Introducing Perp Labs

Today, we want to introduce you to Perp Labs — the team that's been relentlessly building innovative products over the past half decade. With all the winters and rug-pulls we've been through, it's clearer than ever that having a reliable and resilient team matters. Perp Labs isn't just another name; it's the OG crew who helped shape perpetual DEXs in the early days and keep pushing DeFi forward. Here's a bit of our backstory—where we started, how we got here, and the exciting things we see on the horizon.

The OG Team: Proven Innovators in DeFi

Perp Labs was founded in 2019 by a visionary team of startup founders and software engineers in Taiwan, with the mission is to build the best DeFi products and make financial instruments accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world.

When trading perp on-chain was still a pretty novel idea and most people didn't believe there was even demand, Perp Labs saw the opportunity and launched "Perpetual Protocol," a decentralized exchange for perpetual trading. Alongside teams like dYdX, Perpetual Protocol was among the very first to dive into this uncharted territory, setting the stage for what would soon become a thriving DeFi sector.

A Story of Rapid Innovation: Perp v1 and v2

In Dec 2020, Perp v1 was launched on the xDai network. The innovative vAMM (Virtual Automated Market Maker) model introduced by the team quickly drew attention, reaching an astounding $1 billion in trade volume within just 7 weeks and peaking at $520 million in daily volume.

Building swiftly on this momentum, Perp v2, dubbed Curie, was launched on Optimism in Nov 2021. Perp v2 was the first perpetual DEX to build on top of Uniswap v3, delivering unmatched capital efficiency and deep liquidity. Within six months, trading volume exceeded $10 billion, cementing Perp v2 as the leading perpetual DEX in the DeFi sector.

Riding the wave of Perp v2’s success, the team shipped another product — Hot Tub, a collection of yield-generating vaults designed to arbitrage between spot and perp markets on Optimism. Launched in March 2023, it took just a few months for Hot Tub to surpass $2 million in TVL, delivering an average APY of 15% for USDC. But remember, this was all accomplished in the post-FTX collapse era, a time when trust in crypto was virtually gone.

Beyond Perpetual Trading: Building a Complete DeFi Ecosystem

Beyond Perp v1, v2, and Hot Tub, the Perp Labs team didn't slow down. In 2024, the team launched Nekodex—an intuitive mobile app simplifying crypto trading for everyday users. Nekodex is among the very first dApps to adopt chain and account abstraction technology, making on-chain user experience, for the first time, competitive with centralized exchanges. Nekodex users can easily buy tokens across multiple chains without creating wallets, bridging funds, or even switching networks. In addition to Nekodex, the team is also working on a new set of vaults (Nekovaults) designed to offer low-risk yield opportunities to users.

Wonder how Perp Labs stays ahead of the game and keeps shipping new products every year? It’s all thanks to our research team, who keep us up to speed on the latest developments in the DeFi space.

With all the products we’ve built, we’re really really proud to share that we have maintained an impeccable record —no hacks or breaches to date (knock on wood), earning the deep trust of the DeFi community. Security is at the heart of everything Perp Labs builds, backed by rigorous audits, continuous stress-testing, and proactive risk management.

Leading DeFi into the Future

Perp Labs has quietly become a driving force in DeFi, demonstrating consistent innovation, bulletproof security standards, and a forward-thinking approach. Building on this rock-solid foundation, the team is now setting its sights on AI, a move that fits perfectly with its history of spotting trends early. This focus on AI promises to bring even bigger breakthroughs while staying true to Perp Labs’ commitment to secure, game-changing solutions in DeFi. With our proven adaptability to the latest tech advancements and our dedication to pushing boundaries, Perp Labs will continue to lead as a builder and pioneer in the DeFi arena.