dYdX's U.S. Gambit: Can DeFi Recover After $19B Outage?

Decentralized exchange dYdX is set to enter the U.S. market by the end of 2025, marking a strategic shift for the platform, which has long focused on derivatives trading. The move, announced by dYdX President Eddie Zhang in a Reuters interview, aims to expand the exchange's offerings to include spot trading of cryptocurrencies like Solana (SOLUSD) and aligns with a more favorable regulatory environment under U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a TradingView report. "It's very important for us as a platform to have something available in the United States," Zhang said, emphasizing the potential for regulatory clarity on perpetual contracts, according to a Yahoo Finance interview.

The U.S. expansion follows a contentious period for dYdX, which faced an eight-hour chain outage in October 2025 during the largest liquidation event in crypto history, wiping out $19 billion in positions, according to a Cryptopolitan article. The outage stemmed from a "misordered code process" and delays in validators restarting oracle sidecar services, leading to stale price data that caused incorrect trade executions and liquidations, according to Investor Empires. While no on-chain funds were lost, traders suffered losses tied to liquidations, prompting a governance vote to allocate up to $462,000 from the protocol's insurance fund for compensation, per a Cointelegraph report.

dYdX's response contrasts with Binance's $728 million relief package for affected traders, which included token vouchers and a BNB airdrop. Binance, however, did not assume liability for losses, a stance echoed by dYdX, which framed the compensation as a community-driven effort to restore trust. Coverage by Coinotag analysis highlighted the similarities in how both platforms responded. The outage highlighted vulnerabilities in decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure, particularly oracle dependencies and validator coordination, with experts noting that such disruptions can amplify losses by 20-30% during high-volatility events.

The U.S. market entry is also influenced by recent regulatory developments. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) indicated openness to regulating perpetual contracts, a product dYdX currently offers only outside the U.S. Upon entry, the exchange plans to reduce trading fees by up to 50% but will initially exclude perpetual contracts, pending regulatory guidance.

dYdX's token (DYDX) has faced a 50% price decline over 30 days, according to Nansen data, underscoring the challenges of navigating a volatile market. The platform's post-outage governance vote and U.S. expansion signal a broader push to balance decentralization with user protection, a theme echoed in industry discussions on liquidity safeguards and oracle redundancy.

As dYdX prepares for its U.S. debut, the exchange's ability to navigate regulatory scrutiny and technical resilience will be critical. With spot trading and reduced fees, the platform aims to capture a segment of the U.S. crypto market that has historically favored centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken.

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