# CEX Alternatives Compared, Seven Venues on One Sheet Updated: 24 September 2026; Terms read 18 September 2026; Books checked to 22 September 2026; The Switch Guide editors Across the cex alternatives scored in this guide, Lighter leads on 24 September 2026 with 25.3 of 30, then edgeX at 23.2 and Extended at 23.1. The spread from first to last is just over eight points, so the choice is a fit rather than a verdict, and the sheet is where that fit is easiest to see. ## Where each venue lands Weights, fixed 22 September 2026 before a venue on this site was scored: Book depth we measured 28 · Who holds the collateral 22 · Cost of a round trip 18 · Markets on offer 14 · Record so far 12 · Whether the door opens 6. Method in full: https://doliacats.com/methodology Ordered by the overall switch score. | No. | Venue | Score of 30 | Maker / taker | Perp markets | BTC leverage | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Lighter | 25.3 | 0% / 0% | 214 | 50x, 2% margin | | 2 | edgeX | 23.2 | 0.040% / 0.045% | 172 | 100x to $1 million | | 3 | Extended | 23.1 | 0% / 0.025% | 325 | 50x to $4 million | | 4 | Aster | 23.0 | 0% / 0.040% | 578 | 200x to 400 USDT | | 5 | Hyperliquid | 21.0 | 0.015% / 0.045% | 324 | 40x to $150 million | | 6 | EVEDEX | 19.6 | 0.015% / 0.045% | 52 | 200x to $50,000 | | 7 | dYdX | 17.2 | 0.010% / 0.050% | 78 | 50x, 2% margin | ## Before you move 1. Custody: Lighter, edgeX and ApeX Omni document a withdrawal that works without the operator; the rest of this sheet does not. 2. Depth: edgeX at $29.1 million and EVEDEX at $18.9 million within 10 basis points, against $24.8 million on Binance's BTC perpetual the same day. 3. Cost: $0.00 to $10.00 for a $10,000 round trip across this sheet. 4. Coverage: 578 contracts on Aster against 78 on dYdX, and six asset classes on one balance at EVEDEX. 5. Record: Aster and Extended publish a bounty and have lost no user money in 24 months; Hyperliquid and dYdX have had incidents in that window. ## What we measured ourselves BTC perpetual order books read every 10 minutes in the hours between 07:10 and 23:58 UTC on 22 September 2026; every figure is the median of the successful readings. | Venue | Round trip on $10,000 | Depth within 10 bps | Impact of a $100,000 order | Readings | |---|---|---|---|---| | Lighter | $0.00 | $17.4 million | 0.70 bps | 93 | | edgeX | $9.00 | $29.1 million | 0.02 bps | 94 | | Extended | $5.00 | $7.7 million | 0.06 bps | 93 | | Aster | $8.00 | $14.8 million | 0.56 bps | 94 | | Hyperliquid | $9.00 | $8.5 million | 0.06 bps | 94 | | EVEDEX | $9.00 | $18.9 million | 2.06 bps | 94 | | dYdX | $10.00 | $845,469 | 6.74 bps | 94 | ## Step 1 — What the sheet does not settle Three things are missing from every column here and none of them is an oversight. **Altcoin depth.** Every depth figure is BTC. It is the only market all seven quote, and it is the one where a wallet-access venue shows strongest. A book holding millions on BTC can hold four figures on a listing from last week. **Withdrawal time.** Testing it means opening an account and moving money, which this guide does not do. So there is no withdrawal-time column, rather than a guessed one. **Whether you are allowed in.** Every venue names jurisdictions it will not serve, the lists are long and they differ. That is a reading job for the terms, not a score. ## Venue 1 — [Lighter](https://lighter.xyz), move here for the lowest cost with the fewest weak columns (25.3 of 30) 0% maker / 0% taker on a standard account, $17.4 million of resting BTC depth, 214 markets, proofs on Ethereum and a documented exit if the sequencer stops ([Lighter docs](https://docs.lighter.xyz/about-lighter/technical-architecture-lighter-core.md), checked 18 September 2026). Nine audit reports cover the circuits and contracts. - Getting in: Wallet signature. - Worth moving: $0.00 round trip, on real depth rather than an empty book; Proven batches on Ethereum and an exit that skips the operator. - Worth knowing: 300 ms of added latency on takes at the free rate; No published bug bounty programme. - Not for: timing-sensitive strategies at the free rate. ## Venue 2 — [edgeX](https://pro.edgex.exchange), move here for the deepest book on this sheet (23.2 of 30) A median $29.1 million resting within 10 basis points, and a $100,000 market order moved the price 0.02 bps — on a venue that commits each change of state to rollup contracts and documents a withdrawal bypassing the operator ([edgeX docs](https://pro.edgex.exchange/en-US/home), checked 18 September 2026). 