About Synthetix
Last updated: Mar 24, 2026
Synthetix is the first decentralized perpetual futures protocol built on Ethereum Mainnet. The Synthetix Exchange provides offchain order matching through a high-performance Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) with onchain settlement on Ethereum, the world's most secure smart contract platform.
Synthetix is powered by its traders, liquidity providers, token holders, and community. Liquidity providers enable deep and efficient markets, while the Synthetix community continues to drive innovation, governance, and ecosystem growth.
Synthetix is designed for:
- Traders seeking deep liquidity, low slippage, and advanced trading features on a decentralized platform.
- Liquidity Providers supplying capital to support efficient markets and protocol growth.
- Token Holders and Community Members participating in the Synthetix ecosystem and future protocol initiatives.
How Synthetix differs from traditional exchanges
| Traditional exchange | Synthetix | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund custody | Exchange holds your funds | You access your funds via your wallet |
| Accounts | Requires sign-up and KYC | No account or identity verification |
| Rules | Controlled by a company | Enforced by smart contracts |
| Settlement | Internal ledger | On-chain and transparent |
How perpetual futures work
Synthetix trades perpetual futures, derivative contracts with no expiry date. Instead of converging to a spot price at expiry, perpetuals use a funding rate to keep the contract price close to the underlying index.
- When the perpetual trades above the index price, longs pay shorts.
- When the perpetual trades below the index price, shorts pay longs.
Funding accrues continuously and settles to subaccount balances. See Funding for rates and mechanics.
What to Explore Next
Now that you understand how Synthetix works, you can explore specific parts of the protocol in more detail:
- 👉 Products, learn about Synthetix trading, staking, and liquidity products
- 👉 SNX Token, understand the protocol token and how it powers Synthetix
- 👉 Synthetix History, understand how the protocol has evolved over time