Hyperliquid breaks through the $10 billion open interest mark: a new stage in derivatives evolution
The decentralized derivatives market is undergoing a tectonic shift. Hyperliquid, one of the leading protocols in this segment, has crossed a psychologically important threshold — the open interest volume on the platform has exceeded $10 billion. This achievement places Hyperliquid third among the largest venues for trading perpetual futures, trailing only centralized giants.
A key driver of this growth has been expansion into traditional markets. The launch of contracts on stocks, commodities, and indices has attracted significant capital. 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.
The pre-IPO segment deserves special attention. Ahead of the anticipated SpaceX listing, open interest in the corresponding contract reached $250 million. This demonstrates growing demand for instruments that provide exposure to traditional assets before their official exchange listing.
Another strategic move was the transition to USDC as the primary settlement asset. After the USDH brand was acquired by Circle and Coinbase, the stablecoin became the core of the platform's liquidity. The partnership terms include a requirement for issuers to stake HYPE tokens and share protocol revenue from reserves. Hyperliquid will receive approximately 90% of profits from Treasury bonds and repurchase agreements backing USDC on-chain. At current rates, this will bring the platform about $160 million annually.
Additional revenues will be directed toward buying back and burning native HYPE tokens. The expected buyback amount is $450 million. According to the project's mechanics, burning will reduce the asset's supply and support its market value. As a reminder, in May, Hyperliquid's share of the derivatives market reached a record 6.63% of total CEX turnover.
My expert assessment: Hyperliquid demonstrates how decentralized platforms can successfully compete with centralized giants by offering innovative instruments and attractive token economics. The transition to USDC and the introduction of pre-IPO markets are not just trends but fundamental changes in the structure of crypto derivatives. However, investors should closely monitor risks associated with liquidity concentration and regulatory pressure.