For a long time, trading crypto looked surprisingly similar to trading anything else online. Users would sign up on an exchange, deposit funds, and rely on the platformto handle everything from order matching to custody. Centralised exchanges made the market accessible to millions of users, but they also meant placing trust in a third party to hold and manage digital assets.
Decentralised exchanges were built on the idea of eliminating intermediaries. After all, isn’t that the very premise of crypto? By using smart contracts and on-chain liquidity pools, DEXs allow users to trade directly from their own wallets while maintaining full control over their funds. This model has become a core part of the broader DeFi ecosystem, with several platforms emerging as major hubs for decentralised trading. Here are the top 9 decentralised exchanges to trade on in March 2026.
1. Aster
Aster is a decentralized exchange founded in 2024 following the merger of Astherus and APX Finance. The platform brings together Astherus’ yield-focused DeFi products and APX Finance’s derivatives infrastructure, creating a trading venue that supports both spot and perpetual markets within the same interface. It operates across several major networks, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana, and Arbitrum, giving traders access to a multi-chain environment with more than 140 trading pairs.
The exchange offers two main trading setups depending on how users want to approach the market. Pro Mode is geared toward more experienced traders and includes advanced tools with leverage of up to 100x. Simple Mode runs fully on-chain and allows extremely high leverage on select markets, reaching up to 1001x in some cases. Trading fees start at around 0.005% for makers and 0.04% for takers, with additional discounts available through the platform’s $ASTER token, which also supports governance and ecosystem incentives.
2. SushiSwap
SushiSwap is one of the earlier decentralised exchanges to emerge during the rise of DeFi in 2020. What began as a fork of Uniswap on Ethereum has now become a platform that operates across more than 40 blockchains, including networks such as Polygon, BNB Chain, Optimism, Avalanche, and Base. This wide network support allows users to access a large number of tokens and liquidity pools across different ecosystems through a single interface.
The platform runs on an automated market maker model, where users trade directly against liquidity pools rather than a traditional order book. Alongside standard token swaps, SushiSwap also supports limit orders, recurring dollar-cost averaging trades, and cross-chain swaps through its SushiXSwap feature. Liquidity providers can supply assets to pools to earn a share of trading fees, with additional incentives available through farming programs. The SUSHI token is used for governance and staking, allowing holders to participate in protocol decisions while earning a share of certain platform-generated fees.
3. Ostium
Ostium is a perpetuals-focused decentralized exchange built on Arbitrum that takes a slightly different approach to on-chain trading. Instead of limiting markets to cryptocurrencies, the platform also provides synthetic exposure to traditional assets such as forex pairs, commodities, stock indices, and individual equities. This means users can trade markets like EUR/USD, gold, or the S&P 500 alongside crypto assets, all from a single interface and without relying on a centralized broker.
Trades on Ostium are executed through smart contracts, with pricing handled by decentralized oracle feeds for both crypto and real-world markets. Liquidity is provided through a shared vault on Arbitrum, where users deposit USDC in exchange for OLP, earning a portion of trading fees and other protocol rewards. The platform allows leverage of up to 200x, depending on the asset, with features such as take-profit and stop-loss orders available to help manage positions.
4. Extended
Extended is a perpetual futures DEX built on Starknet that focuses on fast execution and straightforward trading. The platform offers USDC-settled perpetual contracts across more than 75 markets, covering cryptocurrencies as well as a small selection of traditional assets like indices, commodities, and forex pairs. Although trading runs on Starknet, users can move funds in and out through several networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, and BNB Chain.
The exchange uses a hybrid system for trade execution. Order matching and risk checks take place off-chain to improve speed, while settlement, margin management, and liquidations are handled on-chain through Starknet smart contracts. Traders can access leverage of up to 100x, with cross-margin enabled by default and optional sub-accounts available for more isolated strategies. Fees remain relatively low, with taker fees around 0.025% and no base maker fee. Liquidity providers can also deposit USDC into a shared vault that supports the platform’s markets and earns a portion of trading and liquidation fees.
