Hyperliquid has reached $10 billion in open interest: a new stage in derivatives evolution
The Hyperliquid platform continues to demonstrate impressive momentum: the protocol's open interest has surpassed the $10 billion mark. According to my analysis, this has allowed Hyperliquid to take third place among the largest venues for trading perpetual futures, overtaking many traditional competitors.
The key growth driver has been the expansion of its toolkit: the launch of markets for traditional assets — stocks, commodities, and stock indices — has attracted significant liquidity. Approximately $4 billion of open interest comes from decentralized exchanges created by third-party developers under the HIP-3 initiative. Traders are actively using synthetic instruments: oil and the Nasdaq 100 index regularly see over $100 million in daily trading volume.
Pre-IPO Markets and Strategic Alliance
Pre-IPO contracts have generated particular interest. For example, ahead of the SpaceX listing, open interest in the corresponding contract reached $250 million. This confirms growing demand for over-the-counter instruments and prediction markets in a decentralized format.
An important milestone in the ecosystem's development was the transition to USDC. Following the acquisition of the USDH brand by Circle and Coinbase, the stablecoin became the platform's primary settlement asset. Under the partnership terms, issuers are required to stake HYPE tokens and share protocol revenue from reserves. Hyperliquid will receive approximately 90% of the profits from Treasury bonds and repo transactions backing USDC on-chain. At current rates, this will bring the platform around $160 million annually.
Buyback Mechanism and the Future of the HYPE Token
The protocol will allocate additional revenues to buy back and burn native HYPE tokens. The total buyback amount is expected to be $450 million. This mechanism will reduce the asset's supply and support its market value, which is particularly important amid high volatility.
It is worth noting that in May, Hyperliquid's share of perpetual futures trading volume rose to a record 6.63% of the total turnover on centralized exchanges — $200 million out of $3 trillion. This indicates a systemic shift in liquidity toward decentralized protocols.
My comment: Hyperliquid is confidently transitioning from the status of a niche DeFi protocol to a full-fledged alternative to centralized exchanges. The integration with USDC and the launch of traditional assets represent a strategic move that could attract institutional investors. However, the key risk remains dependence on the regulatory environment and potential restrictions on trading synthetic instruments.