Hyperliquid had an eventful 2025: rapid growth, new products, competition with Aster, and strengthening the role of the HYPE token. The platform is gradually moving beyond the typical DEX and forming a full-fledged ecosystem. Below is an overview of the key events of the year and a forecast of where Hyperliquid may go next.
The project analysis was prepared by Kirill Pistsov, Head of Product Development at FG 'Finam'.
After the crash and scandal: why Hyperliquid cannot be stopped
What is Hyperliquid (HYPE)
Hyperliquid is a decentralized exchange for futures. It has been operating since 2023. Fast network, up to 200,000 orders per second. Everything is on-chain, no gas fees. Commission — 0.033%. You trade like on a CEX, but without registration and intermediaries.
In 2024, an airdrop took place. Tokens were distributed to 90,000 users. A total of $13.6 billion.
The exchange does not require KYC — anyone can trade from a wallet. But there have been cases of wallet blocks through the Hyperliquid interface. The reason — allegedly risky addresses. This raised questions about real decentralization.
The project has no venture capital. There were no private rounds. 30% of tokens went to users. Insiders could not sell cheaply — and this strengthened trust.
How HYPE works
The HYPE token is needed for everything: on-chain fees, staking, listing new pairs, and discounts on trading.
The exchange buys back HYPE from the market — 97% of the fees go to this. The higher the volumes, the more buybacks occur.
HYPE can be staked. The yield is low — about 2%, but it works with auto-compounding.
Staking provides discounts — up to 40% on fees if you hold 100,000 HYPE.
There is a referral program — both the author of the link and the invitee receive discounts.
At the end of 2025, HIP-3 was launched — anyone can add a new market if they stake 500,000 HYPE. Markets are launched through an auction. Hyperliquid receives a portion of the fees.
The token does not grant direct voting rights, but through validators, holders influence important decisions — for example, the choice of the issuer of the future stablecoin.
Circulation and unlocking
HYPE has a large emission — about 10 billion. But in circulation, there is less: some in staking, some in DeFi. 6% went to HyperEVM. Unlocking is on schedule. In November 2025, 237 million tokens were unlocked — that's nearly $316 million. There was no panic: large wallets bought more HYPE, some were transferred to Kinetiq, and one of the team addresses deposited $90 million for the long term. The price did not drop — demand from stakers smoothed it all out.
Kinetiq and the staking boom
In the summer of 2025, Hyperliquid launched Kinetiq — a liquid staking protocol. Users staked HYPE and received the kHYPE token in return. It generates income and works in DeFi. All this without locking liquidity.
In a couple of months, Kinetiq's TVL grew to $2 billion. The reason — the distribution of kPoints. People expected that they could be exchanged for a token. And it happened: by the end of the year, KNTQ, a governance token, appeared. 25% went to an airdrop, the rest — to development, funds, and investors.
Due to the hype, many bought HYPE to get into staking and receive tokens. Demand rose, and the pressure from unlocks smoothed out. Even institutional players entered — the Hyperion fund bought HYPE for $5 million specifically for Kinetiq.
iHYPE also appeared — staking with KYC for large players. It raised $1.3 billion in a month.
Later, after the distribution of KNTQ, some users took profits. HYPE dropped from $62 to $30. But overall, the ecosystem became more stable. Now the token is tied not only to trading but also to income strategies and DeFi.
New markets and integration with MetaMask
Since November 2025, Hyperliquid began adding futures for real assets. The first market — Tesla from Felix Protocol. Then added Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, and other stocks. All this became possible through HIP-3 — third-party teams launch markets by staking HYPE.
Feature: everything is traded 24/7, without brokers. Volumes grew quickly — the first market brought in $80 million in a day. Against this backdrop, HYPE jumped to $42.
Later, MetaMask launched perpetual futures — trading directly in the app, based on Hyperliquid. Through it, positions in stocks and crypto can be opened without third-party dApps. This significantly expanded the project's reach and strengthened trust in the technology.
All this makes Hyperliquid not just a DEX, but a platform for any assets. And the HYPE token is the key to entry: it is needed to launch markets and receives support through fees and buybacks.
