How GMX Accelerated Cross-Chain Indexing with SQD

Real-time trading requires reliable data. GMX - a leading multichain permissionless Perpetual DEX - rebuilt its data layer with SQD to achieve faster queries, easier debugging, and seamless scalability across the many public blockchains it enables users to trade from.

Challenge: The Cost of Slow Data

For GMX, reliable data isn’t just nice to have - it’s the base layer of transparency and trust. Every trade, price update, and funding rate depends on accurate, on-time indexing.

As the pioneering Perp DEX builders expanded GMX’s perpetual and spot exchange across Arbitrum, Avalanche, Botanix, Solana, Base, and BNB Chain, data limitations became evident. Their previous indexing layer was slowing down under the weight of all that cross-chain data.

Each event required its own handler, making synchronization between entities complicated. Debugging became tedious and time-consuming. 

Delays in data delivery meant delays for users - and in trading, that can mean real losses.

The team needed an indexing engine that could handle multichain data at speed without adding maintenance headaches.

Solution: Rebuilding with SQD

GMX turned to SQD after hearing about it in community discussions around data indexing. The appeal was clear. SQD’s multichain processors, custom resolvers, and TypeScript-based development environment offered a more flexible and reliable way to handle onchain data.

With SQD, GMX developers could:

• Process multiple blockchain events within a single handler instead of juggling dozens
• Build custom API endpoints tailored for frontends and analytics
• Debug locally with clear, readable logs rather than remote redeploys

“It wasn’t one killer feature,” says Hubèrt from GMX. “It was the total package - multichain processors, custom resolvers, simpler debugging. Everything just clicked.”

Integration: From Migration to Optimization

Switching from Subgraph to SQD meant rethinking how data moved through the system. Subgraph processed transactions one by one, while SQD’s EVM processor worked in batches, demanding new synchronization logic between related entities.

At first, indexing speed lagged behind expectations. The GMX team resolved it by using wss://, which reduced their latency significantly.

Once fully deployed, SQD became the data backbone across GMX’s stack — powering ETL pipelines, frontend analytics, and monitoring dashboards. The result was a noticeable performance uplift: faster data delivery, smoother UI updates, and lower infrastructure costs.

Impact: Faster Insights, Better Experience

The improvements were clear. Developers spent less time fixing sync issues and more time building new features. Users noticed faster page loads and more consistent data updates.

Third-party integrations relying on GMX’s APIs also benefited, reporting greater stability and reliability across the board.

“People just prefer working with plain GraphQL,” Hubèrt explains. “It’s simpler, faster, and doesn’t lock you into SDKs.”

Collaboration: A Responsive Partnership

Throughout the integration, the SQD team stayed closely involved.

“Support and response time are excellent,” says Hubèrt.

He adds one suggestion - public monitoring metrics and alerting to complement their existing Datadog setup - but describes the collaboration as fast, transparent, and genuinely helpful.

Looking Ahead: Scaling Without Limits

Today, SQD is more than an indexer for GMX; it’s a core reliability layer that keeps the system running smoothly across chains.

As GMX expands into new markets and liquidity layers, SQD remains part of the foundation enabling that growth.

“For exchanges like ours,” Hubèrt concludes, “SQD is easy to start with and scales smoothly.”

About GMX

GMX is the go-to permissionless exchange for trading perpetuals and spot, providing a seamless trading experience across public blockchains. The multichain DEX offers deep liquidity, low fees, and up to 100x leverage. It features one-click trading, support for numerous collateral types, and utilizes reliable sub-second oracle pricing via Chainlink Data Streams. 

Trading on GMX is made possible by isolated GM pools and yield-maximizing GLV vaults, enabling anyone to provide liquidity and earn market-leading rewards. Thanks to these composable liquidity pools and an ecosystem of over 80 integrations, GMX serves as a foundational base layer for multichain DeFi.