Pacifica vs HTX

Pacifica or HTX: which to use

Pacifica vs HTX is a decentralized exchange against a centralized one. On Pacifica you trade from a self-custody wallet without ID, at 1.5 bp maker and 4 bp taker and up to 50x. HTX holds your funds in an account, charges 2 bp maker and 6 bp taker, and allows up to 200x. HTX lists 370 markets against Pacifica's 77. Accounts opened since 2026-03-30 start without ID, capped at 5x and with no API trading. Custody, ID and leverage are the main differences.

How each exchange is built

Pacifica is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Solana. You trade from a self-custody wallet. It matches orders on a central limit order book.

HTX is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. It also matches orders on a central limit order book.

For the trader, the difference is custody. On Pacifica you trade from your own wallet. On HTX you log in to an account and the company holds the balance.

Fees and what they mean

Pacifica's base tier is 1.5 bp (0.015%) maker and 4 bp (0.04%) taker, per Pacifica's fee page. HTX's base tier is 2 bp (0.02%) maker and 6 bp (0.06%) taker, per HTX's fee page.

A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 8 bp per round trip on Pacifica, 12 bp on HTX. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead, 1.5 bp on Pacifica and 2 bp on HTX.

Fees are only part of a trade's cost. Slippage is the price you move by eating through the order book, and it grows with size. The cost table above adds the taker fee twice and measured slippage at each size from $1k to $5M, and the execution cost page compares it across exchanges.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 HTX lists 370 active perps, 251 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. Pacifica lists 77, 24 of them real-world assets.

HTX allows up to 200x and Pacifica up to 50x on their highest-leverage markets; most markets allow less. Pacifica pays funding every hour on every market. HTX pays every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market, so check a market's interval before you hold it. An hourly market settles 24 times a day, an 8-hour market three times. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

Who can use them

Pacifica asks for no ID. It is closed to the US, Canada, the UK, China, Russia, Ukraine, the Philippines and sanctioned countries.

HTX limits trading without ID: trading starts without it, inside limits that verification lifts. Accounts opened since 2026-03-30 without ID get futures up to 5x and no API trading. More leverage and the API need level-2 KYC.

Tokens and points

HTX's token is $HTX. Pacifica has no token yet, and as of 19 September 2026 its points and airdrop program was "Active". The airdrops page tracks points programs and launched tokens. Pacifica runs no vault that arb.sh tracks.

Reading the numbers on this page

Pacifica publishes open interest as longs plus shorts, both sides of every position. HTX publishes one side of open positions. For the same positions Pacifica's figure reads about twice as large, so the open interest row and chart above are not a like-for-like comparison of size.

HTX publishes no TVL, as is usual for a centralized exchange, so the TVL row and chart show Pacifica alone, as DefiLlama's figure for the exchange.

Which one fits you

• Pick Pacifica if you want to keep funds in your own wallet and trade without ID.
• Pick Pacifica if you trade with market orders: 4 bp taker against 6 bp.
• Pick Pacifica if you want every market on an hourly funding schedule.
• Pick Pacifica if you want a points program, which was "Active" as of 19 September 2026.
• Pick HTX if you prefer an exchange account and accept identity verification for higher limits.
• Pick HTX if you need more than 50x, up to 200x, or want 251 stock, commodity, FX and other real-world asset perps next to your crypto.
• Pick HTX if you need API trading, which needs level-2 KYC on accounts opened since 2026-03-30.