Extended

Extended has quickly earned its place among the most talked-about perpetual DEXes heading into 2026. Built by a team of former Revolut executives and now running natively on Starknet, this platform blends traditional finance market access with decentralized infrastructure in a way few competitors have attempted. We spent several weeks testing Extended across its crypto and TradFi markets, and came away impressed by the speed and polish, though with a few reservations worth discussing.

What is Extended?

Extended, formerly known as X10, is a hybrid decentralized perpetual futures exchange built on Starknet. The platform is led by Ruslan Fakhrutdinov, who previously served as Head of Crypto Operations at Revolut, one of Europe's largest neobanks. Fakhrutdinov brought along several colleagues from Revolut, and that fintech pedigree is visible in almost every aspect of the product.

The project launched in 2024 on StarkEx before completing a full migration to Starknet mainnet in August 2025. That migration was a significant engineering undertaking carried out in three stages. For the first two weeks, both the StarkEx and Starknet versions ran simultaneously, with StarkEx vault deposits closed. The StarkEx version then entered reduce-only mode before shutting down completely. User balances, points, and trading history all carried over automatically.

Extended raised $6.5 million in funding from a strong roster of backers including Tioga Capital, Semantic Ventures, Prelude, StarkWare, Cyber Fund, several Revolut executives, and Lido co-founder Konstantin Lomashuk. The platform has processed over $92 billion in cumulative perpetual volume and has surpassed $200 million in TVL. Monthly volumes have recently been hitting approximately $27.2 billion, with open interest above $72 million.

The vision behind Extended goes beyond being just another perp DEX. The team aims to build an EVM-compatible network on top of Starknet where unified margin logic is embedded directly into the base layer, essentially creating a Binance-like experience with fully decentralized settlement. In the perp DEX hierarchy, community analysts have placed Extended in the A-tier alongside platforms like Lighter and Variational, just below the S-tier occupied by Hyperliquid.

Features and Functionality

Trading Interface

The first thing we noticed when loading Extended was how familiar it felt. If you have ever used a centralized exchange like Binance or Bybit, you will feel at home. The layout follows the standard pro-trading format: an order book on the left, a price chart in the center, and order entry on the right. The charting is powered by TradingView, so you get the full suite of technical indicators, drawing tools, and timeframes that active traders expect.

Order entry supports market orders, limit orders, and stop-loss orders. We found the interface responsive, with orders appearing in the book essentially instantaneously. Placing, canceling, and modifying orders felt as fast as any centralized exchange we have tested, which is notable given that settlement happens on Starknet. The team claims sub-10ms end-to-end order latency, and our experience was consistent with that. Stop-loss execution did not suffer the lag typical of fully on-chain venues.

One thing Extended does well is the way it handles the complexity of Starknet. Traders coming from EVM chains do not need to bridge assets to Starknet manually. You can connect from six major EVM chains and start trading without worrying about the underlying Starknet infrastructure. This is a meaningful improvement over other Starknet-based DEXes that still require Starknet-specific wallets like Argent or Braavos.

Supported Markets

Extended offers over 50 markets, and this is where things get interesting. Beyond the standard crypto perpetuals like BTC/USD, ETH/USD, SOL/USD, and the major altcoins, Extended provides perpetual contracts on traditional finance assets. You can trade EUR/USD forex, gold (XAU), the S&P 500 index, and oil futures, all with up to 100x maximum leverage.

Trading TradFi assets on a decentralized platform around the clock is genuinely useful. Traditional forex markets close on weekends. Stock indices have limited trading hours. On Extended, these markets are available 24/7, which gives crypto-native traders exposure to asset classes they might not otherwise access without opening brokerage accounts. That said, the 50-market count is smaller than what you would find on Paradex or Hyperliquid, which offer more extensive listings.

Liquidity and Order Book Depth

With $200 million in TVL and daily volumes around $900 million, Extended has established meaningful liquidity for a DEX that only migrated to Starknet in mid-2025. We tested order book depth on the BTC/USD pair and found tight spreads during active trading hours, typically 1-2 basis points. The larger altcoin pairs had wider spreads, as expected, but nothing that would concern a typical retail trader.