New stablecoin: USDH
Hyperliquid decided to launch its stablecoin — USDH. The goal is simple: not to depend on USDC and direct income from reserves back into the network. If USDH captures at least 15% of the turnover, it could bring in up to $200 million a year — for the buyback of HYPE or payments to stakers.
The project does not issue the stablecoin itself — instead, a competition was held. The issuer will be chosen by validators. Options:
Ethena — returns 95% of income, plus $75–150 million in bonuses.
Paxos — also 95%, betting on compliance.
Frax — zero commission, all earnings go to users.
Sky — a system supporting multiple types of collateral, with an income of nearly 5%.
Agora — promises 100% income to the community.
Native Markets — integration with Stripe, but there are risks.
The solution will show where Hyperliquid is headed — towards traditional financing or decentralization. In any case, the launch of USDH will strengthen HYPE's role and add a stable source of income for the network.
Competitor: Aster
In the second half of 2025, a decentralized exchange Aster appeared on the BNB Chain. The project was supported by CZ (founder of Binance), and the YZi fund became an investor. The ASTER token skyrocketed by 1500%, and TVL rose to $870 million — more than Hyperliquid (HL) at that time. By daily volume, Aster outpaced its competitor.
But Hyperliquid still has higher monthly volumes and open interest. It generates more fees — Aster made $70 million in a year, while HL can do that in a couple of weeks. Aster is strong in technology: multi-chain, hidden orders, CEX users. Binance clearly supports the project.
For Hyperliquid, this is a challenge and motivation. Rumors of a connection between HL and CZ have not been confirmed. Currently, they are competitors. Hyperliquid relies on the community, transparency, and an already functioning ecosystem.
The team, risks, and trust
The Hyperliquid team remains in the shadows. The only public member is developer Jeff Yang. All promotion has been taken on by the HypurrCollective community. They provide guides, metrics, dashboards.
Hyperliquid is transparent: all metrics are on-chain. Users see how much the exchange earns and where the money goes. But there are still centralized moments.
The main case — the incident with the JELLY token. After the pump, the market maker found himself in the red. The team rolled back the price and removed the market. This saved the pool but showed that interventions are possible. Later, TVL recovered, but the question of decentralization remained.
There is another risk — volume inflation. The team could trade themselves at minimal costs. There is no evidence, but the community is watching.
Regarding regulators, Hyperliquid is walking on thin ice. Trading stocks without licenses and KYC may attract the attention of authorities. Already, the site does not work from several countries without VPN. Lawsuits are possible if they decide that the platform falls under financial regulation. But the structure 'the team does not manage' may provide protection, as in the case with Uniswap. Choosing a compliance partner for USDH (for example, Paxos) may ease the pressure.
Overall, Hyperliquid confidently navigated the year: it withstood competition, not without controversial decisions, but with community growth and new features.
Hyperliquid: what’s next
In 2026, Hyperliquid enters as one of the leaders in on-chain derivatives. Key factors:
New markets. Through HIP-3, the platform can add perpetual futures on forex, commodities, and indices. If it establishes trading in stocks 24/7, a billion-dollar market will open.
USDH. The stablecoin will lock liquidity within the network and provide a new source of income. Part of the profit may go to buying back HYPE. Plus — independence from USDC and Circle.
Competitors. Aster and others are pressuring. To keep up, Hyperliquid must improve UX, scale the ecosystem, and not lose technological advantage.
Decentralization. The next step — more independent validators, possibly governance through DAO. This will increase trust, especially among institutional players.
HYPE Price. After a rise and pullback, it all comes down to demand. Staking, Kinetiq, USDH, and new utilities may tighten supply. A new impulse is possible with market growth.
Airdrops and activity. The community is waiting for new giveaways. HYPE, PURR, KNTQ have already occurred. There are rumors about hidden programs. This maintains interest and attracts new users.
Conclusion
Hyperliquid has transformed from a 'trial' into infrastructure. There are risks — regulators, competition, centralization. But if they don't fizzle out, HYPE has every chance of remaining a top DeFi asset.
Want access to expert insights? Subscribe to our telegram channel, gain access to trading signals and market news, and communicate with our analyst. Stay a step ahead of the market every day!
