ChainBench · Flotapponnier · Aug 4, 2026 · Aug 4, 2026 · Aug 4, 2026
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+# OpenChainBench. Bench 144
+
+slug: perp-capital-efficiency
+number: "144"
+title: "Perp DEX capital efficiency: active markets per $M TVL, live"
+seo_title: "Perp DEX capital efficiency 2026"
+seo_description: "gains.trade lists 40+ active perp markets per $1M TVL versus Hyperliquid at under 0.1. Capital efficiency measures how many tradable instruments a venue can sustain per dollar of locked collateral. Synthetic oracle venues outperform CLOB venues by two orders of magnitude. Live from DefiLlama TVL and native venue APIs."
+subtitle: "Active perp markets divided by trading TVL in USD millions. Higher means more instruments supported per dollar of locked collateral. Synthetic oracle venues like gains.trade carry many markets on a shared pool; CLOB venues like Hyperliquid require dedicated market-maker inventory per pair."
+category: Trading
+status: live
+metric: Markets per $M TVL
+unit: count
+higher_is_better: true
+
+disclaimer: |
+  TVL from DefiLlama /protocol/{slug} currentChainTvls, excluding staking and pool2 categories. Market count from each venue's native API (same source as the perp-active-markets bench). The ratio reflects architectural choices, not absolute liquidity: a high ratio means the venue can list many markets cheaply, not that each market has deep liquidity. Compare with perp-open-interest for the liquidity angle.
+
+seo_intro: |
+  Every perp DEX comparison ranks by volume, fees or funding rates. Few ask the
+  capital question: how many markets can a venue sustain per dollar it locks up?
+  The answer reveals the structural gap between synthetic oracle venues and CLOB
+  order book venues. A synthetic venue like gains.trade needs one shared collateral
+  pool to back unlimited pairs. A CLOB like Hyperliquid needs market-maker inventory
+  for every individual pair. The collateral requirements scale completely differently.
+
+  gains.trade supports over 40 active markets per $1M of trading TVL. Hyperliquid
+  supports less than 0.1 markets per $1M TVL. The 400x gap is not a performance
+  difference; it is an architectural one. The bench does not judge which model is
+  better: deep single-pair liquidity has real value. It measures a real dimension
+  that existing leaderboards ignore entirely.
+
+abstract: |
+  The bench computes active_markets / (trading_tvl_usd / 1_000_000) for each
+  tracked perp venue. Both inputs are updated every 5 minutes. Active market count
+  comes from each venue's native API via the perp-cohort-stats harness (same
+  source as the perp-active-markets bench). Trading TVL comes from DefiLlama
+  /protocol/{slug} currentChainTvls with staking and pool2 keys excluded, also
+  polled every 5 minutes. The ratio is recomputed on every Prometheus scrape.
+  TVL fluctuates with collateral deposits and crypto prices, so the 24h average
+  smooths intraday noise.
+
+methodology:
+  - "Cadence: every 5 minutes. Both active_markets and TVL are re-read on the same sweep cycle."
+  - "Active markets: native venue API per the perp-active-markets bench methodology. gains.trade: Mobula perp pairs catalog (mainnet only). Hyperliquid: info metaAndAssetCtxs. dYdX: indexer perpetualMarkets. Others: native endpoints."
+  - "TVL: DefiLlama /protocol/{slug} currentChainTvls. Staking and pool2 keys excluded. Multi-chain TVL summed across all deployment chains."
+  - "gains.trade TVL: GToken vault across Arbitrum, Base, Polygon and ApeChain. This is the shared liquidity pool that backs all synthetic pairs simultaneously."
+  - "Hyperliquid TVL: total user deposits (USDC). Funds serve as both margin and implicit market-maker collateral; every listed pair draws from this pool for maker fills."
+  - "Ratio formula: avg_over_time(markets[24h]) / avg_over_time(tvl_usd[24h]) * 1_000_000."
+  - "Interpretation: a ratio of 40 means the venue can sustain 40 active markets per $1M locked. Higher is more capital-efficient in terms of market breadth."
+
+findings:
+  - "{{best_name}} leads capital efficiency with {{best_p50}} active markets per $1M TVL."
+  - "gains.trade lists {{p50:gains}} markets per $1M TVL, the highest among measured venues. Its synthetic oracle model backs 449+ pairs from a single shared GToken vault."
+  - "Hyperliquid lists {{p50:hyperliquid}} markets per $1M TVL. Its CLOB model requires market-maker inventory per pair; the $6B deposit base reflects that inventory requirement."
+  - "dYdX v4 lists {{p50:dydx}} markets per $1M TVL. Cosmos appchain orderbook."
+  - "GMX v2 lists {{p50:gmx-v2}} markets per $1M TVL. Its GM pools require per-market collateral, so adding a new market means deploying a new pool."
+  - "Ostium lists {{p50:ostium}} markets per $1M TVL. Synthetic perps on Arbitrum covering FX, crypto and commodities."
+
+source: https://github.com/ChainBench/OpenChainBench/tree/main/harnesses/perp-cohort-stats
+
+prometheus:
+  window: 24h
+  expected_freshness_seconds: 1800
+
+faq:
+  - q: "What does capital efficiency mean here?"
+    a: "It measures how many distinct perpetual markets a venue can sustain per $1M of trading collateral locked. Higher is more efficient: you get more instruments per dollar of capital. It does not measure depth per market."
+  - q: "Why does gains.trade win so clearly?"
+    a: "gains.trade uses synthetic oracles backed by a single shared liquidity pool (the GToken vault). Adding a new pair costs near zero additional capital. CLOB venues like Hyperliquid or GMX need per-pair market-maker inventory or per-pool collateral, so capital scales with pair count."
+  - q: "Is capital efficiency always desirable?"
+    a: "Not necessarily. Deep per-pair liquidity has value for large traders. A venue with 449 pairs on $11M TVL may have thin liquidity per pair. Pair this bench with perp-open-interest for the depth angle."
+  - q: "Why is TVL from DefiLlama and not native APIs?"
+    a: "DefiLlama aggregates TVL across all deployment chains and normalizes the methodology across venues. Native TVL endpoints (where they exist) differ in scope: some include user margin, others only LP collateral."
+  - q: "Does TVL change with crypto prices?"
+    a: "Yes. Venues whose TVL includes crypto-denominated assets (LP tokens, staked tokens) see their USD TVL move with prices. The 24h average smooths intraday moves, but the ratio can shift in volatile markets."
+
+providers:
+  - slug: gains
+    name: gains.trade
+    tag: Synthetic perps on Arbitrum, Base, Polygon and ApeChain, shared GToken vault
+    confidence_tier: onchain
+    formula: "avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue=\"gains\"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue=\"gains\"}[24h]) * 1000000"
+    queries:
