HYPE breaks through $60 to hit a new all-time high, derivatives DEX track ecosystem rotation

In traditional financial markets, the equity valuation of unlisted companies is usually controlled by investment banks and the private markets, with low transparency and extremely high participation barriers. With the HIP-3 upgrade, Hyperliquid allows anyone to stake 500,000 HYPE and then deploy permissionless perpetual contract markets, directly bringing synthetic perpetual contracts for unlisted assets such as SpaceX and OpenAI into on-chain real order trading. This is not simply the issuance of tokenized stocks; it is price discovery accomplished through continuous matching of real orders—shifting pricing power from traditional intermediaries to on-chain traders. Taking SPCX-USDC as an example, the contract starts at a reference price of $150, implying a valuation of $17.8 trillion; on its first day after listing, it reached $33.0 million in trading volume and $21.8 million in open interest. The core logic of this mechanism is: any user holding USDC can participate in the price game for unlisted assets, and institutions can also use it to establish exposure in advance. For HYPE itself, each new Pre-IPO contract market expands HYPE’s usage scenarios and the base of protocol revenue.

Why is the speed of institutional entry outpacing early Bitcoin ETFs?

As of May 22, 2026, Gate’s market data shows that HYPE is up about 15% on the day, with a gain of about 134% year-to-date, and its market cap is approaching $14 billion. The historical high was reached on May 21 at $62.14. The core variable driving this rally is the ETF. 21Shares (THYP) and Bitwise (BHYP) listed on Nasdaq and the NYSE, respectively, on May 12 and May 15. Farside data confirms that within 7 trading days of their launch, the two ETFs saw cumulative net inflows of $54 million, including a single-day net inflow of $25.5 million on May 21, the highest record since they began trading.

Presto Research’s Head of Research, Peter Chung, confirmed that, after adjusting for market capitalization, the speed of institutional inflows into HYPE ETFs is faster than the speed of early inflows into Bitcoin ETFs. The key difference in this comparison lies in the denominator: when Bitcoin ETFs launched, their market cap was already more than $500 billion, whereas when HYPE ETFs launched, their market cap was about $13.4 billion—making the same magnitude of ETF net inflows have a clearly larger impact on price. Analysts broadly agree that HYPE’s investment framework structurally differs from Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bitcoin is a non-productive store of value; Ethereum is built around staking yields; and HYPE is closer to exchange equity—platforms allocate 97% of trading fee revenue to buy back and burn HYPE, with more than 25 million tokens already burned. This cash-flow-based buyback provides a valuation benchmark that is more familiar to traditional institutions.

How can on-chain data verify Hyperliquid’s structural advantages?

Protocol daily revenue is about $1.5 million to $2.2 million, accounting for approximately 42% of total on-chain transaction fees—exceeding TRON’s 22.6%, Solana’s 10.6%, and Ethereum’s 8%. The platform’s open interest has broken above $2.5 billion. About 70% of on-chain perpetual futures trading volume is concentrated on Hyperliquid, and cumulative trading value has surpassed $4 trillion. Taken together, these data point to a conclusion: Hyperliquid is no longer just a DEX, but a core hub of on-chain financial infrastructure. From a comparative perspective, DeFi’s total value locked (TVL) fell by about 3.5% from the previous week to $83.36 billion, but Hyperliquid L1 grew by about 8.36% week over week, as capital migrates into this ecosystem. In addition, wallets associated with a16z have accumulated more than 9 million HYPE since mid-April, and Grayscale-related wallets increased their holdings by about 680,000 HYPE within a week. Goldman Sachs disclosed in its Q1 2026 13-F filing that it liquidated XRP and SOL ETFs while building a position in Hyperliquid-related assets of about $3.3 million—an operation that sends a clear signal of asset substitution.

How capital overflows from HYPE into ecosystem projects

Hyperliquid’s rise is not limited to a single token level. On-chain data shows that capital has begun to spill over into projects in the same category within the decentralized derivatives sector. On May 22, ASTER was up about 10%, AERO was up about 10%, LIT was up about 9%, and APEX was up about 10%. The logic that triggers this transmission chain is: once the sector’s leading projects enter the top ten by market cap and valuation expectations have been fully priced in, some traders look along the same narrative line for secondary targets with more upside elasticity. With LIT holding about 10% of market share and a market cap of only 1/40 of HYPE, its price elasticity is naturally higher. Vitalik’s positive evaluation of Lighter in a public conversation further reinforces the market’s sentiment anchor. Therefore, capital rotation is not random fluctuations—it follows a clear industry chain logic: after HYPE, the “infrastructure leader,” raises the sector’s ceiling, lower-market-cap projects in the same sector gain more space for relative valuation.

