and price impact. It is the cheapest venue in the series for a trader who systematically takes the lighter side.
Read the GMX reviewSign up through this link: 5% or 10% off opening and closing fees depending on the tier of the code you use.
Affiliate link
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.
Read the dYdX reviewSign up through this link: Referred users start at fee tier 3 instead of tier 1, worth up to $550 of fee savings.
Affiliate link