+      p50: avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gains"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="gains"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      p90: quantile_over_time(0.90, perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gains"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="gains"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      p99: quantile_over_time(0.99, perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gains"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="gains"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      mean: avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gains"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="gains"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      success: avg_over_time(perp_venue_health{venue="gains"}[24h])
+      sample_size: count_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gains"}[24h])
+      series: perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gains"} / perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="gains"} * 1000000
+
+  - slug: hyperliquid
+    name: Hyperliquid
+    tag: Custom L1 HyperBFT CLOB, total user deposits as TVL
+    confidence_tier: onchain
+    formula: "avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue=\"hyperliquid\"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue=\"hyperliquid\"}[24h]) * 1000000"
+    queries:
+      p50: avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="hyperliquid"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="hyperliquid"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      p90: quantile_over_time(0.90, perp_venue_active_markets{venue="hyperliquid"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="hyperliquid"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      p99: quantile_over_time(0.99, perp_venue_active_markets{venue="hyperliquid"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="hyperliquid"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      mean: avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="hyperliquid"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="hyperliquid"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      success: avg_over_time(perp_venue_health{venue="hyperliquid"}[24h])
+      sample_size: count_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="hyperliquid"}[24h])
+      series: perp_venue_active_markets{venue="hyperliquid"} / perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="hyperliquid"} * 1000000
+
+  - slug: dydx
+    name: dYdX v4
+    tag: Cosmos appchain orderbook perps
+    confidence_tier: onchain
+    formula: "avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue=\"dydx\"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue=\"dydx\"}[24h]) * 1000000"
+    queries:
+      p50: avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="dydx"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="dydx"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      p90: quantile_over_time(0.90, perp_venue_active_markets{venue="dydx"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="dydx"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      p99: quantile_over_time(0.99, perp_venue_active_markets{venue="dydx"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="dydx"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      mean: avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="dydx"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="dydx"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      success: avg_over_time(perp_venue_health{venue="dydx"}[24h])
+      sample_size: count_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="dydx"}[24h])
+      series: perp_venue_active_markets{venue="dydx"} / perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="dydx"} * 1000000
+
+  - slug: gmx-v2
+    name: GMX v2
+    tag: EVM Arbitrum, per-market GM pool collateral
+    confidence_tier: onchain
+    formula: "avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue=\"gmx-v2\"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue=\"gmx-v2\"}[24h]) * 1000000"
+    queries:
+      p50: avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gmx-v2"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="gmx-v2"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      p90: quantile_over_time(0.90, perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gmx-v2"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="gmx-v2"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      p99: quantile_over_time(0.99, perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gmx-v2"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="gmx-v2"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      mean: avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gmx-v2"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="gmx-v2"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      success: avg_over_time(perp_venue_health{venue="gmx-v2"}[24h])
+      sample_size: count_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gmx-v2"}[24h])
+      series: perp_venue_active_markets{venue="gmx-v2"} / perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="gmx-v2"} * 1000000
+
+  - slug: ostium
+    name: Ostium
+    tag: Synthetic perps on Arbitrum, FX and commodities alongside crypto
+    confidence_tier: onchain
+    formula: "avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue=\"ostium\"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue=\"ostium\"}[24h]) * 1000000"
+    queries:
+      p50: avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="ostium"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="ostium"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      p90: quantile_over_time(0.90, perp_venue_active_markets{venue="ostium"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="ostium"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      p99: quantile_over_time(0.99, perp_venue_active_markets{venue="ostium"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="ostium"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      mean: avg_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="ostium"}[24h]) / avg_over_time(perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="ostium"}[24h]) * 1000000
+      success: avg_over_time(perp_venue_health{venue="ostium"}[24h])
+      sample_size: count_over_time(perp_venue_active_markets{venue="ostium"}[24h])
+      series: perp_venue_active_markets{venue="ostium"} / perp_venue_tvl_usd{venue="ostium"} * 1000000
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ const (
 	mFees30d       = "fees_30d"
 	mActiveMarkets = "active_markets"
 	mTopVol24h     = "top_market_volume_24h"
+	mTVL           = "tvl"
 )
 
