Hyperliquid breaks through the ceiling: open interest reaches $10 billion
The derivatives market continues to surprise. Hyperliquid, one of the leading platforms for trading perpetual futures, has reached a historic milestone: the volume of open interest has exceeded the $10 billion mark. This indicator has propelled the protocol to third place among all platforms operating with this type of contract.
Growth Drivers: Traditional Assets and Innovations
The key factor behind this impressive surge was the launch of markets for traditional financial instruments. Stocks, commodities, and stock indices have attracted a significant influx of liquidity. Notably, about $4 billion of open interest comes from decentralized exchanges created by third-party developers under the HIP-3 initiative. This clearly demonstrates the strength of the ecosystem approach.
Traders are actively exploring synthetic instruments. For example, the daily trading volume for contracts on oil and the Nasdaq 100 index consistently exceeds $100 million. Pre-IPO markets deserve special attention. Ahead of the anticipated SpaceX listing, open interest for the corresponding contract soared to $250 million, indicating high demand for access to traditional assets through crypto infrastructure.
Strategic Transition to USDC and a New Economic Model
A crucial stage in Hyperliquid's development was the complete transition to the USDC stablecoin. After the USDH brand was acquired by Circle and Coinbase, USDC became the platform's primary settlement asset. The partnership terms stipulate that issuers must stake HYPE tokens and share the yield from reserves with the protocol.
This decision fundamentally changes the project's economics. Hyperliquid will receive approximately 90% of the profit from Treasury bonds and repo transactions backing USDC within the network. At current interest rates, this will bring the platform about $160 million annually. These funds are planned to be used for buying back and burning native HYPE tokens. The expected buyback volume is $450 million, which should support the asset's market value by reducing its supply.
Recall that back in May, Hyperliquid's share of the derivatives market reached a record 6.63% of the total turnover of centralized exchanges, amounting to $200 million out of $3 trillion. The current indicators only confirm the steady trend towards trading decentralization and growing trust in the platform.
My comment: Hyperliquid demonstrates how a well-structured ecosystem and integration with traditional finance can dramatically accelerate growth. The transition to USDC and the buyback mechanism are not just technical improvements but a well-thought-out strategy to create a sustainable economic model capable of competing with the largest CEXs. If the growth rate continues, we may see Hyperliquid in the top two within the next few quarters.