Stock Perpetual Contracts: The New Battleground and Competitive Landscape for Perp DEX

CoinW Research

Abstract

Stock perpetual contracts are gradually becoming one of the most promising growth directions in the on-chain derivatives market. This type of product combines the price volatility of traditional stocks (represented by US stocks) with the mature funding rate, margin, and liquidation mechanisms of perpetual contracts. It allows users to gain synthetic exposure approximating stock prices without actually holding the stocks or being restricted by traditional trading hours. With continuous improvements in oracle design, index pricing methods, and on-chain liquidity infrastructure, stock perps have moved from the conceptual stage to practical implementation, achieving scaled trading first on leading Perp DEXs.

The emergence of stock perps is not accidental but is built upon clear structural foundations. On one hand, the global stock market itself possesses an enormous asset base, with the total market capitalization of listed global stocks approaching $160 trillion by early 2026, over half of which comes from non-US markets. On the other hand, the perpetual contract trading structure has been thoroughly validated in the crypto market, with global crypto perpetual contract annual trading volume reaching $61.7 trillion in 2025, significantly higher than spot trading volume. This provides a mature trading paradigm and real-world reference for the "perpetualization" of traditional assets.

In terms of specific implementation paths, stock perps are advancing along both DEX and CEX routes. Leading Perp DEXs represented by Hyperliquid, Aster, and Lighter have pioneered native on-chain stock perpetual contracts, enabling 7×24 hour trading and on-chain liquidation through oracles or internal pricing mechanisms, offering clear advantages in transparency and composability. Simultaneously, some centralized exchanges (like Bitget) have begun launching Stock Futures products based on tokenized stock indices, introducing perpetual structures, funding rates, and margin mechanisms within centralized systems. Their trading experience is functionally highly similar to stock perps but remains limited by 5×24 hour trading schedules and centralized clearing architecture.

From a broader perspective, stock perps reflect the accelerating integration of real-world assets (RWA) with the on-chain derivatives system, pushing the crypto trading market from a crypto-native asset core towards a "full-asset perpetualization" trading paradigm. In this process, Perp DEXs are expected to evolve into comprehensive trading gateways covering a wider range of asset types with stronger global attributes. Meanwhile, mainstream CEXs, constrained by licensing requirements and increasingly stringent securities regulatory frameworks, will likely find it difficult to launch such products on a large scale in the foreseeable future, which objectively further strengthens the first-mover advantage of Perp DEXs in the stock perp track.

Currently, the greatest uncertainty facing stock perps still comes from the regulatory level. Although no clear global regulatory rules specifically for stock perpetual contracts have been established, regulators generally maintain a cautious attitude towards on-chain products highly correlated with stock prices, often tending to classify them under regulatory categories like securities derivatives or Contracts for Difference (CFDs). Even though stock perps do not involve stock custody or real equity delivery, their underlying reference being traditional securities assets means potential compliance risks cannot be ignored. Future regulatory focus may increasingly target front-end operating entities, price indices and oracle data sources, and centralized links related to payment or technical services, while simultaneously strengthening requirements for KYC, leverage caps, geographical restrictions, and risk disclosure.

Stock perps are at a critical stage characterized by rapid expansion coexisting with regulatory uncertainty. On one hand, they open up a potential growth space for the on-chain derivatives market built upon a tens-of-trillions-of-dollars stock asset pool. On the other hand, their long-term development still depends on achieving a balance between product innovation efficiency, risk control capability, and compliance pathways. Protocols and platforms that achieve this balance first are more likely to occupy a central position in the future globalized on-chain and quasi-on-chain trading system.

This report will systematically analyze the underlying operational mechanisms and product structure of stock perpetual contracts, focusing on price formation mechanisms (oracle design), synthetic asset construction methods, liquidation and risk control systems, funding rates and leverage models. Combined with representative leading projects, it will provide in-depth analysis and outlook on the current market landscape, potential risks, and future development trends.