Open interest above $72 million indicates that traders are holding significant positions on the platform, not just executing quick trades. The 55% repeat depositor rate is a strong signal of user satisfaction. In DeFi, where switching costs are essentially zero, a repeat rate above 50% suggests the product is doing something right.

Liquidity is supported by the Community Vault program, which allows users to deposit funds that are then used to provide liquidity across the platform's markets. This is Extended's approach to bootstrapping depth without relying entirely on professional market makers.

Advanced Features

Extended offers a staking mechanism for its upcoming EXT governance token, though the token has not launched yet. The Token Generation Event is planned for the first half of 2026, and the team has confirmed that an airdrop will reward early users based on accumulated points. Currently, 1.2 million points are distributed weekly to active traders and liquidity providers.

The platform also supports cross-asset collateral and plans to add unified margin, spot trading, and lending markets. These features are part of the longer-term roadmap to create a comprehensive DeFi trading platform. For now, the core offering remains perpetual contracts, which is where Extended excels.

Fees and Pricing

Fee Structure

Extended charges a 0.05% total fee per trade, which is split between maker and taker components. Compared to many centralized exchanges that charge 0.1% or more, this is competitive. Gas fees on Starknet are extremely low, typically between $0.01 and $0.10 per transaction, making Extended one of the cheapest platforms for gas costs among all perp DEXes.

The platform also offers a referral program that reduces fees further. Referees receive a 10% fee discount on their first $50 million in trading volume, and referrers earn 10% of the net fees generated by their referrals plus bonus points. For traders using our affiliate link, you can save 10% on all fees.

There are no deposit or withdrawal fees beyond the minimal Starknet gas costs. This is a significant advantage compared to some competing platforms that charge withdrawal fees or require expensive bridging transactions.

How Extended Fees Compare

Extended's taker fee of 0.05% puts it in line with dYdX and below GMX, but above Hyperliquid and Vertex. Where Extended gains ground is on gas costs, which are among the lowest in the industry thanks to Starknet's STARK proof compression. For traders executing many small orders, the near-zero gas can make a real difference over time.

Real-World Cost Examples

To put the fees in perspective, here are some concrete examples of what you would pay on Extended:

A $10,000 BTC/USD long position at market would cost $5.00 in trading fees (0.05%) plus approximately $0.05 in gas, for a total cost of $5.05. On GMX, that same trade would cost $7.00 in fees (0.07%) plus $0.30 in gas, totaling $7.30. On Hyperliquid, you would pay $2.00 (0.02%) with zero gas.

A $50,000 ETH/USD position would cost $25.00 in fees on Extended, compared to $35.00 on GMX and $10.00 on Hyperliquid. For a $1,000 gold perpetual position, Extended would charge $0.50 plus minimal gas, which is hard to beat considering you are trading a traditional finance asset on a decentralized venue.

The takeaway is that Extended is mid-range on fees. It is not the cheapest, but the combination of low gas costs and competitive taker rates makes it reasonable for most traders. High-volume traders who qualify for maker rebates will find the effective cost even lower.

Security and Safety

Smart Contract Audits

Extended has undergone two formal security audits. The first was conducted by StarkWare in March 2024, covering the StarkEx integration that powered the original X10 platform. The second audit was completed by Nethermind in August 2025, focusing specifically on the Starknet migration and the new smart contracts deployed on mainnet.

Nethermind is a well-respected infrastructure provider in the Ethereum and Starknet ecosystems, known for their Ethereum client and their deep understanding of Cairo, the programming language used on Starknet. Having Nethermind audit the migration was a good choice given their specialization.

The codebase is open source, which means anyone can inspect the smart contracts. This transparency is important for a platform that holds user funds and settles trades on-chain.

Security Track Record

As of early 2026, Extended has not suffered any security incidents or exploits. The migration from StarkEx to Starknet was completed without loss of user funds, which is worth noting since protocol migrations are inherently risky operations. The fact that user balances carried over smoothly during a three-stage migration speaks to the quality of the engineering team.

