dYdX Review
AGPL-licensed core with a published liquidation cap
of 10
dYdX v4 publishes entry-tier fees of 1.0 bps maker and 5.0 bps taker, an hourly funding rate with its formula, and a liquidation penalty capped by default at 1.5% flowing to an insurance fund that absorbs liquidation profit and loss. Its chain is licensed under AGPL-3.0.
No money changes hands. This is a non-commercial project: no advertising, no sponsored placements, and no affiliate or referral links. Links to the services below earn us nothing. Every overall score is the plain average of the criteria shown on the page, so you can check the arithmetic yourself — see our rating methodology and how the site is funded.
Maker/taker
1.0 bps / 5.0 bps at Tier 1
Funding
Hourly; premium/8 plus interest component
Liquidation penalty
Up to 1.5% by default, governance-adjustable
Insurance
Insurance fund absorbs liquidation P&L
Licence
AGPL-3.0 on v4-chain
Scores
Each criterion carries equal weight. The overall score is the average of these 5 scores — (9.0 + 9.0 + 10.0 + 3.0 + 8.0) ÷ 5 = 7.8.
Pros
- AGPL-3.0 on the v4-chain core — a strong copyleft open-source licence covering the actual protocol
- Entry-tier fees published: 1.0 bps maker, 5.0 bps taker
- Funding charged hourly with the formula and a 0% interest component for most markets published
- Liquidation penalty capped at 1.5% by default; insurance fund absorbs liquidation profit and loss
Cons
- No official audits page could be reached, so no auditing firm is named
- Maintenance margin varies by asset and must be read per market
An open-source core, not just an SDK
The dYdX v4 chain repository carries AGPL-3.0, a strong copyleft licence, over a Terms wrapper. Among perpetuals venues this is unusual: the matching logic itself is licensed openly, rather than a client library wrapping a closed engine. It is the strongest licence position in this comparison.
Liquidation with a stated ceiling
dYdX documents that up to the entire remaining value of an account may be taken as penalty, but that the default maximum is capped at 1.5%, subject to governance, with penalties flowing to an insurance fund that takes on the profit or loss from liquidations. A trader knows both the cap and where the money goes.
The gap
We could not reach an official audits page, so no auditing firm is named. For a protocol otherwise this well documented, that is the one conspicuous omission, and the audit score reflects it.
How it compares
Drift
Apache-2.0 core; live docs now serve a fork
Jupiter Perps
Fees documented, core program closed
Gains Network
Granular fee schedule, core licence unconfirmed
Paradex
Low maker fee published, wider docs unreachable
Aevo
Fees and liquidation tiers published, code unverified
Orderly Network
Apache-2.0 core with three named auditors
Ostium
MIT-licensed with six named audit reports
GMX
Imbalance-based fees, five named auditors
Hyperliquid
Hourly funding and liquidations documented in full
Sources
Scored from published primary sources rather than hands-on use. Every figure above comes from one of the pages below, on the date shown. Manufacturers change prices and specifications without notice — if something here no longer matches the source, tell us and we will correct it.
- 1.dYdX — trading rewards and fee tiers — checked
- 2.dYdX — funding — checked
- 3.dYdX — liquidations — checked
- 4.dYdX v4-chain — LICENSE (AGPL-3.0) — checked
Frequently asked questions
Is dYdX open source?
Yes. The v4-chain repository carries the AGPL-3.0 licence over the core protocol, not merely an SDK.
What is dYdX's liquidation penalty?
Up to the entire remaining account value may be taken, but the default maximum penalty is capped at 1.5%, subject to governance, and flows to the insurance fund.
Nothing here is financial advice. Editorial policy · How we score · How we're funded.