Table of Contents

Abstract

1. What are Stock Perpetual Contracts?

2. Growth Drivers and Research Value

3. Underlying Mechanisms of Stock Perpetual Contracts

3.1 Price Source (Oracle)

3.2 Synthetic Asset Minting

3.3 Liquidation Mechanism

3.4 Leverage Mechanism

4. Market Landscape

4.1 Hyperliquid's Stock Perpetuals

4.2 Aster: Simple vs. Pro Modes

4.3 Lighter's Stock Perpetuals

4.4 ApeX's Stock Perpetuals

4.5 Multi-Entry Integration is Expanding the Traffic Boundaries of Stock Perpetuals

4.6 Stock Perpetuals on Leading CEXs

4.7 Comparative Analysis of Market Landscape

4.8 On-Chain Migration of Traditional Financial Infrastructure May Reshape the Long-Term Logic of Stock Perpetuals

5. Risks and Regulation

5.1 Regulatory Status and Potential Compliance Risks

5.2 Other Potential Risks

6. Trends and Outlook

6.1 Market Size and Potential Space for Stock Perpetuals

6.2 Trends and Outlook

References

1. What are Stock Perpetual Contracts?

The "stock perpetual contracts" emerging on-chain are essentially synthetic derivatives that track the price fluctuations of US stocks. They allow users to trade the trends of stocks like Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia 24/7, but you do not actually own shares in these companies, have no dividend or voting rights, and will not appear on shareholder registries. They are more like "bets on US stock price indices" rather than the stocks themselves. Their prices are synchronized with US stock market data via oracles. You can go long or short and use leverage. However, the biggest difference between you and a traditional stock investor is that you do not hold any stocks; you are only trading price volatility.

To better understand stock perpetual contracts, we need to distinguish them from RWA stock tokens. RWA stock tokens are tokenized products where a custodian institution actually holds the corresponding stocks in the real world and issues anchored assets on-chain, representing real equity relationships, including dividends, voting rights, and even regulatory securities attributes. In contrast, stock perpetual contracts correspond to no real holdings and confer no rights; their sole purpose is to allow users to participate in US stock price volatility on-chain more conveniently and directly. Therefore, in terms of use case, compliance framework, and risk profile, they operate in completely different arenas.

The positioning of stock perpetual contracts is very clear: they are not "US stocks on-chain," but rather "US stock market data trading tools on-chain." For users hoping to participate in the US stock market globally with lower barriers and higher efficiency, this type of product offers a new entry point. For DeFi protocols, it also represents the potential trend of further on-chain migration of traditional financial derivatives.

2. Growth Drivers and Research Value

Stock perps have become one of the most noteworthy new tracks in 2025 because they are at an acceleration window where narrative, demand, and technology curves are all pointing upwards simultaneously. Over the past two years, competition among Perp DEXs has driven BTC, ETH, major tokens, and even MEME perpetuals to a state of high homogeneity. The market urgently needs a new asset class that can truly differentiate. "Stock perps" have surfaced at this precise moment, becoming one of the few categories that are both novel and have clear incremental demand.

Their rise stems first from genuine user-side demand. Global users have long wanted to trade US stocks conveniently, but traditional financial channels have high barriers: cumbersome account opening, troublesome cross-border fund flows, lengthy regulatory processes, and US stock trading itself is long restricted to fixed trading hours. These experiences are incompatible with crypto users' habits of "going long or short anytime, settling with stablecoins." On-chain stock perpetual contracts thus provide a risk trading path different from the traditional securities system. During US stock market closures, contract prices are no longer anchored to real spot transactions. However, given external price references (such as related futures, indices, or synthetic prices) and basic liquidity, they may still fluctuate based on global traders' supply-demand dynamics and market expectations. Meanwhile, mechanisms like funding rates and mark prices continue to operate, causing prices to converge over the long term towards the market's consensus pricing for that stock's risk exposure. Whether new positions can be opened during market closures is not determined by whether US markets are open, but more by the platform's own risk control design. In reality, platforms often balance pricing continuity and risk control by restricting leverage, position size, or only opening partial trading permissions. At the trading level, this type of product breaks through fixed trading hour restrictions, enabling users to manage and hedge exposure to US stock assets in an approximately 24/7 manner. Users only need stablecoins to go long or short on US stock targets like TSLA or NVDA anytime, without KYC or brokerage accounts, significantly lowering the trading barrier. For many crypto users, this is the first time they can continuously participate in and price US stock-related risks without relying on the traditional financial system, releasing long-suppressed demand.

