I too saw profitability worsen despite a rebound in trading volume... Alea Research points to reliance on large accounts

Nado, the onchain perpetuals exchange, recovered trading volume in late Q3 2026 but saw profitability deteriorate, according to an October 28 report from Alea Research. The venue's Q3 perpetual futures volume fell 7% quarter-over-quarter to $18.65 billion, though monthly volume rebounded from $3.22 billion in July to $6.3 billion in August and $9.13 billion in September, the highest since March. Alea attributed the margin pressure to fee discounts for large accounts and expanded trading rewards, flagging the platform's reliance on a small set of big users. Real-world-asset perpetuals helped support open interest through relatively higher fee rates and longer-held positions, but remained too small to shift Nado's crypto-centric revenue base. Watch whether the September volume rebound persists and whether Nado can broaden its account base and rebalance incentives without further eroding margins.