Perpetual Protocol is a decentralized exchange (DEX) designed specifically for trading perpetual futures contracts. Initially launched on the Ethereum scaling solution xDai for its V1, the protocol has now migrated its V2 to Optimism, an Ethereum Layer-2 rollup. The platform aims to become the most secure, accessible, and decentralized derivatives trading venue, embracing the ethos of “DeFi money legos.” It also plans to expand to additional EVM-compatible blockchains in the near future.
Core Innovation: Virtual Automated Market Maker (vAMM)
The key differentiator of Perpetual Protocol is its virtual Automated Market Maker (vAMM). Unlike traditional AMMs, the vAMM provides on-chain liquidity through a constant product curve that offers predictable pricing. This design is market-neutral and fully collateralized, ensuring that traders can go long or short without impermanent loss concerns for liquidity providers. In V2, the protocol integrates with Uniswap V3, allowing liquidity providers to concentrate their capital along specific price ranges, thereby improving capital efficiency and enabling more dynamic fee structures.
Trading Features and Fee Structure
Users on Perpetual Protocol can trade a wide range of assets with leverage up to 10x, supporting both long and short positions. The exchange is non-custodial, meaning traders retain full control of their assets and execute trades directly from their wallets. The fee structure is straightforward: a 0.10% maker and taker fee, settled in ETH and stablecoins such as DAI and USDC. The platform has already launched staking pools, limit orders, and stop-loss orders, and plans to introduce leveraged tokens and dynamic liquidity pools to further enhance trade execution.
Team, Funding, and Launch History
Perpetual Protocol was founded by Yenfen Weng and Shao-Kang Lee, two crypto entrepreneurs based in Taiwan. Prior to this venture, they founded accounting firms serving crypto startups. The project launched in September 2020 and quickly attracted backing from prominent venture capital firms, including CMS Holdings, Binance Labs, Alameda Research, and Zee Prime Capital. The seed round closed at $1.8 million in 2020. The core team remains based in Taiwan.
Geographic Restrictions and Supported Assets
Due to regulatory considerations, Perpetual Protocol restricts access from over 20 jurisdictions, including Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and others. Supported assets for perpetual futures trading include major cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, ATOM, AVAX, FTM, and BNB, with more to be added as the protocol expands.
PERP Token Overview
The native token of Perpetual Protocol is PERP. As of May 25, 2026, the circulating supply stands at 66,002,156 tokens, against a maximum supply of 150,000,000. The all-time high price of PERP was $24.84, recorded during the 2021 bull market. The current price has experienced a significant drawdown from that peak. For storage, users can opt for custodial wallets on exchanges, self-custody wallets (browser, mobile, desktop), hardware wallets, or third-party custody services.
Road Ahead
With the successful deployment of V2 on Optimism, Perpetual Protocol is poised for further growth. The integration with Uniswap V3 and plans to support more EVM chains should reduce transaction costs, improve scalability, and attract a broader user base of traders and liquidity providers. As the DeFi ecosystem continues to mature, Perpetual Protocol’s vAMM model and Layer-2 strategy position it as a key player in the decentralized derivatives space.