dYdX has raised $87.0M in total across 4 funding rounds.
dYdX's investors include Kevin Hartz, Altair Capital Management, Amino Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Angel investor, AngelList, Anti fund, Brainchild, David Namdar, Craft Ventures, Founders Fund, Heavybit.
dYdX is a decentralized exchange (DEX) specializing in perpetual futures contracts and derivatives trading for cryptocurrencies. It builds a non-custodial trading platform that enables users—primarily experienced traders and market makers—to trade assets like BTC, ETH, SOL, and AVAX with up to 20x leverage using USDC collateral, without intermediaries or expiration dates on contracts.[1][2][3] The platform solves key pain points in DeFi trading, such as high fees, slow execution, and custody risks, by offering an order book model, advanced tools like stop-loss and limit orders, low fees, and deep liquidity.[3][5][7] Growth momentum includes a TVL of $295 million, daily trading volume around $534 million, and a shift to its own Cosmos-based dYdX Chain (v4) for full decentralization and 10,000 TPS throughput, attracting pro traders seeking precision and speed.[3][4]
dYdX was founded by Antonio Juliano, a former Coinbase and Uber engineer, who launched dYdX Trading Inc. to create a pro-level DeFi trading platform.[2] The idea emerged from the limitations of early Ethereum-based DEXs, starting with v1 on Ethereum mainnet for spot and margin trades with up to 5x leverage via smart contracts.[1] Pivotal moments include v3's adoption of StarkEx (Ethereum Layer 2 with ZK-rollups) for faster, cheaper trades, and v4's 2023 launch of the dYdX Chain—a Cosmos app-chain—fully decentralizing the order book, matching engine, and governance while boosting performance to rival centralized exchanges like Binance.[1][2][4] Early traction came from its hybrid model blending decentralization with liquidity, evolving into a community-governed ecosystem with staking and subDAOs.[3][4]
dYdX rides the DeFi 2.0 and app-chain wave, capitalizing on the shift from Ethereum congestion to modular blockchains like Cosmos for scalable, high-performance trading.[4] Timing aligns with surging demand for perpetuals—now a multi-billion market dominated by CEXs like Binance—offering a decentralized alternative amid regulatory scrutiny on custodians.[2][4] Market forces favoring it include ZK-tech maturity for privacy/speed, rising institutional DeFi adoption, and crypto's bull cycles boosting derivatives volume.[3][5] It influences the ecosystem by pioneering pro-grade DEX features, inspiring hybrid models, empowering communities via governance, and pulling liquidity from CEXs toward self-custodial trading.[1][7]
dYdX is positioned as DeFi's leading pro perpetuals platform, with its app-chain delivering CEX-like execution in a trustless environment—primed for explosive growth as DeFi TVL rebounds. Next steps likely include expanding pairs, API enhancements for institutions, and deeper Cosmos interoperability to capture more volume from rivals.[4][7] Trends like AI-driven trading, real-world asset perps, and regulatory clarity for DEXs will shape its path, potentially evolving it into a full DeFi infrastructure hub. As decentralized trading matures, dYdX's blend of freedom, liquidity, and tools cements its role at the forefront, redefining what pro traders expect from crypto exchanges.[2][3]
dYdX has raised $87.0M across 4 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $65.0M Series C in June 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2021 | $65.0M Series C | Kevin Hartz, Altair Capital Management, Amino Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Angel investor, AngelList, Anti fund, Brainchild, David Namdar, Craft Ventures, Founders Fund, Heavybit, Infinite Niches, KAAN Ventures, LAUNCH, Paradigm, Positive Sum VC, Proton Enterprises, Shrug Capital, The Hit Forge, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Trust Fund, Vibe Capital, Alex Rodriguez, Y Combinator, Anthony Pompliano, Babak Nivi, Han Liu, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Hart, Kyle Vogt, Marcy Simon, Matthew Dellavedova, Moshe Lifschitz, Sahil Lavingia, Sahin Boydas, Scott Belsky, Sue Xu | |
| Jan 1, 2021 | $10.0M Series B | Amino Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, David Namdar, Han Liu, Sue Xu | |
| Oct 1, 2018 | $10.0M Series A | 1confirmation, Abstract Ventures, Kevin Hartz, A* Capital (A Star Capital), Altair Capital Management, Amino Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Angel investor, AngelList, Anti fund, Balderton Capital, Bowery Capital, Brainchild, Buckley Ventures, Canvas Ventures, David Namdar, Craft Ventures, DCM, Electric Capital, Fontinalis Partners, Footwork, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Goat Capital, Heavybit, Human Capital, Infinite Niches, KAAN Ventures, Kapor Capital, Kindred Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, LAUNCH, Ligature, Paradigm, Pioneer Fund, Positive Sum VC, Practical Venture Capital, Presence Capital, Proton Enterprises, Quiet Capital, Recursive Ventures, Gil Penchina, Shrug Capital, Social Capital, South Park Commons, The General Partnership, The Hit Forge, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Tribe Capital, Trust Fund, UpHonest Capital, Venture51, Vibe Capital, Alex Rodriguez, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, Adrian Aoun, Anthony Pompliano, Babak Nivi, Charlie Songhurst, Chris Fanini, Desmond Lim, Dharmesh Shah, Emmett Shear, Evan Moore, Han Liu, Immad Akhund, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Hart, Kevin Lin, Kyle Vogt, Manish Shah, Marcy Simon, Mark Goines, Matt Brezina, Matthew Dellavedova, Michał Borkowski, Mikhail Seregine, Moshe Lifschitz, Paul McKellar, Peter Kazanjy, Rene Reinsberg, Sahil Lavingia, Sahin Boydas, Sam Altman, Samvit Ramadurgam, Scott Belsky, Sohail Prasad, Sue Xu, Tikhon Bernstam, Tirto Adji, Tony Hawk, Travis Vanderzanden, Wayne Chang | |
| Dec 1, 2017 | $2.0M Seed | 1confirmation, Abstract Ventures, Kevin Hartz, Altair Capital Management, Amino Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Angel investor, AngelList, Anti fund, Balderton Capital, B Capital Group, Bowery Capital, Brainchild, Buckley Ventures, Canvas Ventures, David Namdar, Craft Ventures, DCM, Electric Capital, Footwork, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Goat Capital, Heavybit, Human Capital, Infinite Niches, KAAN Ventures, Kindred Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, LAUNCH, Ligature, Paradigm, Pioneer Fund, Positive Sum VC, Presence Capital, Proton Enterprises, Quiet Capital, Gil Penchina, Shrug Capital, South Park Commons, Susa Ventures, The General Partnership, The Hit Forge, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Trust Fund, UpHonest Capital, Vibe Capital, Alex Rodriguez, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, Adrian Aoun, Anthony Pompliano, Babak Nivi, Chad Nitschke, Charlie Songhurst, Chris Fanini, Desmond Lim, Dharmesh Shah, Emmett Shear, Eric Wu, Evan Moore, Han Liu, Immad Akhund, Karim Atiyeh, Kevin Hart, Kevin Lin, Kyle Vogt, Manish Shah, Marcy Simon, Matt Brezina, Matthew Dellavedova, Michał Borkowski, Mikhail Seregine, Moshe Lifschitz, Paul McKellar, Peter Reinhardt, Rene Reinsberg, Sahil Lavingia, Sahin Boydas, Sam Altman, Samvit Ramadurgam, Scott Belsky, Sohail Prasad, Sue Xu, Tikhon Bernstam, Tirto Adji, Tony Xu, Travis Vanderzanden, Wayne Chang |