 // Source names. Keep these stable: they appear as Prom label values
@@ -290,6 +291,17 @@ func priorityMap(venue, metric string) []string {
 		case "polymarket":
 			return []string{srcPolymarketNative}
 		}
+	case mTVL:
+		// TVL comes from DefiLlama /protocol/{slug} for venues where the
+		// slug is known and the TVL is meaningful trading collateral.
+		// Venues not listed here (e.g. polymarket, variational) have no
+		// reliable TVL signal and are omitted from the capital-efficiency bench.
+		switch venue {
+		case "hyperliquid", "gains", "gmx-v2", "dydx", "ostium",
+			"lighter", "paradex", "edgex", "aster", "vertex",
+			"grvt", "extended", "aevo", "pacifica":
+			return []string{srcDefillama}
+		}
 	}
 	return nil
 }
@@ -442,7 +454,7 @@ func (r *Router) Sweep() {
 
 	// Resolve each (venue, metric) using priorityMap. Run cross-check
 	// against the next source in the priority list.
-	cohortMetrics := []string{mVolume24h, mVolume30d, mOI, mFees30d, mActiveMarkets, mTopVol24h}
+	cohortMetrics := []string{mVolume24h, mVolume30d, mOI, mFees30d, mActiveMarkets, mTopVol24h, mTVL}
 	for _, v := range Registry {
 		var healthHits, healthTotal int
 		for _, metric := range cohortMetrics {
@@ -614,6 +626,8 @@ func publishCohort(venue, metric string, val float64) {
 		perpVenueActiveMarkets.WithLabelValues(venue).Set(val)
 	case mTopVol24h:
 		perpVenueTopMarketVolume24hUsd.WithLabelValues(venue).Set(val)
+	case mTVL:
+		perpVenueTvlUsd.WithLabelValues(venue).Set(val)
 	}
 }
 

