Delphi Digital published an outlook arguing that perpetual decentralized exchanges (Perp DEXs) are on a path to supplant traditional banking functions by 2026. The report links rapid market share gains, technological design choices and new product bundling—lending, custody and exchange services—into a single on‑chain venue.
The report describes Perp DEXs evolving into “on‑chain financial megacities” where brokerage, clearing, custody and lending consolidate inside smart contracts. Delphi highlights Hyperliquid as a case study: the platform moved aggressively into native lending and an EVM‑compatible L1 with a CLOB model to deliver sub‑second execution and sub‑cent fees.
Delphi noted Hyperliquid recorded outsized volume growth—a 25,3x increase in 2024—and commanded a dominant share of perp DEX trading into 2025.
Those performance gains translated into market metrics: Perp DEX market share rose from 2,1% in 2023 to 11,7% by 025, and total perp DEX trading volume tripled in 2025 to roughly $1,5 trillion from $647,6 billion in 2024, according to the report.
Delphi framed these moves as structural efficiency: collapsing fragmented TradFi layers into a single smart contract reduces operational overhead and latency, which matters for high‑frequency and institutional flow.
Why Delphi sees Perp DEXs as integrated financial platforms
Delphi balances the bullish mechanics with concrete risks. Delivering sub‑second, cheap execution often requires architectural trade‑offs—smaller validator sets or centralized components—that increase counterparty and operational concentration. The report flagged high OI/TVL ratios at several emerging platforms (Variational, Lighter, Hyperliquid) as signal‑level risk for cascade liquidations during stress.
Regulatory arbitrage has helped cost comparisons so far, but Delphi cautions that advantage may compress as rules and bank integrations advance. The firm also expects AI agents and autonomous execution to accelerate on‑chain activity in 2026, which raises governance and circuit‑breaker questions for risk managers.
Delphi also situates the disruption inside a possible convergence: large banks are experimenting with custody and tokenized deposits, and tokenized bank deposits were cited as a potential $100‑140 trillion annual flow by 2030.
For market participants the immediate implications are tactical. Liquidity and fee advantages on Perp DEXs create short‑term trading opportunities and lower hedging costs, but they come with concentrated protocol risk and evolving regulatory exposure.
Investors and trading desks will be watching on‑chain volumes, OI/TVL trends and regulatory signals through 2026 as practical tests of Delphi’s thesis; the pace at which lending, payments and tokenized deposits integrate on‑chain will determine whether these platforms become true “all‑in‑one” financial venues or remain complementary infrastructure to TradFi.
