GMX

gmx

Rank #317•Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Derivatives, Perpetuals

CoinYQ Dossier

GMX Split the Pool; It Could Not Automate Trust Away

Gambit became GMX by collapsing an older token system into one community asset. GMX then replaced GLP’s shared balance sheet with market-specific GM pools. Each redesign narrowed one risk and exposed the next operator: oracle signer, keeper, role admin, timelock or voter.

A community merger creates one token and one large basket

GMX arrived on Arbitrum in September 2021 after the XVIX and Gambit communities combined. Tokenomics reserved up to 6,000,000 GMX for migration. A 2023 DAO record counted 5,745,462 used before proposing to close the route. This was protocol lineage, not a statutory corporate merger.

V1 used GLP as a shared multi-asset pool. Traders opened leveraged positions against it; LPs received fees and absorbed the pool-side effect of trader profits and losses. One token made liquidity simple, but it also bundled markets, assets and imbalances.

That product is now historical. Since July 2025 v1 trading is disabled and GLP cannot be bought. Existing GLP can still be redeemed. Calling GLP the current engine would turn a withdrawal path into a live-product claim.

GM pools draw smaller risk circles

V2 creates one MarketToken for each configured market. Depositors add long and/or short backing assets and receive GM. Its price is the adjusted pool value divided by token supply. Pending net trader PnL is subtracted rather than added, with different PnL caps for deposits, withdrawals and trader closes. Borrowing-fee and price-impact pool adjustments also enter the valuation.

Isolation means an ETH market’s trader PnL need not be charged to every other GM pool. It does not mean LP yield is fixed. Backing assets can fall, traders can win, utilization can block withdrawals, parameters can change and synthetic markets can carry mismatched index exposure.

A signed price still needs a human-operated hand

Most actions take two transactions. The user creates a request; oracle keepers sign min/max prices from reference exchanges after observing a block; an order keeper executes with those signatures. The design makes the execution trail inspectable and limits some front-running windows.

The repository also writes down the leverage this creates. Keepers may influence ordering, delay a request, trigger cancellation with insufficient gas or execute ADL. Oracle signers must report accurate prices. Chain and oracle outages can delay deposits precisely when collateral is moving fastest.

V2 keeps durable data in DataStore and roles in RoleStore while replacing routers and handlers as logic evolves. The intended end state gives RoleAdmin to Timelock, routes parameter changes through Config and removes Controller from EOAs. ‘Intended’ is a deployment condition to verify, not a property Solidity grants automatically.

Fees become votes only after passing several gates

On Arbitrum and Avalanche, 63% of fees increases pool value and 37% goes to protocol uses. The current split devotes 27% to open-market GMX buybacks, 8.8% to treasury and keeper costs and 1.2% to Chainlink. Pool fees compensate GM risk; buybacks support a different token.

A holder must stake GMX or esGMX to receive GMX_DAO voting power 1:1. Unstaking burns it. Bought-back GMX is currently accumulating in treasury rather than being distributed; docs say release begins when GMX reaches $90. Accrued accounting is not spendable yield today.

The forecast maximum of 13,250,000 can be exceeded after a governance vote. Timelock admins, Config keepers and role holders implement or contain changes, with an elected Security Council reviewing upgrades. GMX therefore offers conditional protocol voting and rewards, not equity, fixed redemption, guaranteed income or automatic control over independent contributors.

How the project changed

2021-09
Gambit and XVIX become GMX
The communities migrate into an Arbitrum perpetuals protocol with up to 6,000,000 GMX reserved for conversion.
2023
V2 starts separating markets
GM market tokens replace one shared-basket design with isolated long and short backing pools.
2023-11-24
The old migration route approaches closure
A DAO proposal reports 5,745,462 of the 6,000,000 GMX migration allocation used.
2025-07
GLP stops accepting new liquidity
V1 trading is disabled; holders retain a redemption route but cannot buy new GLP.
2026-03-04
Security Council Season 4 is proposed
Five elected reviewers are tasked with checking upgrades, deployments, roles and timelock actions.

What to verify before relying on the token story

Perpetual leverage can liquidate collateral rapidly and execution price can differ from the interface preview.
GM liquidity providers bear trader PnL, backing-token volatility, imbalance, utilization and configurable PnL caps.
Synthetic markets may not hold the index token whose price drives positions.
Oracle signer error, reference-market failure or stale data can distort execution and liquidation.
Order keepers can affect ordering, delays, cancellations, liquidations and ADL timing.
L2 sequencer downtime can interrupt requests while markets continue moving elsewhere.
RoleAdmin, Config and timelock actors can disable features, replace logic, alter parameters or whitelist assets.
Cross-chain GMX adds bridge, messaging, mint/burn and destination-chain contract risk.
The 13,250,000 supply figure is a governance forecast, not an immutable cap.
Bought-back GMX is not currently distributable; the $90 release condition may delay or change realized rewards.
Voting requires staking and delegation and can be concentrated among large balances or delegates.
GMX, GM, GLV and esGMX carry different rights; treating them as interchangeable misstates risk.
GMX supplies no documented equity, fixed redemption, creditor priority or guaranteed return.

Evidence and primary sources

Last evidence review: 2026-09-05

Evidence status

Some facts remain unverified

The Gambit/XVIX migration, V1 sunset, V2 market accounting, fee routing, staking condition, governance contracts and role architecture are reviewed. The 13,250,000 figure is explicitly a forecast that governance may exceed; role assumptions in the repository are deployment expectations, and every live signer, multisig member, oracle source and parameter was not independently enumerated. The stored market snapshot dated 2026-08-17T08:37:30.000Z records a price of 6.74 USD, an absolute 24-hour change of +0.100474 USD and a percentage change of +2.6%. These three stored values do not reconcile as one coherent snapshot. They are retained without selecting a corrected value and are not a live quote.