@@ -73,6 +73,13 @@ var (
 		},
 		[]string{"venue"},
 	)
+	perpVenueTvlUsd = prometheus.NewGaugeVec(
+		prometheus.GaugeOpts{
+			Name: "perp_venue_tvl_usd",
+			Help: "Total value locked in USD per perp venue, excluding staking and pool2 categories. Source: DefiLlama /protocol/{slug} currentChainTvls.",
+		},
+		[]string{"venue"},
+	)
 	perpVenueHealth = prometheus.NewGaugeVec(
 		prometheus.GaugeOpts{
 			Name: "perp_venue_health",
@@ -137,6 +144,7 @@ func init() {
 		perpVenueVolume24hUsd, perpVenueVolume30dUsd, perpVenueOIUsd,
 		perpVenueFees30dUsd, perpVenueActiveMarkets, perpVenueTopMarketVolume24hUsd,
 		perpVenueMarketsByClass, perpVenueNoncoreMarketsTotal,
+		perpVenueTvlUsd,
 		perpVenueHealth, perpVenueFunding24hBps, perpVenueFundingIntervalHours,
 		perpVenueLastRefreshUnix,
 		perpCohortFetchErrors, perpCohortSourceUsed, perpCohortDataDivergence,

@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 )
 
@@ -61,6 +63,28 @@ var defillamaSlugMap = map[string]string{
 	"ostium":      "ostium",
 }
 
+// tvlSlugMap maps OCB venue slugs to DefiLlama /protocol/{slug} identifiers
+// used for the trading TVL endpoint. These slugs differ from defillamaSlugMap
+// (which uses -perps suffixed overview slugs). Verified 2026-08.
+// Venues omitted here (variational, polymarket) have no reliable TVL page.
+// tvlSlugMap verified 2026-08 against DefiLlama /protocol/{slug}.
+// vertex has no TVL page; variational and polymarket omitted (no protocol page).
+var tvlSlugMap = map[string]string{
+	"hyperliquid": "hyperliquid",
+	"gains":       "gains-network",
+	"gmx-v2":      "gmx",
+	"dydx":        "dydx",
+	"ostium":      "ostium",
+	"lighter":     "lighter",
+	"paradex":     "paradex",
+	"edgex":       "edgex",
+	"aster":       "aster",
+	"grvt":        "grvt",
+	"extended":    "extended",
+	"aevo":        "aevo",
+	"pacifica":    "pacifica-perps",
+}
+
 type llamaProto struct {
 	Slug     string   `json:"slug"`
 	Total24h *float64 `json:"total24h"`
@@ -105,9 +129,74 @@ func (s *DefiLlamaScrapeSource) Fetch() (*SourceResult, error) {
 			fmt.Printf("[perp-cohort][%s][%s] ok: fees30d=%.0f oi=%.0f\n", venueSlug, srcDefillama, fees30, oiNow)
 		}
 	}
+
+	// Fetch per-venue TVL in parallel using /protocol/{slug}.
+	type tvlResult struct {
+		venue string
+		tvl   float64
+		err   error
+	}
+	tvlCh := make(chan tvlResult, len(tvlSlugMap))
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	for venueSlug, llamaSlug := range tvlSlugMap {
+		wg.Add(1)
+		go func(v, l string) {
+			defer wg.Done()
+			tvl, err := s.protocolTVL(l)
+			tvlCh <- tvlResult{venue: v, tvl: tvl, err: err}
+		}(venueSlug, llamaSlug)
+	}
+	wg.Wait()
+	close(tvlCh)
+	for r := range tvlCh {
+		if r.err != nil {
+			perpCohortFetchErrors.WithLabelValues(r.venue, srcDefillama, classifyError(r.err.Error())).Inc()
+			fmt.Printf("[perp-cohort][%s][%s] tvl err: %v\n", r.venue, srcDefillama, r.err)
+			continue
+		}
+		if r.tvl > 0 {
+			res.SetIfPositive(r.venue, mTVL, r.tvl)
+			fmt.Printf("[perp-cohort][%s][%s] ok: tvl=%.0f\n", r.venue, srcDefillama, r.tvl)
+		}
+	}
+
 	return res, nil
 }
 
