News
Ratings
Learn
Companies
Open Companies →
Who runs each service, how it works, where the risks are.All 30 companies A–Z →
About
New to crypto? Start here
Perpetual DEXs · OBOL rating

MUX Protocol review

A leverage aggregator that routes to whichever venue is cheapest — useful, and one more layer between you and your collateral.

6.5/10
Mixed
#14 of 15 perpetual dexsChecked August 2026
The short answer

MUX compares funding and fees across underlying perpetual venues and opens your position wherever it costs least, which is a genuine saving for cost-sensitive traders. The price is an extra contract layer between you and your collateral, and thin native liquidity when routing is unattractive.

Best forAggregated leverage routing across venues

Score breakdown

Category rubric →
  1. Risk engine & liquidationsweight 25%
    6.0avg 7.0
  2. Depth & slippageweight 20%
    6.0avg 6.7
  3. Funding & feesweight 20%
    7.0avg 7.6
  4. Security recordweight 20%
    7.0avg 7.5
  5. Transparencyweight 15%
    6.5avg 7.3

this service category average across 15Score = Σ mark × weight. Usable, but there are better options for most people. Methodology.

The evidence behind each mark

Scoring rules →
CriterionMarkWhat we foundSourceChecked
Risk engine & liquidations6.0not sourced yetnot sourced yet—
Depth & slippage6.0not sourced yetnot sourced yet—
Funding & fees7.0not sourced yetnot sourced yet—
Security record7.0not sourced yetnot sourced yet—
Transparency6.5not sourced yetnot sourced yet—

What we liked, and what fell short

Liked
  • Routes positions to the best available venue automatically
  • Own liquidity pool as a fallback when routing is unfavourable
  • Multi-chain coverage from a single interface
Fell short
  • Aggregation adds contract risk on top of the venue you end up on
  • Native liquidity is shallow relative to the venues it routes into

Why the marks landed where they did

Perpetual venues price differently at different times: funding on one venue can be several times another's for the same exposure. MUX turns that dispersion into a product, routing positions to whichever underlying protocol is cheapest at the moment of opening.

How aggregation works

The router evaluates fees, funding and available liquidity across integrated venues — historically GMX, Gains and others — and opens the position there, or falls back to MUX's own liquidity pool if external routing is unattractive. From the user's perspective it is one interface and one position; underneath, the exposure may sit on a venue you did not choose.

The cost of the extra layer

You now hold risk in two places: the underlying venue's contracts and MUX's routing and pool contracts. Neither has been exploited, but the combination is strictly more surface than trading directly. There is also an information cost — knowing which venue holds your position matters when that venue has an incident, and aggregation makes that less immediate.

Liquidity and coverage

MUX operates across several chains including Arbitrum, Optimism, BNB Chain and Avalanche. Its own pool is shallow relative to the venues it routes into, so when external routing is unavailable the fallback is materially worse. Fees run roughly 0.04% to 0.08% plus borrowing on the underlying position.

Who should use MUX

Cost-sensitive traders who hold positions long enough for funding differentials to matter, and who understand that aggregation adds a layer rather than removing one. Traders who want to know exactly which contracts hold their collateral should go direct to a single venue.

FAQ

What does MUX actually do?
It compares fees, funding and liquidity across integrated perpetual venues and opens your position on whichever is cheapest, falling back to its own pool when external routing is unattractive.
Does aggregation make trading safer?
No — it adds MUX's contracts on top of the underlying venue's, so the total risk surface is larger even though the cost may be lower.
Which venues does MUX route to?
It has integrated major on-chain perpetual protocols including GMX and Gains across several chains, with the specific set changing over time.
Is MUX's own liquidity deep?
No. Its native pool is shallow compared with the venues it routes into, so fallback execution is noticeably worse than routed execution.