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| By Mark Gough |
In November 2022, billions in customer funds disappeared overnight as FTX’s empire crumbled. In one fell swoop, users were forced to confront the dangers of centralized custody and opaque balance sheets.
For Jeff Yan, the disaster wasn’t just a warning. It was a blueprint.
One that would help him build a different type of exchange. And in 2023, he co-founded Hyperliquid Labs with a clear objective …
To create a decentralized derivatives platform that can match the speed, liquidity and convenience of a centralized exchange …
Without the custody risk.
The result is the Hyperliquid (HYPE, “D”) ecosystem. That includes …
- Hyperliquid, the Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for high-frequency trading. It can process over 200,000 orders per second with sub-second finality. The same throughput as major centralized exchanges.
- The Hyperliquid DEX, its flagship product. This is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange that operates entirely on-chain.
DEXes aren’t new. But a derivatives platform that gives you the best of both worlds is.
Perpetual futures — commonly known as perps — are derivative contracts with no expiration date. Traders use them to speculate on the price of assets with leverage.
And while geoblocked for U.S. residents for now, perps have still managed to become the dominant trading instrument in crypto.
As of 2025, roughly 78% of all crypto trading volume came from perpetual futures.
But — and this is the important part — the majority of that volume still occurred on centralized exchanges like Binance and Bybit.
Meaning those traders still have to subject themselves to exchange-controlled wallets and a single point of failure.
One that hackers know to target, as highlighted by the $1.3 billion Bybit hack in early 2025.
Hyperliquid, as a decentralized perp exchange, eliminates that vulnerability.
Just like with spot DEXes, trades execute fully on-chain, positions remain transparent and traders keep custody of their crypto.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Hyperliquid’s growth during 2025 was nothing short of remarkable. So much so, it was named “Project of the Year” by Decrypt.
That’s thanks to …
- Insane user growth: More than 609,000 new users joined during 2025. And as of March 2026, active users have increased to 1.69 million.
- Outsized trading activity: Hyperliquid saw an incredible $2.9 trillion in total trading volume in 2025. Average daily volume hit $8.34 billion, and monthly volume hit $200 billion.
- Market participation: In 2025, open interest increased from $4 billion to $16 billion. And total value locked (TVL) nearly tripled to $6 billion.
- Revenue: The protocol made approximately $844 million in revenue last year, with daily peaks near $20 million.
By the third quarter of 2025, Hyperliquid accounted for roughly 73% of all decentralized derivatives trading volume. It processed more than $653 billion in quarterly trades.
And that momentum has continued into 2026.
From Crypto Famous to Actually Famous
On the first weekend in March 2026, as tensions in the Middle East ignited, Hyperliquid passed a major milestone: It processed more than $1 billion in oil-related trading volume.
And Hyperliquid’s network was able to handle all that additional traffic with ease.
Why the surge?
Because the traditional marketplaces were closed due to the weekend.
I’ve been pounding the table about real-world asset (RWA) tokenization for over a year now. Because it means giving TradFi assets all the benefits of the blockchain — instant settlements, 24/7 access, etc.
This was the catalyst that made this very real to TradFi traders.
They realized the difference those benefits can make when it matters the most.
The crypto native markets kept running over the weekend. So on Monday morning, traditional traders found themselves playing catch-up.
Now, Hyperliquid has moved from hopeful to leading this revolution.
Bloomberg Television has begun to reference Hyperliquid pricing more and more during off-hours market analysis.
And now, the S&P Dow Jones Indices has licensed the S&P 500 to trade an officially licensed perp product on Hyperliquid.
Risks Worth Watching
Despite its rapid growth, several risks remain.
Competition is a big one. Right now, Hyperliquid has the clear first-mover advantage. And it dominates the space with over 70% of the perp DEX market.
But that doesn’t mean a powerful disruptor can’t emerge. Especially if regulations clear the way for increased adoption in the U.S.
Hyperliquid must maintain its dominance in decentralized derivatives trading as new competitors enter the space. Any threat to that dominance will spark a new review.
Regulation is another.
Right now, the U.S. regulators are focused on stablecoins and the CLARITY Act. So, treatment of decentralized derivatives trading remains uncertain.
Which means U.S. residents will likely stay geoblocked — and sector growth will be capped — until regulation clears.
Where HYPE Is Now
The token is up about 50% since March, trading near $48 at the time of writing.
More importantly, it has continued to show resilience in the face of Bitcoin’s (BTC, “A-”) correction.
That’s why I told my Next Crypto Superstar Members to harvest partial gains recently.
For all its growth, however, HYPE is still a highly volatile coin in a price-discovery phase. That means big swings up … are likely to be followed by big swings down.
Any investor considering HYPE has to understand that. And be prepared for that volatility in their portfolio.
That means clear upside targets and downside stops, ready to run without emotional interference.
But if you’re comfortable with the risk exposure and have a set strategy, you may want to consider adding HYPE to your radar for the coming cycle.
Best,
Mark Gough
P.S. If you are interested in following crypto’s strongest narratives but don’t like the risk profile of newer coins like HYPE, I suggest you check out Juan Villaverde’s Weiss Crypto Investor.
Instead of highly volatile growth opportunities, Juan’s long-term strategy targets crypto’s biggest blue chips. These tokens have several cycles of stability behind them. And they still give you exposure to the sectors propelling crypto growth.
