Katana, a decentralized financial blockchain developed under the guidance of Polygon Labs and GSR Markets, has acquired IDEX and introduced Katana Perps, an integrated on-chain perpetual futures and spot trading platform, according to a statement shared by the team on Monday.
The transaction is the first major strategic move under new CEO Matthew Fisher, who aims to consolidate more of Katana’s trading infrastructure and revenue into one stack.
“With always-on markets becoming the default venue for real-time price discovery and the regulatory environment paving the way for on-chain perpetual access, we need the infrastructure layer in place now. That’s where we are building,” Fisher said in a statement.
IDEX was founded in 2017 and is one of the first decentralized exchanges to combine a fast order matching engine with on-chain payments. Until 2019, it maintained the top position among Ethereum-based DEXs in terms of trading volume and number of transactions.
That operational history is now the backbone of Katana Perps.
The platform is powered by market makers such as GSR, Selini Capital, and Auros, and offers leveraged trading, directional exposure tools, and integrated liquidity for both crypto-native traders and institutional investors seeking 24-hour access to derivatives markets.
Decentralized perpetual futures are growing rapidly
The announcement comes as U.S. regulatory signals point to greater acceptance of crypto perpetual futures and as markets continue to move toward an always-on, 24/7 trading environment.
According to CoinGecko, the cumulative trading volume across decentralized perpetual exchanges reached approximately $6.7 trillion in 2025, an increase of 346% year-on-year.
Market leader Hyperliquid will account for approximately $2.9 trillion of decentralized PERP trading volume in 2025, with over 55% market share among the top DEXs, driven in part by the widely discussed token airdrop.
Earlier this month, as geopolitical tensions involving Iran roiled energy markets, crude oil futures trading on HyperLiquid soared to $7.3 billion by March 13, showing that participants are increasingly turning to 24/7 decentralized platforms for real-time price discovery.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. Please see our Editorial Policy for more information on how we create and review content.
