Overview
Synthetix Perps on Mainnet is an initiative to deliver perpetual futures trading natively on Ethereum, marrying the security guarantees of the Ethereum Mainnet with the performance traders expect from modern perpetuals venues. The offering centers on a hybrid model that separates order matching and execution latency from custody and settlement, enabling deep liquidity, competitive spreads, and composability with the wider DeFi ecosystem.
Core Capabilities
-
Offchain Order Book & Matching: Ultra-low latency order matching and an offchain order book provide millisecond execution to deliver a responsive trading experience similar to centralized venues while retaining onchain settlement.
-
Onchain Custody: All user-deposited assets remain on Ethereum Mainnet, ensuring maximal security, transparent onchain proofs, and seamless interoperability with other smart contracts and DeFi protocols.
-
Multicollateral Margin: Traders can collateralize positions with multiple assets — including ETH, wstETH, cbBTC, and sUSDe — allowing users to retain yield opportunities and portfolio flexibility while using those assets for margin.
-
Synthetix Liquidity Provider (SLP): Any user can deposit sUSD into the SLP to participate as a passive market-maker and earn revenue from spreads, trading fees, and liquidation events without active strategy management.
-
No Liquidations Staking Model (420 Pool): The staking system lets SNX holders stake alongside sUSD to earn predictable rewards without the typical liquidation risk associated with margin protocols, simplifying passive income strategies.
How It Works
Synthetix’s hybrid architecture decouples matching from custody. Orders are matched offchain by a fast matching engine that aggregates liquidity and optimizes fills. Once trades are executed offchain, resulting state changes and settlements are recorded and enforced onchain, while user collateral and net positions remain custodied on Ethereum Mainnet. This ensures traders benefit from low-latency execution without relinquishing the security and transparency of onchain asset custody.
The platform supports multiple collateral types to let sophisticated users maintain yield-bearing assets or diversified holdings while trading. Integrations with price oracles and market-data providers ensure reliable reference prices and risk management.
Synthetix Liquidity Provider (SLP)
The SLP program lowers the barrier to market-making. By depositing sUSD, liquidity providers earn returns generated by bid-ask spreads, protocol fees, and liquidation fees. The SLP abstracts away position management, so contributors do not need to actively trade; instead, the pool automates market-making behavior and distributes revenue to depositors. This model aims to broaden onchain liquidity and align incentives between traders and passive liquidity providers.
Staking and the 420 Pool
Synthetix introduces a staking experience designed for simplicity and steady rewards. Participants stake SNX paired with sUSD to earn protocol revenues without exposure to liquidation events. The model is intentionally non-custodial, allowing users to retain control of their funds and unstake as needed, while the protocol manages yield generation.
Why Choose Synthetix Perps on Mainnet?
-
Security-first design: By keeping custody on Ethereum Mainnet, Synthetix leverages the strongest settlement layer in DeFi.
-
Performance without compromise: The offchain matching engine provides the speed and features traders expect, while onchain settlement preserves trustlessness.
-
Flexible collateral options: Multicollateral support helps traders keep exposure to yield-bearing assets while using them as margin.
-
Accessible liquidity participation: The SLP opens market-making revenue to a broader community without requiring active strategy management.
Partners and Ecosystem
Synthetix Perps on Mainnet integrates with a variety of industry partners for infrastructure, data, and execution — including price oracles, analytics providers, and execution partners — to ensure resilient market data, routing, and tooling. These integrations reinforce security, performance, and developer composability across DeFi.
Recommendation
For traders seeking a decentralized perpetuals experience that doesn’t force a trade-off between custody security and execution speed, Synthetix on Mainnet presents a compelling option. It is particularly attractive for users who value onchain asset safety, need multicollateral margin flexibility, or wish to participate as passive liquidity providers through SLPs. As always, prospective users should review documentation, risk models, and contract audits before committing capital.