How funding rates and position data reveal long-short power struggles

In the futures market, funding rates briefly turned significantly negative between May 18 and 19. With many shorts betting on a decline, prices did not fall but instead rose. Over the past 12 hours, short liquidations were about $21 million; within 24 hours, short liquidations were about $30.6 million. Even more critically, open interest did not decrease—it rose, breaking above $2.5 billion—indicating that the short positions being cleaned up were quickly taken over by newly entered long capital. After a whale named Loracle deposited 616,000 HYPE (about $36 million) and shorted with 5x leverage, its floating loss expanded to as much as $23 million. It ultimately was forced to close at $60.2, confirming a loss of over $6.99 million. From a long perspective, the collective collapse of shorts releases the risk of an excessively leveraged trading structure: the collective liquidation of shorts did not end the trend; instead, it became a liquidity provider for new capital entry. The essence of this round of long-short competition is that the leverage capital structure has been thoroughly reset, clearing a major barrier from counterparties for subsequent price action.

Is the valuation logic sustainable in the long term?

Breaking down HYPE’s valuation logic: Hyperliquid allocates 97% of platform transaction fee revenue to buy back HYPE, and has already burned more than 25 million tokens, creating a positive feedback loop of “the larger the trading volume, the scarcer the token supply.” The protocol’s annual fee revenue is about $609 million, and the valuation multiple is 17.7x, comparable to institutional brokerage platforms. This revenue structure is similar to that of a joint-stock company: the platform generates real fee income every day, then uses the vast majority of it to buy back its own “equity tokens.” Therefore, Hyperliquid’s valuation logic is not a discounted valuation based on “future technology visions,” but rather a cash-flow valuation based on “current protocol income”—which is a more tangible reference framework for institutional investors accustomed to stock analysis. However, the risk points also need to be considered: monthly unlocks of founder tokens bring ongoing sell pressure; the current RSI is about 79, approaching the overbought range; and the $60 level historically triggered about a 65% pullback within the historical price range. These factors point to structurally optimistic sentiment, but technically a need for caution.

Summary

HYPE breaking above $60 to set a new all-time high is fundamentally the result of a three-story narrative convergence: the Pre-IPO on-chain pricing mechanism, accelerated ETF capital inflows, and growth in the protocol’s real revenue. On-chain real orders complete price discovery for unlisted assets, shifting pricing power from traditional intermediaries to a decentralized market. Within 7 days, ETF net inflows totaled $54 million, and the speed of institutional entry outpaced that of early Bitcoin ETFs. The protocol’s daily revenue accounts for about 42% of total on-chain fees, forming a potentially sustainable buyback flywheel. Capital has already spilled over from HYPE to same-sector targets such as ASTER, LIT, and APEX, forming a complete capital transmission chain. In terms of valuation logic, the cash-flow buyback model makes HYPE more like exchange equity rather than traditional crypto assets, providing a structural foundation different from Bitcoin and Ethereum for a long-term valuation framework. The core of the market debate is whether this income-supported valuation model can continue to be validated amid token unlock pressure and market sentiment volatility.

FAQ

Q: What are the core driving factors behind HYPE breaking above $60?

A: It is mainly driven by three structural factors: (1) the Pre-IPO asset on-chain price discovery mechanism that brings a new narrative; (2) after spot ETF listing, institutional capital accelerates inflows (net inflows of $54 million over 7 days); and (3) the token buyback flywheel supported by the protocol’s real revenue. The synergy among the three drives the price to break above historic highs.

Q: Why is the inflow speed of HYPE ETFs considered faster than early Bitcoin ETFs?

A: Presto Research analysts use a “market cap-adjusted” comparison method, dividing the ETF net inflow amount by the corresponding asset’s market cap. When Bitcoin ETFs launched, their market cap was already above $500 billion, while HYPE ETFs had a market cap of about $13.4 billion at launch—so net inflows of the same scale have a much higher impact weight on price.

Q: How does Hyperliquid’s buyback mechanism work?

A: The platform allocates 97% of trading fee revenue to buy back and burn HYPE tokens in the open market. This allows token holders to indirectly benefit from growth in platform trading volume, forming a positive feedback loop of “the larger the trading volume, the scarcer the tokens.” More than 25 million HYPE tokens have been burned in total.

Q: How are Pre-IPO assets priced on Hyperliquid?

A: Through the HIP-3 upgrade, users can stake HYPE to deploy permissionless perpetual contract markets. The on-chain order book completes price discovery through real buy and sell orders, rather than relying on oracles or third-party pricing. The SpaceX synthetic contract attracted $33.0 million in trading volume on its first day after launch.

Q: Has HYPE’s rally transmitted to other projects?

A: Yes—there are clear signs of capital rotation. Same-sector projects such as ASTER (+10%), LIT (+9%), and APEX (+10%) all received additional capital attention after HYPE set new highs, indicating that the same-sector rotation logic is working.

Q: What are the main risks HYPE currently faces?

A: The main risks include: ongoing sell pressure from the monthly unlocks of founder team tokens; RSI around 79, technically nearing the overbought range; and the $60 level having previously triggered about a 65% price retracement, meaning historical resistance levels still need time to be verified. These risks indicate that structural optimism does not mean there will be no pullbacks in the short term.