Hyperliquid reached $10 billion in open interest: a new stage in derivatives evolution
The volume of open interest on the Hyperliquid platform has exceeded the $10 billion mark, propelling the protocol to third place among the largest venues for trading perpetual futures. This milestone was made possible by the launch of markets for traditional assets — stocks, commodities, and indices. Approximately $4 billion of open interest came from decentralized exchanges created by third-party developers under the HIP-3 initiative.
Of particular interest is the active use of synthetic instruments. Oil and the Nasdaq 100 index regularly see over $100 million in daily trading volume. Pre-IPO markets have also shown impressive results: ahead of the SpaceX listing, open interest in the corresponding contract reached $250 million. This indicates growing demand for tokenized versions of traditional assets in a decentralized format.
Transition to USDC and a New Economic Model
A key event for the ecosystem was the transition to the USDC stablecoin. Following integration with Circle and Coinbase, USDC has become the platform's primary settlement asset. As part of the partnership, issuers are required to stake HYPE tokens and share the yield from reserves with the protocol. 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.
The protocol will direct these revenues toward buying back and burning 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.
Derivatives Market: Hyperliquid on the Rise
In May, Hyperliquid's share of perpetual futures trading volume rose to a record 6.63% of the total turnover on centralized exchanges (CEX) — $200 million out of $3 trillion. This demonstrates the platform's rapid growth and strengthening position in the derivatives market.
Cryptalist Expert Opinion: Hyperliquid is confidently transforming from a niche DeFi protocol into a full-fledged competitor to centralized giants. The combination of traditional assets, synthetic instruments, and a well-thought-out economic model with token buybacks creates a powerful foundation for further growth. However, investors should note that the high yield from USDC staking and HYPE buybacks may attract regulatory attention, especially regarding the classification of tokens as securities.