Decibel Goes Live on Aptos With $58M War Chest

What to Know

$58 million in pre-deposit capital was committed before Decibel's mainnet launch on Aptos
The perpetuals exchange attracted over 700,000 unique accounts and 132,000 daily active users during its public testnet
Decibel uses usDCBL, a stablecoin from Bridge, a Stripe company, as default collateral
The onchain derivatives sector generated $920 billion in volume over the past 30 days, according to DeFiLlama

Decibel, a fully onchain perpetuals exchange incubated by Aptos Labs, launched on the Aptos mainnet on Wednesday with over $58 million in pre-deposit commitments and a collateral system powered by Stripe's Bridge, the Decibel Foundation said in a statement.

Testnet Activity and Pre-Deposit Campaign

The mainnet debut follows a public testnet that attracted more than 700,000 unique accounts and 132,000 daily active users, according to the foundation. Participants executed over 1 million trades per day during the testing period, and the subsequent pre-deposit campaign locked over $58 million ahead of activation.

Decibel's launch comes amid fierce competition among onchain perpetuals venues. The sector racked up $920 billion in trading volume over the past 30 days, according to data from DeFiLlama. Hyperliquid remains the category's dominant platform by volume, while contenders such as Aster and Lighter briefly gained traction before fading from the spotlight.

What Makes Decibel Different From Competitors?

Decibel operates a fully onchain central limit order book where order placement, matching, settlement, and risk management all execute via smart contracts on the Aptos network. This model replaces the offchain risk engines and discretionary controls common in traditional and crypto exchanges with predefined rules visible to users, the foundation stated.

The protocol becomes the first perpetuals exchange built on Aptos, a layer-1 blockchain offering sub-50-millisecond block times and sub-500-millisecond finality. Margin requirements and liquidation logic run entirely through transparent smart contracts rather than opaque centralized systems.

Stripe's Bridge Powers Collateral Layer

The platform uses usDCBL, a dollar-denominated stablecoin issued by Bridge, a Stripe company, as default collateral. Users can fund accounts from Aptos, Ethereum, Solana, or centralized exchanges. Roughly 40% of pre-deposit capital originated from Ethereum and Solana wallets, the foundation said.

What This Means Going Forward

The Decibel Foundation plans to add spot markets, multi-collateral accounts, and tokenized real-world assets, aiming to expand beyond crypto derivatives over time. With $58 million already locked and Stripe's Bridge backing its stablecoin infrastructure, Decibel enters the crowded onchain perpetuals landscape as the first native venue on Aptos.