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

CoinW Research Institute

summary

Stock perpetual contracts are gradually becoming one of the most promising growth areas in the on-chain derivatives market. These products combine the price fluctuations of traditional stocks (represented by US stocks) with the mature funding rates, margin requirements, and liquidation mechanisms of perpetual contracts, allowing users to obtain synthetic risk exposure close to stock prices without actually holding the stocks or being restricted by traditional trading hours. With the continuous improvement of oracle design, index pricing methods, and on-chain liquidity infrastructure, stock perpetual contracts have moved from the conceptual stage to practical implementation, and have first achieved large-scale trading on leading DEXs like Perp.

The emergence of perpetual stocks is not accidental, but rather built upon a clear structural context. On the one hand, the global stock market itself possesses an extremely large asset base; as of early 2026, the total market capitalization of listed stocks worldwide approached $160 trillion, with more than half coming from non-US markets. On the other hand, the perpetual contract trading structure has been fully validated in the crypto market, with the global annual trading volume of crypto perpetual contracts reaching $61.7 trillion in 2025, significantly higher than spot trading volume. This provides a mature trading paradigm and practical reference for the "perpetualization" of traditional assets.

In terms of practical implementation, perpetual stock contracts are advancing along both DEX and CEX routes. Leading Perp DEXs, such as Hyperliquid, Aster, and Lighter, have already launched native on-chain perpetual stock contracts, achieving 24/7 trading and on-chain settlement through oracles or internal pricing mechanisms, offering significant advantages in transparency and composability. Meanwhile, some centralized exchanges (such as Bitget) have also 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 very close to perpetual stock contracts, but they are still limited by 24/7 trading and centralized clearing architectures.

From a broader perspective, perpetual stocks reflect the accelerated integration of real-world assets (RWA) and on-chain derivatives systems, driving the crypto trading market from a focus on native crypto assets towards a "full asset perpetualization" trading paradigm. In this process, Perp DEX is expected to evolve into a comprehensive trading platform with broader asset coverage and stronger global reach; while mainstream CEXs, constrained by licensing requirements and increasingly stringent securities regulatory frameworks, will find it difficult to launch such products on a large scale in the foreseeable future. This objectively further strengthens Perp DEX's first-mover advantage in the perpetual stock market.

Currently, the biggest uncertainty facing perpetual equity contracts remains regulatory. While there are no clear global regulations for perpetual equity contracts, regulators generally maintain a cautious approach to on-chain products highly correlated with stock prices, often preferring to categorize them as securities derivatives or contracts for difference (CFDs). Even though perpetual equity contracts do not involve stock custody or actual equity delivery, the potential compliance risks remain significant due to their anchoring to traditional securities assets. Future regulatory focus will likely shift towards front-end operating entities, price indices and oracle data sources, and centralized processes related to payment or technology services, while simultaneously strengthening requirements for KYC, leverage limits, geographical restrictions, and risk disclosure.

Perpetual equity is at a critical juncture, characterized by rapid expansion and regulatory uncertainty. On one hand, it opens up potential growth space for the on-chain derivatives market, built upon a pool of trillions of dollars in equity assets. On the other hand, its long-term development still depends on achieving a balance between product innovation efficiency, risk control capabilities, and compliance pathways. Protocols and platforms that first achieve this balance are more likely to occupy a central position in the future global on-chain and quasi-on-chain trading system.

This article will systematically analyze the underlying operating mechanism and product structure of perpetual stock contracts, focusing on price formation mechanism (oracle design), synthetic asset construction method, clearing and risk control system, funding rate and leverage model. It will also combine representative leading projects to conduct in-depth analysis and outlook on the current market pattern, potential risks and future development trends.

Table of contents

summary

1. What is a perpetual stock contract?

2. Growth Drivers and Research Value

3. The underlying mechanism of perpetual stock contracts

• 3.1 Price Source (Oracle)
• 3.2 Synthetic Asset Casting
• 3.3 Liquidation Mechanism
• 3.4 Leverage Mechanism

4. Market Structure

• 4.1 Hyperliquid's stock is perpetual
• 4.2 Aster: Simple vs. Pro Mode
• 4.3 Lighter's stock is perpetual
• 4.4 Apex stock perpetual
• 4.5 Multi-entry integration is expanding the boundaries of stock market traffic.
• 4.6 Perpetual Stocks on Top CEXs
• 4.7 Comparative Analysis of Market Structure
• 4.8 The on-chaining of traditional financial infrastructure may reshape the long-term logic of stock perpetuity.

5. Risks and Regulation

• 5.1 Current Regulatory Status and Potential Compliance Risks
• 5.2 Other potential risks

6. Trends and Outlook

• 6.1 Market Size and Potential of Stock Perpetual
• 6.2 Trends and Outlook

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