Why there’s hype around Hyperliquid

HYPE’s bucked the overall downward trend of the market, and perhaps it’s setting a gold standard

article-image

CryptoFX/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share


This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


The vibes may not be great, but it’s hard not to be hyped about HYPE. 

The token’s seen a bit of sell pressure since the beginning of this month, falling to around $23. Yet it’s certainly having a better month than others. 

K33’s David Zimmerman found that HYPE makes up 55% of 7-day DEX volumes, and there’s so much open interest that it could be compared to some of the biggest CEXs. It’s around 47% of OKX’s levels or 13% of Binance’s. 

Let me back up for a second: Hyperliquid, ICYMI, is a layer-1 and a DEX. 

“Unlike many projects in the crypto space that launch tokens before delivering a fleshed-out working product, Hyperliquid took a different approach — it focused on building and launching a successful trading platform before introducing its native token, HYPE,” K33 wrote.

And that helped HYPE stand out amongst a sea of token launches.

“31% of HYPE tokens were distributed to users at TGE, while 38.88% was earmarked for future emissions and community rewards. The only other sizeable allocation is for current and core contributors at 23.8%. Notably, especially in a year of major unlocks, core contributor tokens are locked until November 2025 with most vesting schedules complete by 2027-2028,” Zimmerman noted.

Here’s the catch: Things look great right now when you’re looking at the data. If we’re realistically looking at the market then we have to note the weakness in altcoins at this point. 

Is it impossible for HYPE to keep bucking the overall negativity? No. But it’s tricky. 

On the other hand, perhaps there’s a reason folks are, well, HYPEd. If Hyperliquid can set the gold standard for token launches, then perhaps that’s a more sustainable way to improve morale.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research

article-image

Firedancer begins delegating stake to Solana validators

article-image

A vote ending Monday could introduce a new layer of security for Ethereum’s largest liquid staking protocol

article-image

Framework’s Michael Anderson explains what tokens need in order to be successful

article-image

Conferences are pop-up innovation clusters—and filters for the riff-raff

article-image

Tariff front-running may have caused an artificial bounce in economic data earlier this year

article-image

Waka Flocka Flame-linked BaseDrop is raising some eyebrows