Drift Protocol Hits Record $14.83B in Monthly Perpetual Volume

August 2, 2025, Drift Protocol reported a record $14.83 billion in monthly perpetual futures trading volume—its highest ever. The open-source DEX, built on Solana, has rapidly gained traction by offering cross-margined perps with tight spreads, capital efficiency, and an intuitive trading experience.

This volume milestone reflects:

• Consistent daily volume above $800 million
• Over $400 million in open interest
• $1 billion in daily volume for the first time

Even with zero-fee campaigns on BTC and ETH markets, Drift’s SOL market alone processed $5 billion in volume. This highlights strong user engagement and deep retail interest.

Protocol Upgrades & Institutional Momentum

Several upgrades contributed to this Drift Protocol perpetual volume. The protocol-owned AMM now accounts for 70% of all fills, with spreads as tight as 1–3 basis points—on par with centralized exchanges.

Cindy Leow, co-founder of Drift Protocol, emphasized,

“We’re building the most performant on-chain exchange, and it’s already showing in the numbers.”

Other key drivers include:

• Onboarding of 10+ new market makers and firms
• Increased composability through Solana’s L1 infrastructure
• Steady protocol revenue despite fee waivers

As a result, Drift has become the second-largest perp DEX by open interest, trailing only behind much older platforms.

What’s Ahead: DLP Token, New Features & Valuation

Looking forward, Drift Protocol is preparing several feature rollouts:

• Isolated perp positions
• Take-profit/stop-loss upgrades
• DLP (Drift Liquidity Provider) token for yield generation

Its integration with Jito’s BAM also improves order matching and execution. Analysts have noted Drift’s FDV-to-fees ratio is 14.5x, compared to 43.6x for Hyperliquid, suggesting it may be undervalued relative to usage.

With Solana DeFi hitting $2B daily in DEX volume and millions of active wallets, Drift is well-positioned to lead the next wave of on-chain derivatives growth.