GMX

GMX offers decentralized perpetual futures with up to 50x leverage, pioneering the 'real yield' narrative in DeFi. Launched anonymously in 2021, GMX uses a unique GLP pool model where liquidity providers deposit a basket of assets and act as the counterparty to all trades. LPs earn 70% of all platform fees paid in ETH or AVAX—not inflationary tokens. The zero-price-impact feature up to certain limits attracts large traders. GMX V2 introduced isolated GM pools for more efficient capital allocation. The platform dominates Arbitrum's derivatives landscape.

GMX uses a unique multi-asset liquidity pool (GLP in V1, GM pools in V2) where LPs act as the counterparty to all leveraged trades. When traders open longs, they're essentially borrowing from the pool; when traders lose, LPs profit, and vice versa. Prices come from Chainlink oracles, enabling zero price impact on trades up to pool limits. In V2, isolated GM pools let you provide liquidity for specific pairs (e.g., ETH/USD) rather than a basket. LPs earn 70% of all trading fees paid in ETH or AVAX, creating 'real yield' that isn't dependent on token inflation. Traders can open perpetual positions with up to 50x leverage on major cryptos.