kHYPE depeg big dump to 0.88! Hyperliquid emergency Airdrop of 4600 NFTs stabilizes market sentiment

In the turbulent cryptocurrency market, Hyperliquid (HYPE) launched a bold community incentive program on September 28, distributing 4,600 Hypurr NFTs to restore market confidence. This initiative coincided with the temporary loss of its staked governance token kHYPE's peg to WHYPE, with the exchange rate briefly falling to a dangerous level of 0.8802, raising concerns about the platform's stability.

Hypurr NFT: Community Incentive Strategies in Crisis

(Source: Opensea)

The Hyper Foundation confirms that this batch of NFTs called Hypurr has been automatically distributed to early supporters of the ecosystem, without any action required from users. "These NFTs are a recognition and return for those users who supported the platform in its early development," said a source close to Hyperliquid.

The details of the NFT allocation plan are as follows:

Each NFT is designed to capture a unique aspect of the Hyperliquid community culture, which the foundation describes as embodying the "emotions, hobbies, tastes, and quirks" of the ecosystem. Notably, Hyperliquid's CEO and co-founder Jeff Yan personally created 16 special edition NFTs, which have been randomly distributed to community members.

"This is not just an airdrop, but a commemoration of our shared journey," said an early user who received an NFT. "In the current market environment, this sense of community identity is especially important."

kHYPE Decoupling Crisis: Market Stability in Question

(Source: Trading View)

However, behind this NFT issuance is a more severe issue. The blockchain security company PeckShield reported that from September 24 to 27, the Exchange Rate of kHYPE (Kinetiq Staked HYPE) and WHYPE experienced significant fluctuations, with a low point falling to 0.8802.

"This kind of linked volatility is a serious warning for a platform that claims to provide stable staking returns," commented a crypto analyst. "While the exchange rate has recovered, this event highlights the structural risks present in the Hyperliquid token economic model."

What is even more concerning for the market is that, according to blockchain detective ZachXBT, a malicious actor has stolen some of the Hypurr NFTs airdropped to the compromised wallet:

"In the past hour, a threat actor stole 8 Hypurr NFT and airdropped them into an infected wallet on HyperEVM, making a profit of about $400,000."

Innovation and Risk Coexist: HyperEVM and USDH Stablecoin

The issuance of Hypurr NFT is completed on HyperEVM, which is a programmable layer launched by Hyperliquid in February 2025. This architecture connects smart contracts with Hyperliquid's Layer-1 through HyperBFT consensus, providing developers with the infrastructure to build applications such as lending markets, vault tokenization protocols, and liquidity staking tokens.

At the same time, Hyperliquid has enabled permissionless spot quoting asset functionality on its mainnet and launched its own stablecoin USDH. According to BeInCrypto, USDH is backed by cash and US Treasury bonds, which aligns with the current industry trend of exchanges issuing native stablecoins.

Native Markets has deployed USDH as the first permissionless quoted asset and has immediately enabled the HYPE/USDH trading pair. "This move is crucial for Hyperliquid to consolidate its competitive position in the DeFi ecosystem," noted an industry observer.

Market Performance and Competitive Pressure

(Source: Maelstrom)

Despite these positive initiatives, Hyperliquid's HYPE token has only increased by 0.8% in the past 24 hours, trading at around $45.61. More concerning is that the competitor exchange Aster, supported by YZi Labs, has recently surpassed Hyperliquid in weekly trading volume, reflecting the urgency for the latter to expand its product line.

Analysts have also pointed out that the upcoming unlocking of $1.2 billion HYPE tokens may exert additional pressure on the market. "Such a large-scale token unlock usually leads to increased selling pressure," explained a crypto assets strategist. "Hyperliquid needs to ensure that its ecosystem is attractive enough to offset this potential impact."

Future Outlook: Balancing Innovation and Stability

Hyperliquid's latest initiatives—including NFT issuance, stablecoin infrastructure development, and on-chain trading innovations—demonstrate that the platform is working to strengthen its ecosystem and respond to market volatility. However, the kHYPE-linked volatility events remind market participants that the balance between innovation and stability remains fragile.

"Hypurr NFT is a symbolic memento for early supporters, but its broader significance lies in executing risks," said a DeFi researcher. "The successful launch of permissionless quoting and stablecoin liquidity may enhance Hyperliquid's network effects, but the stability of the token economy remains a key challenge for long-term adoption."

As the crypto market continues to evolve, Hyperliquid appears to be committed to strengthening community recognition, achieving programmability through HyperEVM, and improving market infrastructure. However, investors and users should closely monitor the stability of the kHYPE Exchange Rate, which will be a key indicator for assessing the platform's long-term viability.