#Perpetual DEX: dYdX, GMX, Hyperliquid and taxation
Decentralized derivatives exchanges (Perp DEX) have grown enormously. dYdX is the all-time leader, GMX dominated in Arbitrum, and Hyperliquid became the most popular in 2024-2025 with its own L1. They all allow perpetual futures trading without KYC in many cases, which does not exempt from tax obligations.
What is a perpetual on a DEX?
A perpetual contract is a derivative that replicates the price of an underlying asset (BTC, ETH, etc.) with no expiration date. PnL is settled in USDC or another stablecoin.
Differences with traditional futures:
- No fixed expiration date.
- Financed by the "funding rate" (periodic payments between longs and shorts according to market demand).
- Settled daily or at closing.
Tax base: general profit or savings?
This is the critical point. The DGT has established that cryptocurrency futures contracts are taxed on the general income tax base, not on the savings base.
Why? Financial derivatives (futures, options, CFDs on crypto) are considered derivative contracts, not transmissions of the underlying assets. The profit/loss is allocated to the general basis.
Tax rate: Progressive personal income tax scale → up to 47% in Spain (may vary by Autonomous Community).
Funding rates: income or cost reduction?
The funding rate is the periodic payment between traders (usually every 8 hours):
- If you are long and the funding is positive, you pay funding to the market → reduce your PnL.
- If you are short and the funding is positive, you collect funding from the market → increase your PnL.
Tax criteria:
- Funding collected → income on a general basis (yield on capital from derivatives).
- Funding paid → expense deductible from the trading result.
GMX: GLP and the shared liquidity model
GMX has two additional tokens: GMX (governance token) and GLP (liquidity token that is the counterparty of traders).
LPG:
- Buy LPG = deposit assets (USDC, ETH, BTC, etc.) in the pool → possible transfer of assets.
- GLP accumulates protocol fees in real time → rendering of movable capital.
- Sell LPG → LPG transmission, profit/loss.
GMX staking:
- Staking GMX generates rewards in esGMX (locked tokens) and ETH/AVAX.
- esGMX upon unlocking → return on movable capital.
- ETH/AVAX received as fees → return on capital.
dYdX v4: own chain in Cosmos
dYdX launched its own L1 built with the Cosmos SDK in 2023. Trading profits in dYdX v4 continue to be taxed on the general basis. DYDX staking → return on equity.
Hyperliquid (HYPE): The Leading Perpetuals DEX in 2025
Hyperliquid created its own high-performance gasless L1. In November 2024 it made the largest airdrop in the history of DeFi (HYPE tokens).
HYPE airdrop: Capital gain according to market price at the time of receipt → general basis.
Trading on Hyperliquid: PnL is taxed on a general basis. Commissions in USDC deductible from PnL.
Liquidations: the most painful loss
If your position is liquidated (margin call):
- The realized loss is a capital loss/negative result → deductible on a general basis.
- Lost collateral (USDC or crypto) is considered transferred upon settlement.
Losses on general basis vs. savings base
Derivative losses (general basis) can only be offset against general basis gains from the same year or the following 4 years. They cannot offset profits from the savings base (e.g., from Bitcoin spot).
This is a crucial point: basis separation can be very unfavorable if you have losses in futures and profits in spot.
Registration for Perp DEX
- dYdX: Export trade history from the interface.
- GMX/Hyperliquid: Explorers (Arbiscan for GMX, Hyperliquid explorer for HYPE).
- Tool: Koinly with limited support for Perp DEX. In many cases, manual registration.
Updated: April 2026 | Fiscal year: 2025