Of course, existing demand alone is not enough for a new category to explode spontaneously; supply-side maturity is equally crucial. The industry environment in 2025 has precisely filled these conditions. On the narrative front, RWA policy space has begun to loosen, and on-chain products linked to real-world assets have gradually shifted from "sensitive" to "discussable." On the technology front, oracle costs have decreased and accuracy improved, allowing protocols to more easily track real-time prices of US stocks like AAPL and TSLA. On the infrastructure front, the proliferation of high-performance chains (Solana, BNB Chain, Hyperliquid's proprietary chain) has upgraded the on-chain trading experience from "usable" to "smooth, approaching CEX." The simultaneous maturation of both supply and demand sides has made stock perps a differentiated breakthrough point for Perp DEXs.

More importantly, this track simultaneously aligns with the two strongest narrative themes of 2025: RWA × On-Chain Derivatives. RWA has made the market reconsider how real-world assets move on-chain; on-chain derivatives are the fastest-growing segment in trading volume in 2025. Stock perps sit at the intersection of these two narratives: possessing the intuitive appeal of "on-chain US stock trading" while also having the attributes of perpetual contracts like high frequency, leverage, and long/short capabilities, naturally becoming a focal point for institutions, retail investors, and protocols alike.

In terms of practical implementation maturity, stock perpetual contracts are not merely conceptual. Represented by platforms like Aster, Hyperliquid (Trade.xyz), Lighter, and ApeX, these leading Perp DEXs have pioneered listings of mainstream US stock targets like AAPL, TSLA, and NVDA, and have validated in actual trading this product type's ability to drive user activity and trading volume. Relevant cases show that stock perps are not merely narrative innovation but a derivative form already capable of scaled trading and functioning in real markets.

Finally, their regulatory positioning also makes this track more valuable for research. Stock perps do not correspond to real stock rights but closely follow US stock prices, inevitably sparking discussions about "whether they constitute unregistered securities derivatives." How protocols design sustainable synthetic asset models within regulatory frameworks, avoid securities attributes, and explain risk exposure may become hot topics on par with USDT and RWA in the coming year.

In summary, stock perpetual contracts are at the intersection of strong narrative, strong demand, mature technology, and discussable regulation, making them one of the most imaginative and worthy of in-depth research tracks in on-chain finance for 2026.

3. Underlying Mechanisms of Stock Perpetual Contracts

Understanding how stock perpetual contracts operate on-chain requires several core modules: price source (oracle), synthetic asset minting and pairing logic, liquidation mechanism, leverage, and risk control.

3.1 Price Source (Oracle)

For stock perpetual contracts, the Oracle is like its "eyes," responsible for bringing real-world US stock prices on-chain. Since protocols cannot directly access Nasdaq or the NYSE, Oracle quality almost determines the entire product's safety: prices must be real, updates fast enough, resistant to manipulation, and consistent with real-world trading rules (e.g., trading halts, market hours). Therefore, stock perps have more stringent Oracle requirements than traditional crypto perps.

3.1.1 Common Oracle Solutions

Current industry solutions include Pyth Network, Switchboard, Chainlink, etc., and a very few protocols' proprietary oracles. They address the challenge of "how to securely see US stock prices on-chain" from different angles. Taking Pyth as an example, it directly partners with numerous market makers, exchanges, and financial institutions, who publish their primary market data directly on-chain. Prices are not scraped secondary data from public websites but come from professional quotes in real trading environments, aggregated and verified by multiple institutions, making them less susceptible to single-point manipulation. More importantly, Pyth synchronizes with real-world trading hours; it does not push "fictional quotes" after US market close. Protocols can accordingly enable stricter overnight risk rules, such as increasing margin requirements or restricting new positions, aligning on-chain processes as closely as possible with real markets.

Switchboard offers another approach: giving protocols a "customizable quote system." Protocol operators can flexibly set price sources, aggregation methods, update frequencies, and even switch strategies based on different time periods, e.g., using high-frequency updates during the day and low-frequency or TWAP at night to match US market structure. For platforms wanting to incorporate "trading halt logic," "extreme market filtering," or "event-triggered updates," this highly programmable Oracle provides finer-grained control.