172 contracts, 93 of them shares and exchange-traded funds. - Getting in: Wallet or MPC login. - Worth moving: $29.1 million of resting BTC depth, the deepest on this sheet; Withdrawal without the operator described step by step. - Worth knowing: 0.040% to make, the highest maker rate on this sheet; No bug bounty programme published. - Not for: makers at the entry tier. ## Venue 3 — [Extended](https://extended.exchange/), move here for one rate for everybody and a full score on the record (23.1 of 30) 0% maker / 0.025% taker for every account, every transaction validated and settled on Starknet ([Extended docs](https://docs.extended.exchange/about-extended/technical-architecture), checked 18 September 2026), a bug bounty of up to $500,000 and no loss of user money on record. Of 325 markets, 278 are quoted on request with no public book. - Getting in: Wallet signature, EVM or Starknet. - Worth moving: 0% maker / 0.025% taker with no tier to climb, and a $500,000 bounty; Per-trade settlement on Starknet with contracts holding collateral. - Worth knowing: Most of the market count has no public order book; No forced withdrawal in the documentation we read. - Not for: traders whose market is quoted on request. ## Venue 4 — [Aster](https://www.asterdex.com), move here for the longest list of markets anywhere here (23.0 of 30) 578 perpetual contracts, 0% maker / 0.040% taker at the entry tier, a 0.01 bps median spread level with Lighter's, and an Immunefi bounty of up to $200,000. Matching and settlement run on Aster Chain, its own operator-run layer 1 ([Aster docs](https://docs.asterdex.com/overview/what-is-aster.md), checked 18 September 2026). - Getting in: Wallet signature or email. - Worth moving: 578 contracts at 0% maker / 0.040% taker; 0.01 bps median spread, level with Lighter at the tightest here. - Worth knowing: Operator-run chain with closed core code; No forced withdrawal documented, and a validator-signed bridge. - Not for: anyone leaving a centralised venue because one company controlled it. ## Venue 5 — [Hyperliquid](https://hyperliquid.xyz), move here for the busiest venue in the category (21.0 of 30) Every order, cancellation, trade and liquidation is recorded on its own layer 1 ([Hyperliquid docs](https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/about-hyperliquid.md), checked 18 September 2026). CoinMarketCap put its open interest at $8.7 billion and its 24-hour volume at $13.4 billion on 22 September 2026. It lists 324 markets, 146 of them deployed by outside builders, at 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker. - Getting in: Wallet signature or email code. - Worth moving: Every order and liquidation recorded on chain, with cross and isolated margin; Bug bounty of up to 1 million USDC. - Worth knowing: Its community vault lost about $4 million in March 2025 and about $4.9 million in November 2025; Builder-deployed markets are not reviewed by the interface operator. - Not for: traders who want each listing checked by somebody. ## Venue 6 — EVEDEX, move here for six asset classes on a single balance (19.6 of 30) 52 perpetual contracts across crypto, five US stocks, an index, Tether Gold, silver, WTI crude oil, two currency pairs and two pre-IPO names, at 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker on a median $18.9 million of BTC depth. Orders are matched on its own engine and position data written to Arbitrum once enough changes accumulate (EVEDEX documentation, consulted 18 September 2026). - Getting in: Wallet signature. - Worth moving: Six asset classes on one balance, all on a 24/7 schedule; $18.9 million of measured BTC depth, second on this sheet. - Worth knowing: Positions reach Arbitrum in periodic batches, and no forced withdrawal is documented; No bug bounty listed on CertiK Skynet, checked 18 September 2026; 52 markets, no spot market, and cross margin only. - Not for: traders who want per-trade settlement or hundreds of altcoin books. ## Venue 7 — [dYdX](https://www.dydx.xyz), move here for a social login into a wallet you keep (17.2 of 30) Orders sit in validators' in-memory books and matches are committed to dYdX Chain ([dYdX docs](https://docs.dydx.xyz/concepts/architecture/overview), checked 18 September 2026). Google, Apple or an email address creates a self-custodial wallet. 0.010% maker / 0.050% taker on 78 markets, one of them WTI oil, with a Cantina bounty of up to $1,000,000. - Getting in: Wallet signature, or Google, Apple or email. - Worth moving: Bug bounty of up to $1,000,000 for a critical report; Sign-in with Google, Apple or email into a wallet you control. - Worth knowing: $845,469 of resting BTC depth, the thinnest on this sheet; Chain halt on 10 October 2025 and $462,097.79 of trader losses from stale prices. - Not for: size, and anyone who needs a long market list. ## In their own words > "HyperCore includes fully onchain perpetual futures and spot order books. Every order, cancel, trade, and liquidation happens transparently with one-block finality inherited from HyperBFT." — Hyperliquid documentation, About Hyperliquid, 18 September 