# What is Gains Network? gTrade Perpetual DEX on Arbitrum Explained

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**Publisher:** Decentralized Finance Publication (https://decentralized-finance.io)
**Author:** Kaiser Khan
**Category:** Top DeFi Protocols
**Updated:** June 2026
**Trust:** Independent, ad-free editorial research. No display advertisements, no paid protocol coverage, no affiliate-driven rankings.

## Summary

Gains Network (gTrade) is a decentralised perpetuals exchange on Arbitrum where traders open leveraged positions on crypto, forex, and commodities using USDC collateral. Liquidity comes from gToken pools (gDAI, gUSDC) that act as the counterparty. The GNS token governs the protocol. gTrade offers up to 150× leverage on some pairs with low fees, competing with GMX on Arbitrum.

Gains Network operates gTrade — a decentralised perpetual futures platform on Arbitrum that uses synthetic pricing and gToken liquidity pools rather than a traditional order book. Traders deposit USDC and open leveraged long or short positions; gToken stakers act as the counterparty and earn a share of trading fees.

gTrade has been active since 2021 and supports crypto, forex, and commodity pairs with leverage up to 150× on select markets — among the highest in DeFi derivatives.

## gTokens and liquidity

- gDAI / gUSDC: Single-asset vaults that back trader PnL — stakers earn fees but bear trader profit risk
- Synthetic execution: Trades execute against pool liquidity with oracle pricing
- Low spread fees: Competitive fee structure versus CEX futures for major crypto pairs
- GNS token: Used for governance, staking, and protocol fee distribution

## Frequently Asked Questions

- What is Gains Network? Gains Network is the team behind gTrade — a synthetic perpetuals DEX on Arbitrum.
- gTrade vs GMX? gTrade uses synthetic assets and gToken pools; GMX uses GLP multi-asset pools. Both are Arbitrum-native perp DEXes.
- What is GNS? GNS is the Gains Network governance and utility token.
- Is gTrade non-custodial? Yes — funds remain in smart contracts; you connect a wallet to trade.

## Sources

- [gTrade](https://gains.trade): Official Gains Network trading interface
- [Gains Docs](https://docs.gains.trade): Protocol documentation
- [Gains on DeFiLlama](https://defillama.com/protocol/gains-network): TVL and volume analytics

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