5. Reya
Reya takes a slightly different approach to decentralised derivatives trading. Instead of relying on liquidity pools, the platform runs a central limit order book designed to mirror the experience of trading on a traditional exchange. Orders are matched in a dedicated execution environment, with trades later finalised on Ethereum using cryptographic proofs. The system currently operates within the Arbitrum Orbit ecosystem, though the team is in the platform onto its own chain called the ReyaChain.
The exchange supports more than 70 perpetual markets and allows traders to use leverage of up to 100x. Positions are managed through a portfolio margin system that lets users hold multiple assets and contracts within the same account, with gains and losses offsetting across positions. Liquidity on the platform revolves around its rUSD and srUSD structure, where users deposit USDC into the system to support trading activity while earning a share of the fees generated across the exchange.
6. PancakeSwap
Few decentralized exchanges have expanded as widely as PancakeSwap over the past few years. Launched in 2020 with a focus on the BNB Chain ecosystem, the platform has since grown into a multi-chain trading hub that now spans networks such as Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Solana, zkSync, and several others. This expansion has helped PancakeSwap build deep liquidity across thousands of tokens, with more than 5,000 trading pairs available across its supported chains.
Trading on PancakeSwap mainly revolves around its automated market maker model, where users swap tokens through liquidity pools. Alongside standard spot swaps, the platform also supports features such as limit orders and time-weighted buying strategies. Perpetual futures trading is also available through an integration with Aster, allowing leverage of up to 1001x on certain pairs.
7. Curve
Curve is a decentralized exchange built primarily for swapping stablecoins and other assets that tend to track the same value. Its design focuses on keeping slippage low when large amounts are traded, which is why the platform has become widely used across the DeFi ecosystem. Many protocols rely on Curve when they need to move stablecoin liquidity efficiently, and the exchange now operates across dozens of networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and Base.
Trading on Curve takes place through liquidity pools that usually contain closely related assets, such as different stablecoins or wrapped versions of BTC. The platform’s CRV token supports governance and liquidity incentives, with users able to lock it for veCRV to boost rewards and participate in protocol decisions. Swap fees on stable pools are typically very low, which has helped Curve remain the ideal platform for stablecoin trading within DeFi.
8. Ethereal
Ethereal is a perpetual DEX built around USDe, the synthetic dollar created by the Ethena protocol. What makes the platform a little different is that trading collateral continues to earn yield while it sits in an account. The exchange runs on its own EVM-based appchain, which settles through Arbitrum and uses Celestia for data availability. This setup is meant to deliver faster execution while keeping trades verified on-chain.
The platform supports a smaller lineup of perpetual markets and offers leverage of up to 50x with cross-margin enabled. Pricing is handled through real-time oracle feeds, while positions are settled in USDe. Traders can also create subaccounts to separate strategies and manage risk across positions. Since margin balances are held in USDe, funds deposited into the platform continue to generate yield through Ethena’s reward system while trades are open or idle.
9. Aerodrome
Aerodrome has become one of the main liquidity hubs on the Base network. The exchange runs as an automated market maker built around the ve(3,3) incentive model, where token holders influence how rewards are distributed across the platform. In practice, this means AERO holders can lock their tokens to receive veAERO and vote on which liquidity pools receive the protocol’s weekly token emissions.
This voting system plays a large role in how liquidity forms on the platform. Pools that attract more votes tend to receive higher rewards, which in turn draws more liquidity providers. Protocols and pool creators can also offer additional incentives, often referred to as “bribes,” to encourage votes toward specific markets. With more than 400 trading pairs and low fees on the Base network, Aerodrome has gradually become a key player for swapping tokens and providing liquidity within that chain’s growing DeFi landscape.
Final thoughts
Decentralised exchanges now cover a wide range of trading needs, from simple token swaps to high-leverage derivatives and even exposure to traditional markets through synthetic assets. Each platform approaches this in its own way, whether through deeper liquidity, specialized trading infrastructure, or broader DeFi integrations. As always, users should do their own research and consider starting with smaller positions before committing to any single exchange.
Disclaimer. Readers are encouraged to do their own research. Ambcrypto is not liable for any outcomes related to the use of information, products, or services mentioned. This content may include affiliate or partner links.