2026. https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/about-hyperliquid.md > "Validators are responsible for storing orders in an in-memory orderbook (i.e. off chain and not committed to consensus), gossipping transactions to other validators, and producing new blocks for dYdX Chain through the consensus process." — dYdX documentation, Architecture overview, 18 September 2026. https://docs.dydx.xyz/concepts/architecture/overview > "User position data is written to the blockchain after sufficient changes have accumulated." — EVEDEX documentation, on-chain settlement, 18 September 2026. ## FAQ from people mid-switch ### What are the best alternatives to centralized crypto exchanges? For perpetual futures, the order-book venues on this sheet. Lighter scores 25.3 of 30 on cost and custody, edgeX 23.2 on the deepest book on this sheet, and EVEDEX 19.6 on breadth, with six asset classes in one account. None of them replaces a bank transfer, and none has a support desk. ### Are DEXs going to replace centralized exchanges? Not for fiat, and not yet for altcoin depth. On BTC perpetuals the gap has closed: edgeX held $29.1 million within 10 basis points against $24.8 million on Binance in the same window, with no account and no documents required at either end of that comparison. ### What is the difference between a CEX and a DEX? A centralised exchange holds your money and keeps the ledger. The venues here keep collateral in contracts or on their own chain and take orders signed by your wallet. Some match off-chain anyway, which is why the custody criterion looks at settlement rather than at labels. ### How do I choose between perp DEXs? Pick the column that matters to you and read the sheet along it. Cost runs from $0.00 to $10.00 for a $10,000 round trip, measured depth from $845,469 to $29.1 million, and market counts from 78 to 578. The score is only a weighted summary of those columns. ### Do any of these venues have spot trading? Several run a spot market beside the perpetuals, but this guide does not score it and does not measure its books. Every figure on this sheet comes from a BTC perpetual, and EVEDEX has no spot market at all, only its 52 perpetual contracts. ### What happens if the venue I move to shuts down? Three of the venues in this guide describe a withdrawal that works without the operator, and the rest route the exit through it. That single line in the documentation is the difference between an inconvenience and a wait of unknown length, and it is worth reading before the deposit. ### Which of these has the most markets? Aster, at 578 contracts on 18 September 2026, then Extended at 325 and Hyperliquid at 324. Extended quotes 278 of its list on request rather than in a public book, so a long count and a tradable market are not the same thing. ### Are these scores paid for? The scores come from one formula, published in full and fixed 22 September 2026 before anything here was scored, and every input behind them sits on [how we rate](/methodology). Read the inputs rather than the totals: a figure you can rebuild yourself is worth more than any assurance about it. ### Can I use more than one of these at once? Yes, and many traders do: one venue for depth on BTC, another for a market the first does not list. The cost is the round trip twice and a second balance to watch, and collateral split across two venues is collateral that is not backing either position. ### How current are these figures? Documentation and terms were read on 18 September 2026, the order books on 22 September 2026, and the market ranking was captured 22 September 2026. Every figure on the site carries the day it was taken rather than the day this page was last edited, so a stale number is visible as one. ## Where every figure on this page came from One of the six numbers is ours and five are quotations. Depth is measured here, in the window this page names. Fees, markets, ladders, sign-in, who the terms refuse and audit history were lifted from each venue's own documentation and terms on 18 September 2026. The rule that weights them was settled on 22 September 2026 and is set out on [how we rate](/methodology). Placement on this guide is paid for; the order of the table is not. Three things this guide cannot do. It cannot watch a venue behave: custody, the route out, who gets in and the record come off pages the venue wrote itself; silence costs points without proving anything. It cannot price your trading: the fees here are what a new account pays, before volume tiers and rebates. And only BTC was read, so anything narrower is thinner than it looks. The Switch Guide editors, 24 September 2026. Corrections, say which step it is on and what the venue actually publishes: editorial@doliacats.com This guide is paid to publish, and a venue you are being walked towards may be the one who bought the walkthrough.