+// protocolTVL fetches the /protocol/{slug} endpoint and returns the trading
+// TVL in USD, excluding staking and pool2 categories which inflate the
+// headline number with non-trading capital.
+func (s *DefiLlamaScrapeSource) protocolTVL(slug string) (float64, error) {
+	url := "https://api.llama.fi/protocol/" + slug
+	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", url, nil)
+	req.Header.Set("User-Agent", "OpenChainBench-PerpCohort/1.0 contact@mobula.io")
+	req.Header.Set("Accept", "application/json")
+	resp, err := s.client.Do(req)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("request_error: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	if resp.StatusCode != 200 {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("status_%d", resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+	var proto struct {
+		CurrentChainTvls map[string]float64 `json:"currentChainTvls"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &proto); err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("parse: %w", err)
+	}
+	var total float64
+	for k, v := range proto.CurrentChainTvls {
+		k = strings.ToLower(k)
+		if strings.Contains(k, "staking") || strings.Contains(k, "pool2") {
+			continue
+		}
+		total += v
+	}
+	return total, nil
+}
+
 func findProto(o *llamaOverview, slug string) *llamaProto {
 	for i := range o.Protocols {
 		if o.Protocols[i].Slug == slug {

@@ -131,6 +131,11 @@ export const REMOVED_BENCH_SLUGS = new Set([
   // changed without notice. Specs deleted.
   "pm-fee-comparison",
   "pm-geographic-access",
+  // polymarket-resolution-delay was drafted in a worktree but never merged
+  // to main. Answer pages originally referenced it; those were updated to
+  // pm-resolution-delay (2026-08-04). A 308 redirect covers inbound links.
+  // Adding here prevents stale Redis data from re-appearing in the sitemap.
+  "polymarket-resolution-delay",
 ]);
 
 /**
@@ -147,5 +152,10 @@ export const REMOVED_PRODUCT_SLUGS = new Set([
   // dropped 2026-07-24. Product page was live briefly, so Google
   // likely indexed the URL. 410 speeds de-indexing.
   "bitquery",
+  // goldrush (Covalent) was removed from indexing-freshness bench in
+  // 2026-08-04 data-api report (PR #1758). Stale Redis data can keep
+  // the provider in getProviders() output while the page 404s; 410 guard
+  // + sitemap exclusion stop the smoke-gate rollback until Redis flushes.
+  "goldrush",
 ]);
 
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { getAllReports, getAllReportCategories } from "@/lib/reports/loader";
 import { COMPARE_PAIRS } from "@/data/compare-pairs";
 import { adHocPairs } from "@/lib/compare/adhoc-pairs";
 import { REMOVED_BENCH_SLUGS } from "@/middleware";
+import { REMOVED_PRODUCT_SLUGS } from "@/lib/removed-benches";
 import {
   isHlBuilderSlug,
   isHlBuilderWithHistory,
@@ -313,6 +314,10 @@ async function buildFullSitemap(): Promise<MetadataRoute.Sitemap> {
         if (await isHlBuilderSlug(slug)) return null;
         // Perp venue slugs (except polymarket) 308 to /perp/<slug>.
         if (PERP_PRODUCT_PILL_SLUGS.has(slug) && slug !== "polymarket") return null;
+        // Providers removed from all benches: stale Redis data can keep them
+        // in getProviders() while the page 410s. Explicit exclusion here
+        // prevents the smoke-gate rollback until the cache flushes.
+        if (REMOVED_PRODUCT_SLUGS.has(slug)) return null;
         const p = await getProvider(slug);
         return p ? slug : null;
       }),