*#Hyperliquid buybacks, not ETFs, may be driving HYPE’s record run*
That’s the argument Forbes contributor Zennon Kapron made May 24. While $HYPE spot ETFs from 21Shares and Bitwise pulled record $25.5M inflows in one day, the “real engine” is Hyperliquid’s built-in buyback machine.
*The buyback facts:*
1. *99% of trading fees go to buybacks*. HyperCore generated $2.6M in fees in 24hrs, used to buy & burn 61,300 HYPE.
2. *Lifetime burns exceed 42.5M HYPE*. Protocol has spent >$1.16B on buybacks since launch.
3. *Q3 2025 alone*: $316.76M in HYPE repurchased in 3 months.
4. *Assistance Fund* holds 43.21M HYPE bought for $1.04B at avg $24.30. Recent buy: 25,000 HYPE for $1.0M on April 13.
*Why buybacks > ETFs right now:*
- *Scale*: In first 6 ETF trading days, ETFs bought 2.5x as much HYPE as the Assistance Fund burned. But the buybacks are daily, automatic, and “without delay or interruption all year”. ETFs need new inflows.
- *Structural*: 97% of Hyperliquid’s $915M annual protocol revenue from perps goes to HYPE buybacks. With $190B April volume and 3.9% of global perps market, fees = constant bid pressure.
- *Supply shock*: Circulating supply is only 25% of max. Burns + staking reduce float while volume-driven fees create “reflexive” demand.
*HYPE price*: Hit $62.18 ATH May 21, up 430% since April low and 15x since $3 launch. Now $55.28, market cap $13.8B, #11 coin.
*ETF angle still matters*: ETFs had higher market-cap-adjusted flows than BTC 3/6 days and ETH 5/6 days in week one. Grayscale, Galaxy, a16z accumulating $25M, $8.8M, $10M. But Kapron argues buybacks offer “more solid and stable price support than early inflows of ETFs”.
*Risk*: Monthly team unlocks can 4x buyback volume in selling pressure. High FDV vs circulating also a concern.
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_Not financial advice. DeFi perps + tokenomics experiment still unfolding._