GMX
GMX is a decentralized perpetual and spot exchange — not the GMX email service, which is an unrelated German webmail provider that shares the name. The crypto GMX lets traders open leveraged long and short positions on-chain, directly from their own wallet, trading against a shared multi-asset liquidity pool rather than an order book of other users. It launched in September 2021 on Arbitrum, later added Avalanche, is non-custodial, and is governed by holders of its GMX token. In July 2025 its older v1 contracts were exploited, but the attacker returned the funds and affected liquidity providers were later made whole.
What is GMX (crypto)?
First, a name clash worth clearing up: this GMX is a cryptocurrency exchange and has nothing to do with GMX Mail, the German webmail service. The crypto GMX is a decentralized exchange for on-chain trading. Its distinctive feature is perpetual futures — leveraged long and short positions on assets like BTC and ETH — alongside ordinary spot swaps. Instead of matching you against other traders in an order book, GMX routes trades against a shared multi-asset liquidity pool, and the traders on the other side are effectively the liquidity providers who fund that pool.
It launched in September 2021 on Arbitrum and later expanded to Avalanche. Because it is non-custodial, you connect your own wallet and the trade settles on-chain — no company takes custody of your deposit. The GMX token is used for governance and to share in protocol fees.
GMX perpetuals and the exchange
GMX is built around on-chain leverage. A trader posts collateral and opens a position of several times that size; profit and loss settle against the pool. In GMX v1 that pool was GLP, a single basket of assets; GMX v2 moved to isolated GM pools per market and added lower-slippage pricing drawn from oracles. Liquidity providers deposit into these pools and earn a cut of trading and borrowing fees, while taking on the other side of traders' bets.
What sets GMX apart from a centralized futures venue is that positions, collateral and settlement all live on-chain in your own wallet's control, with no sign-up or custody by an operator. The trade-offs are the ones inherent to on-chain leverage: funding and borrowing costs, the risk of liquidation if the market moves against you, and dependence on accurate price oracles.
Is GMX safe?
GMX is non-custodial, so no company vault holds your deposit — you trade from your own wallet, which removes the exchange-insolvency risk that centralized venues carry. Its contracts are audited and have handled large volume since 2021. That said, GMX has been exploited once at the contract level, so its record is not spotless.
In July 2025 an attacker used a re-entrancy flaw in the older GMX v1 contracts on Arbitrum to drain roughly $40-42 million from the v1 GLP pool. The unusual outcome: after GMX offered a bug-bounty arrangement, the attacker returned the funds, and the protocol finalized a compensation plan that repaid affected GLP holders in full using the recovered assets plus treasury funds. The current v2 system was not the target. The other risks are the ones common to any DEX and to leveraged trading: liquidation if a position moves against you, oracle dependence, and user-side threats such as phishing sites and malicious approval prompts. Confirm the official domain and read what you sign.
Incident record
In July 2025 an attacker exploited a re-entrancy vulnerability in GMX's older v1 contracts on Arbitrum, draining roughly $40-42 million from the v1 GLP liquidity pool by manipulating asset valuations. After GMX publicly offered a bug-bounty arrangement, the attacker returned the stolen assets (keeping an agreed ~$5M bounty), and GMX finalized a ~$44M compensation plan that repaid affected GLP holders in full using the recovered funds plus treasury support. GMX v2 was not affected. Recorded as confirmed because the funds were returned on-chain and impacted liquidity providers were independently made whole.
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Frequently asked
Is GMX the same as GMX email?+
No. The crypto GMX is a decentralized perpetual and spot exchange, unrelated to GMX Mail, a German webmail service that happens to share the name. This profile is about the exchange.
Is GMX safe?+
GMX is non-custodial, so you trade from your own wallet and no company holds your funds, and its contracts are audited and long-running. But it is not spotless: in July 2025 its older v1 contracts were exploited for about $40-42 million. The attacker returned the funds and affected GLP holders were repaid in full. The usual DEX and leverage risks remain: liquidation, oracle dependence, and phishing.
What is GMX used for?+
GMX lets you trade perpetual futures — leveraged long and short positions on assets like BTC and ETH — and swap spot tokens, all on-chain from your own wallet. Trades settle against a shared liquidity pool rather than an order book, and the GMX token is used for governance and fee sharing.
Was GMX hacked?+
Yes, once at the contract level: in July 2025 an attacker drained about $40-42 million from the older GMX v1 GLP pool via a re-entrancy flaw. After a bug-bounty offer the attacker returned the funds, and GMX finalized a roughly $44 million plan that repaid affected liquidity providers in full. GMX v2 was not affected.
What changed
- 2026-09-28Profile created: GMX the on-chain perpetuals exchange (disambiguated from GMX email), the v1/v2 pool model, and the July 2025 v1 exploit that was returned and fully compensated, recorded as confirmed.