Chainlink represents a more robust Oracle path. Its price feeds typically come from multiple trusted data providers and trading infrastructure, aggregated and weighted through a decentralized node network, emphasizing anti-manipulation, continuity, and verifiability. In the stock perp scenario, Chainlink is often used for mark prices, settlement prices, or risk control reference prices, rather than for high-frequency matching pricing itself. Even during US market closures, Chainlink does not simply generate fictional transaction prices but transmits price signals more oriented towards "risk anchoring" based on verifiable reference sources and update rules, helping the system maintain stable operation of liquidation and margin mechanisms. Chainlink is currently applied in the oracle solutions of some on-chain stock perpetual contracts, such as BitMEX's Equity Perps. Chainlink's Price Feeds and Data Streams provide crucial pricing inputs for on-chain derivatives but are also used in conjunction with other oracles (like Pyth) within the industry.

In the stock perp track, few protocols choose to develop proprietary pricing and Oracle systems, with Hyperliquid being the most representative case. Its approach is not simply calling a third-party Oracle but involves integrating multi-source external market data, combining its own matching and liquidity data to build price indices and risk judgment systems off-chain, and pushing the multi-verified results on-chain as the core basis for mark price, liquidation triggers, and funding rate calculations. This highly integrated design allows the platform to handle price delays, extreme market conditions, trading halts, or abnormal volatility more finely and maintain higher controllability over liquidation logic and risk filtering models. However, proprietary oracles also mean higher system complexity and operational costs. The protocol must bear responsibility for market data quality, system stability, and security maintenance, while also facing higher compliance and liability boundary requirements when anchoring traditional stock prices. Therefore, this path sets a higher threshold for technical capability, financial strength, and risk control experience. Currently, only a few leading protocols like Hyperliquid possess the ability to implement and continuously optimize this model long-term.

3.1.2 Core Problems Solved by Oracles

Despite different Oracle sources, they ultimately strive to solve the same core risk categories. First is "data manipulation," especially since US stock prices are highly liquid assets; if on-chain prices significantly deviate from real markets, it could trigger widespread liquidations. Multi-source aggregation, outlier filtering, signature verification, and other mechanisms make prices more robust, less likely to be manipulated by a single point. Second is "latency and update frequency." Stock perps often involve high leverage and real-time liquidation, requiring sub-second price pushes; solutions like Pyth emphasizing high-frequency updates largely address this pain point, while Switchboard and proprietary oracles ensure the latest quotes at critical moments through event-triggered mechanisms.

US market closures, after-hours trading, and trading halt handling present another unique challenge. Real-world stocks trade only during limited hours daily, while on-chain operates 24/7. To avoid "artificially generated" false prices after US market close, mainstream oracles constrain data quality through market hour identification. For example, Pyth attaches real-time market open/close flags to each price feed, allowing protocols to automatically switch to more conservative, lower-volatility parameters during closures. Switchboard allows platforms to set custom time logic, actively reducing weight or limiting price update frequency when after-hours trading volume is extremely low. Thus, when real markets lack genuine transactions, on-chain systems won't trigger liquidation risks due to sporadic quotes or malicious updates.

The situation is more sensitive with halted stocks. A halt means the price is completely frozen in the real market; any on-chain inferred price movement could be distorted or manipulated. Therefore, most trading protocols immediately suspend new positions or switch the price mechanism to a more robust TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price) mode upon receiving a "halt status" from the oracle, ensuring liquidation isn't triggered by a single anomalous data point. More importantly, these mechanisms ensure users can continue trading even during US market closures, but the risk system automatically enters "night protection mode": price updates become more cautious, liquidation thresholds slightly raised, funding rate buffers widened. This design preserves the 24/7 advantage of Web3 trading without detaching from real-market anchors.

Extreme market events (like CPI releases, earnings flash crashes) also test Oracle stability. Mainstream solutions commonly employ cross-source verification, TWAP buffering, and price deviation protection to prevent "flash crash prices" from directly passing to on-chain prices. Thanks to these designs, stock perp oracles can now achieve high speed and low latency while maintaining controllable risk, making on-chain tracking of real-world prices possible.

The reason oracles have become a key underlying force driving the 2025 explosion of stock perps is that the industry has finally built a market data infrastructure that "