Antarctic vs Decibel: fees, features and safety (2026)

Antarctic is the more focused choice: it offers perpetual futures on Arbitrum and advertises markets covering BTC, ETH, meme coins and DeFi tokens. It describes its design as self-custodial, and its homepage advertises 0-gas trading, though the mechanics of that claim are not explained. Its order types and margin rules are not published.

Decibel has a broader product scope on Aptos, combining perpetuals with spot and yield products. Its BTC/USD interface displays a trade feed, chart, mark and oracle prices, open interest and funding. It also offers multiple order types and cross or isolated margin. Its listed TVL is about $29.0 million, compared with Antarctic's roughly $8.6 million, but TVL alone does not establish liquidity for a particular market or trade.

Decibel is clearer about some trading costs: its BTC/USD order panel displays 0.0450% and 0.0150%, although it does not label them. They may correspond to taker and maker rates, but that should be confirmed in Decibel's fee schedule or app. Funding payments also apply and fluctuate; the listed BTC example is 0.0012% per interval. Slippage and Aptos network costs can add to the cost of a trade.

Antarctic calls its fees low but has not published maker or taker rates, funding rules or liquidation penalties. Its 0-gas claim is about network costs, not proof that trading itself is free. A reported 30-day total of fees paid on the platform does not tell an individual trader what rate they will pay. If you need to compare costs before trading, Decibel provides more usable figures, but confirm the current terms for both platforms.

Neither platform lists audits, so neither has publicly verifiable audit coverage in the information available here. Antarctic is described as self-custodial, which means users retain control of funds rather than handing them to a central operator. That does not remove smart-contract, oracle or liquidation risk. Antarctic has been listed since November 2025; its team, bug bounty and insurance fund are not published.

Decibel has been listed since February 2026. Its team, custody design and insurance fund are not published, and its smart-contract and oracle risks cannot be judged from the public details listed here. Decibel supports leverage up to 40x, which can rapidly wipe out a position; cross margin can also spread losses across positions. Both venues offer leveraged derivatives, so check local rules and understand liquidation and margin mechanics before using them. Only trade with money you can afford to lose.

Decibel has the more developed set of published trading controls. It supports market, limit, TWAP, stop market and stop limit orders, along with take-profit and stop-loss levels and reduce-only orders. Its choice of cross or isolated margin lets traders select how collateral is shared. The interface also includes vaults, while the project lists an API and developer documentation. Its points and rewards pages exist, but token terms are not published.

Antarctic's standout claims are its self-custodial design, Arbitrum deployment and advertised 0-gas trades. It covers a range of asset types, but public details about order execution, leverage limits and margin rules are missing. The listed ease-of-use scores are close—7 for Decibel and 6.5 for Antarctic—so they do not make the decision on their own. Choose based on the tools and costs you can verify, rather than assuming either venue's trading interface will suit every strategy.

Choose Antarctic if you specifically want an Arbitrum perpetuals venue, value its stated self-custodial approach and are comfortable with its limited published detail. Its 0-gas trading claim may matter to you, but confirm how it works and check the actual trading and funding costs before placing orders. Fee rates, leverage limits and margin rules are not published.

Choose Decibel if you want a wider set of order types, explicit cross and isolated margin options, or access to spot and yield products alongside perps. It shows BTC/USD fee figures in the order panel, but the rates are unlabeled and should be verified. Decibel's higher listed TVL is not a guarantee of deep liquidity, and its track record is short. Since both list no audits, neither is an obvious choice for someone who requires published audit coverage.