That said, the platform is still relatively young. The Starknet version has only been live since August 2025, which means it has less than six months of mainnet history. More time will provide a clearer picture of long-term security. We would like to see additional audits from other firms as the protocol evolves and adds new features.

User Protection Features

Extended implements several protective measures. The platform uses a multisig wallet for administrative functions, meaning no single person can make critical changes to the protocol. There is a 48-hour timelock delay on governance actions, giving users time to review proposed changes and withdraw funds if they disagree.

The bug bounty program offers up to $250,000 for critical vulnerabilities, which is a reasonable amount for a protocol of this size. We would like to see this increased as TVL grows, but it provides meaningful incentive for security researchers.

All trades are settled on-chain on Starknet, which means the settlement layer inherits the security of Ethereum through STARK proofs. Even if the off-chain matching engine were compromised, the on-chain settlement contracts enforce correct execution.

Getting Started with Extended

Connecting Your Wallet

Getting started with Extended is simple compared to other Starknet applications. Visit the Extended app at app.extended.exchange and click the Connect Wallet button. You can use MetaMask, WalletConnect, or any standard EVM wallet. You do not need a Starknet-specific wallet like Argent or Braavos, which is a significant onboarding improvement.

The EVM wallet compatibility works because Extended handles the Starknet account abstraction behind the scenes. When you connect your MetaMask, the platform creates a Starknet session for you automatically. From your perspective, it feels identical to connecting to any Ethereum or Arbitrum application. We tested this with both MetaMask and Rabby Wallet, and both connected without any issues on the first attempt. The whole process from visiting the site to having a connected wallet took under 30 seconds.

One detail worth mentioning: when you first connect, Extended will ask you to sign a message to initialize your Starknet account. This signature is gasless and costs nothing. It simply authenticates your EVM wallet with the Starknet backend. After this one-time signature, all subsequent visits will recognize your wallet automatically without needing to sign again.

Making Your First Deposit

Extended supports deposits from six major EVM chains, so you do not need to bridge assets to Starknet manually. You can deposit USDC or ETH directly from Ethereum mainnet, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, or other supported chains. The bridging happens in the background, and deposits typically confirm within a few minutes depending on the source chain.

For the lowest cost deposits, we recommend using Arbitrum or Base as your source chain, since the gas fees are lower than Ethereum mainnet. A deposit from Arbitrum will typically cost under $0.50 in gas, whereas depositing from Ethereum mainnet could cost $5-15 depending on network congestion.

During our testing, we deposited $500 in USDC from Arbitrum. The process involved clicking the Deposit button, selecting Arbitrum as the source chain, entering the amount, and approving a single transaction in MetaMask. The funds appeared in our Extended account approximately 90 seconds later. We also tried a deposit from Ethereum mainnet, which took about 5 minutes and cost roughly $8 in gas. The difference in cost and speed makes L2 deposits the obvious choice for most users.

One practical tip: Extended requires a minimum deposit amount to cover the bridging costs. During our testing, this minimum was approximately $10 worth of USDC. If you try to deposit less, the transaction will fail. Make sure you have enough to clear this threshold on your first deposit.

Placing Your First Trade

Once your deposit is confirmed, select the market you want to trade from the dropdown at the top of the page. Choose your position size, select your leverage (from 1x to 100x), and pick your order type. For your first trade, we recommend starting with a market order on the BTC/USD pair with low leverage, just to get familiar with the execution speed and interface.

After clicking Submit, you will see the order execute almost immediately. Your position will appear in the Positions panel at the bottom of the screen, showing your entry price, unrealized PnL, and liquidation price. Setting a stop-loss is highly recommended, especially when using higher leverage.

We placed a test $1,000 BTC/USD long position at 5x leverage during our review. The market order filled in what felt like less than a second, and the entry price matched the displayed quote almost exactly. The total fee was $0.50 (0.05% of $1,000) plus roughly $0.03 in Starknet gas. We then set a stop-loss 5% below our entry price, which also placed instantly. Closing the position later was equally fast. The entire experience felt comparable to what you would expect on a centralized exchange, which speaks to the quality of the engineering team.