Last evidence review: 2026-09-05Sources reviewed:docs.gmx.io docs.gmx.io github.com docs.gmx.io docs.gmx.io docs.gmx.io docs.gmx.io

What is GMX?

GMX is a self-custody spot and perpetual trading protocol whose current contracts run on networks including Arbitrum, Avalanche and MegaETH. It emerged on Arbitrum in September 2021 from the XVIX and Gambit communities. GMX is its utility and governance token; it is not the same asset as a GM liquidity token.

The product now means v2. Each GM token represents liquidity in one configured market, while GLV can wrap several compatible GM markets. The old v1 GLP basket stopped accepting liquidity when v1 trading was disabled in July 2025. Existing GLP remains redeemable, so old positions still matter without defining the live venue.

What problem does GMX solve?

A perpetual DEX has to pay winning traders without holding a traditional order-book market maker. GMX uses pooled collateral: liquidity providers receive fees but stand behind trader PnL. V1 placed many assets and markets inside GLP; a shock or imbalance could spread across that shared basket.

V2 divides liquidity into market-specific GM pools. Isolation narrows contagion but does not erase risk. Each pool still depends on backing-token prices, open-interest caps, funding and borrowing parameters, signed oracle ranges and keepers that decide when requests execute.

How does GMX work?

A trader first submits an order or a liquidity request. Oracle keepers observe reference venues and sign minimum and maximum prices tied to a block; order keepers then send those prices and execute. The separation reduces simple front-running, yet keepers can affect ordering, delay, cancellation, liquidation and ADL timing.

A GM token price reflects marked pool value divided by GM supply. The calculation adds the pool share of pending borrowing fees, subtracts capped net trader PnL and applies price-impact pool adjustments. On Arbitrum and Avalanche, 63% of collected fees goes to pools and 37% to the protocol. Current tokenomics routes 27% of fees to GMX buybacks, 8.8% to treasury and keeper costs and 1.2% to Chainlink.

GMX staking mints non-transferable GMX_DAO voting power 1:1 for GMX or esGMX. Bought-back GMX is accumulating in treasury and distribution is suspended until GMX reaches $90, according to the reviewed docs. The 13,250,000 maximum is forecast policy, not an immutable cap: exceeding it requires governance approval and mint-authority execution.

Key facts

GMX launched on Arbitrum in September 2021 from the XVIX and Gambit communities.
Up to 6,000,000 GMX was allocated to migration; the DAO reported 5,745,462 used.
V1 GLP pooled multiple assets and trader exposure; new GLP minting ended in July 2025.
Existing GLP can be redeemed, but v1 trading and liquidity provision are disabled.
V2 GM tokens represent individual market pools; GM is not the GMX governance token.
GM pool holders receive fees and bear that pool’s trader PnL, backing-token and parameter risk.
Orders use signed price ranges from oracle keepers and execution by order keepers.
On Arbitrum and Avalanche, 63% of fees goes to pools and 37% to the protocol.
27% of fees funds GMX buybacks; 8.8% supports treasury/keepers and 1.2% goes to Chainlink.
Bought-back GMX distribution is suspended until a documented $90 GMX threshold.
Staked GMX or esGMX mints non-transferable GMX_DAO voting power 1:1.
Forecast maximum supply is 13,250,000; minting beyond it requires a governance vote.
Arbitrum GMX is 0xfc5A1A6EB076a2C7aD06eD22C90d7E710E35ad0a; Avalanche GMX is 0x62edc0692BD897D2295872a9FFCac5425011c661.
RoleAdmin, Config, keeper and timelock powers can change live behavior.
GMX grants no documented equity, fixed redemption or guaranteed profit.

Official links

Official website Whitepaper Block explorer X / Twitter Reddit GitHub

Related coins

Frequently asked questions

Is GLP still the main GMX liquidity token?

No. New GLP minting and v1 trading ended in July 2025. Existing GLP can be redeemed, while current liquidity is organized through market-specific GM tokens and GLV wrappers.

What does a GM token own?

It is a share of one configured market pool. Its value moves with deposited assets, fees, pending trader PnL and protocol parameters; it is not a fixed-value claim.

Is GM the same as GMX?

No. GM is market liquidity. GMX is the multichain utility and governance token used for staking and voting.

How are perpetual orders executed?

Users create requests; oracle keepers sign block-linked price ranges; order keepers submit those prices and execute or cancel under contract rules.

Who bears trader profits?

The relevant GM pool does, subject to open-interest and PnL caps. LPs earn fees while taking the opposite economic exposure to net trader PnL.

What does staking GMX pay today?

It accrues staking power and a share of GMX bought with 27% of fees. Distribution is currently suspended and docs condition release on GMX reaching $90.

Does every GMX token vote?

No. GMX or esGMX must be staked to mint non-transferable GMX_DAO at 1:1, then voting power must be delegated as required.

Is 13,250,000 a hard-coded cap?

It is the forecast maximum in tokenomics. The docs explicitly allow minting beyond it after a GMX governance vote.

Can governance instantly change GMX?

On-chain proposals use a governor and timelock, while V2 roles and Config control deployments. Security review adds oversight but privileged execution still matters.

Is GMX a share of a company?

Reviewed sources do not grant corporate equity, redemption, creditor priority or guaranteed income. It is a protocol token governed by contracts and DAO processes.

External trackers

Choose a tracking site for GMX:

Track price on CoinGecko Track price on CoinMarketCap Track price on Binance