Avantis Review 2026
About Avantis
Avantis is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange built on Base (Coinbase's Ethereum L2) that lets traders take leveraged positions on crypto and real-world assets, including forex, commodities, indices, and MAG7 equities, from a single non-custodial account. All trades settle against a shared USDC market-making vault (AVLP), a synthetic-liquidity model that supports up to 500x leverage on crypto majors while forex, commodities, and indices are capped at 100x and equities at 25x. Avantis pioneered Zero-Fee Perpetuals (ZFP): traders pay no opening, closing, or borrowing fees on losing positions and only a profit share of roughly 2.5-10% of gross PnL on winning trades, with ZFP live for BTC, ETH, and SOL at up to 250x. Its fixed-fee product charges about 6 bps (0.06%) opening and closing on BTC/ETH/SOL and 8 bps on altcoins. The protocol adds loss rebates of up to 20% for traders on the minority side of a skewed market, positive-slippage rewards for balancing open interest, and AVNT staking discounts of up to 40%. Launched on Base mainnet in February 2024 by Avantis Labs and backed by Pantera, Founders Fund, Galaxy, and the Base Ecosystem Fund, it is the largest perpetuals DEX on Base with over $20B in cumulative volume.
KEY FACTS
- CUSTODY
- non-custodial
- TAKER FEE
- 0.06%
- MAX LEVERAGE
- 500x
- NETWORKS
- Base, Ethereum
- KYC REQUIRED
- No
- FOUNDED
- 2023
Fee Structure
| MARKET | TAKER | MAKER |
|---|---|---|
| Perpetuals | 0.06% | 0.06% |
| Best Tier | 0.036% | 0.036% |
Leverage & Margin
Security
Pros & Cons
PROS
- + Zero-Fee Perpetuals: no opening, closing, or borrowing fees on losing trades — only a 2.5-10% profit share on winning positions
- + Fixed-fee perps cost just 6 bps (0.06%) opening and closing on BTC/ETH/SOL, and 8 bps (0.08%) on altcoins
- + 90+ markets from one account: 60+ crypto pairs plus 18+ forex pairs, commodities (gold, silver, WTI, Brent), indices (SPY, QQQ) and MAG7 equities
- + Up to 500x leverage on crypto majors (forex/commodities/indices 100x, equities 25x)
- + Loss rebates of up to 20% for traders on the minority side of a skewed market, plus positive-slippage rewards for balancing open interest
- + AVNT staking gives up to 40% discount on both fixed-fee and zero-fee perps across a 5-tier system
- + Non-custodial with no KYC — connect an EVM wallet and trade instantly with USDC on Base
- + Audited by Zellic, Zokyo and Sherlock, with Chaos Labs handling economic risk parameters; backed by Pantera, Founders Fund and Galaxy
CONS
- − Single-chain deployment on Base only — traders on other networks must bridge assets in
- − USDC is the only accepted collateral, so holders of other stablecoins must convert first
- − Oracle- and keeper-based execution means dependency on Chainlink feed reliability during extreme volatility
- − No dedicated insurance fund — liquidation shortfalls are absorbed by the shared LP vault
- − No native mobile app; access is web-based only
- − Relatively new, having launched on Base mainnet in February 2024, with a shorter track record than established competitors
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Avantis and how does it differ from other perp DEXs?
Avantis is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange on Base that supports crypto, forex, commodities, indices, and equities — unlike most perp DEXs that trade only crypto. All positions settle against a shared USDC vault, and it pioneered Zero-Fee Perpetuals where traders pay fees only on profitable trades, not on losers.
What fees does Avantis charge?
Avantis runs two models. Fixed-fee perps charge about 6 bps (0.06%) to open and 6 bps to close on BTC/ETH/SOL, and 8 bps (0.08%) on altcoins. Zero-Fee Perpetuals charge no opening, closing, or borrowing fees on losing trades, taking only a 2.5-10% share of gross profit on wins. AVNT staking cuts fees by up to 40%.
What is Avantis 500x leverage and what is the maximum?
Avantis offers up to 500x leverage on crypto majors through its synthetic-liquidity model, though practical, risk-adjusted leverage is often lower. Zero-Fee Perpetuals currently cap BTC, ETH, and SOL at 250x. Forex, commodities, and indices are limited to 100x, and MAG7 equities to 25x, with exact limits varying by asset and market conditions.
Does Avantis require KYC?
No. Avantis is fully non-custodial and decentralized, so no KYC or account signup is required. Users connect an EVM-compatible wallet such as MetaMask and can start trading immediately with USDC on Base. Note that Avantis geoblocks the United States and OFAC-sanctioned jurisdictions under its terms of use.
What collateral and networks does Avantis support?
USDC is the only collateral accepted on Avantis, so other stablecoins must be swapped to USDC first. The exchange is built on Base, Coinbase's Ethereum L2, so traders need ETH on Base for gas and USDC for margin. Funds can be bridged in from Ethereum mainnet and other chains.
Is Avantis safe and has it been audited?
Avantis has undergone multiple security audits: Zellic and Zokyo reviewed the v1 protocol and Sherlock audited v1.5, with Chaos Labs setting economic risk parameters. It is backed by Pantera, Founders Fund, and Galaxy. As with all DeFi protocols, smart-contract and oracle risks remain, and there is no dedicated insurance fund.
What is the loss rebate on Avantis?
Traders who open positions on the minority side of a skewed market — going against popular sentiment — can earn a loss rebate of up to 20% of their net loss. This mechanism rewards contrarian trades that help balance open interest, reducing risk for the shared liquidity vault that backs every position.
https://docs.avantisfi.com · https://www.avantisfi.com · https://docs.avantisfi.com/trading/zero-fee-perpetuals-zfp · https://dexcexhub.com/Blog/Avantis · https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/d2d919ab-442c-4f93-b977-c9918090afbc · DeFiLlama API (TVL) · CoinGecko / CoinMarketCap · Volume note: Avantis is not listed on CoinGecko derivatives and DeFiLlama's perps volume API is now paywalled; volume_24h_usd is a documented recent perp-notional estimate, not a live API figure.