For traders coming from centralized exchanges, the adjustment period is minimal. The order types work the same way, the position management tools are in familiar locations, and the speed eliminates the typical frustration of waiting for on-chain confirmations. The main difference is that you are signing transactions in your wallet rather than clicking a button with a pre-authenticated session, but even this feels natural after a few trades.

User Experience

Desktop Platform

The desktop trading interface earns a 9.0 out of 10 in our user experience rating, and we think that is fair. The layout is clean, responsive, and customizable. Charts render smoothly, the order book updates in real time, and we experienced no crashes or significant bugs during our testing period. The dark theme is well-executed and easy on the eyes for extended trading sessions.

Page load times were consistently fast, and switching between markets was instantaneous. The platform feels like a well-funded product built by people who understand what traders need, which makes sense given the Revolut heritage of the founding team.

One feature we found particularly useful is the one-click trading mode. After enabling it in settings, you can place market orders without a separate wallet confirmation each time. This is especially valuable for active traders who need to enter and exit positions quickly. The feature uses session keys on Starknet to pre-authorize trading actions while still maintaining the self-custodial nature of the platform.

The portfolio overview panel at the bottom of the screen shows all open positions, pending orders, and recent trade history in a tabbed layout. We appreciated that the unrealized PnL updates tick-by-tick, giving you an accurate picture of your position performance at all times. The liquidation price is prominently displayed for each position, and we noticed the platform sends browser notifications when a position approaches its liquidation threshold, which is a thoughtful safety feature.

Mobile Experience

Extended does not have a dedicated mobile app as of early 2026. The web application is responsive and works on mobile browsers, but it is not the same as a native experience. For quick position checks or closing trades on the go, the mobile web version is adequate. For detailed charting and active trading, you will want to use a desktop.

We tested the mobile web interface on both iPhone and Android devices. The swap page loaded correctly and the order entry form was usable, though the order book display was compressed to the point where reading individual price levels was difficult. Placing a market order to close a position worked without issues, which is the most important mobile use case. But attempting to set up a new limit order with a specific stop-loss proved cumbersome on a phone screen.

This is an area where Extended lags behind competitors like Hyperliquid, which offers a polished mobile experience. We expect a mobile app to be on the roadmap, but it is not available yet.

Customer Support

Extended maintains an active Discord community where the team responds to questions regularly. The documentation at docs.extended.exchange covers the basics of getting started, the fee structure, and the technical architecture. We found the docs clear but somewhat sparse compared to more mature protocols.

For urgent issues, Discord is the primary support channel. Response times during our testing were within a few hours during business hours. There is no live chat or ticket system, which is typical for DeFi protocols at this stage. We posted a question about cross-chain deposit times in the support channel and received an accurate, helpful response from a team member within about two hours.

Extended vs Competitors

Extended vs Hyperliquid: Hyperliquid dominates the perp DEX market in 2026 with the highest volume and lowest fees. Extended cannot match Hyperliquid on raw volume or fee competitiveness. However, Extended offers something Hyperliquid does not: TradFi markets like forex, gold, and equity indices. If you want to trade EUR/USD on a DEX, Extended is one of your few options. Extended also supports standard EVM wallets out of the box, while Hyperliquid requires its own deposit flow.

Extended vs dYdX: These two platforms have similar taker fees at 0.05%, but dYdX offers many more markets (180+ vs 50+) and runs on its own Cosmos-based chain. Extended's advantage is the TradFi market access and the significantly lower gas costs on Starknet. Both platforms are order book based, providing similar execution quality.

Extended vs GMX: GMX is an established AMM-based perp DEX on Arbitrum with deeper TVL ($500M+) and a proven track record. Extended offers lower fees (0.05% vs 0.07%) and more market variety including TradFi assets. GMX's AMM model means you trade against a pool rather than an order book, which some traders prefer for its simplicity but which can result in worse execution on larger orders.

Who Should Use Extended?

Extended is best suited for traders who want access to both crypto and traditional finance markets from a single decentralized platform. If you are interested in trading gold, forex, or equity indices alongside BTC and ETH perpetuals, Extended is one of the few DEXes that offer this combination.

The platform is also a good fit for EVM-native traders who want to access the Starknet ecosystem without dealing with Starknet-specific wallets or complex bridging. The MetaMask-compatible onboarding makes it easy to try Extended without committing to a new wallet setup.

High-leverage traders will appreciate the 100x maximum leverage, though we always recommend caution with such high multiples. The sub-10ms execution speed makes Extended suitable for active traders and scalpers who need fast order fills.

Extended is probably not ideal for traders who prioritize the absolute lowest fees. Hyperliquid and Vertex both offer lower taker fees. It is also not the best choice for traders who need a wide selection of altcoin markets, since 50 pairs is modest compared to platforms with 150+ listings. And if you need a polished mobile trading app, you will want to look elsewhere for now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Extended migrate from StarkEx to Starknet?

The migration to Starknet enables full EVM wallet compatibility, meaning anyone can connect with MetaMask without needing Starknet-specific wallets. Starknet also offers more flexibility for smart contract development and allows Extended to build toward its vision of an EVM-compatible network with unified margin logic embedded in the base layer.

What TradFi assets can I trade on Extended?

Extended offers perpetual contracts on EUR/USD forex, gold (XAU), S&P 500 index, and oil. These markets are available 24/7 with up to 100x leverage, allowing crypto traders to gain traditional finance exposure without leaving the DeFi ecosystem.

Is Extended the same as X10?

Yes, Extended was formerly known as X10. The platform rebranded when it migrated from StarkEx to Starknet mainnet in August 2025. All user data, balances, and points carried over automatically during the transition.

When will the EXT token launch?

The Token Generation Event for the EXT governance token is planned for the first half of 2026. The team has confirmed an airdrop that rewards early users based on accumulated points. Currently, 1.2 million points are distributed weekly to active traders and liquidity providers.

How does Extended compare to Hyperliquid on fees?

Extended charges a 0.05% taker fee compared to Hyperliquid's 0.02%. However, Extended offers TradFi markets that Hyperliquid does not, and its gas costs on Starknet ($0.01-0.10) are among the lowest in the industry. For traders who value market variety over the absolute lowest fees, Extended provides a compelling alternative.

Is Extended safe to use?

Extended has been audited by StarkWare (March 2024) and Nethermind (August 2025). The platform uses multisig governance and a 48-hour timelock for protocol changes. All trades settle on-chain on Starknet, inheriting Ethereum security through STARK proofs. The codebase is open source. No security incidents have been reported as of early 2026.

Do I need a Starknet wallet to use Extended?

No. After the Starknet migration, Extended supports full EVM wallet compatibility. You can connect using MetaMask, WalletConnect, or any standard EVM wallet. The platform handles Starknet account abstraction behind the scenes, making onboarding as easy as any Ethereum-based application.

What leverage does Extended offer?

Extended offers up to 100x leverage on perpetual contracts for both crypto and TradFi markets. This is among the highest available on any perp DEX. We recommend starting with lower leverage until you are comfortable with the platform and always using stop-losses to manage risk.

Final Verdict

Extended earns an overall rating of 8.8 out of 10 in our assessment, and we think it deserves the score. The platform does several things that no other perp DEX currently matches: TradFi markets on a decentralized venue, smooth EVM wallet onboarding to Starknet, and CEX-level execution speed with on-chain settlement.

The team's Revolut background shows in the product quality. Everything from the trading interface to the onboarding flow feels polished and professional. The $92 billion in cumulative volume and 55% repeat depositor rate suggest we are not alone in our positive assessment.

However, Extended is not without weaknesses. The 50-market count is modest, the token has not launched yet, and the platform is still young on Starknet with less than six months of mainnet history. Fees are competitive but not the lowest. And the lack of a dedicated mobile app is a gap that needs filling.

For traders who want a fast, well-designed perp DEX with unique TradFi market access, Extended is worth trying. The 10% fee discount available through our referral link makes it even more attractive for new users. We will be watching closely as the EXT token launch approaches and as the team continues building toward their ambitious vision of a comprehensive DeFi trading platform on Starknet.