Bitwise’s chief investment officer said that Hyperliquid is targeting not the $3 trillion crypto economy, but the $600 trillion global asset market.
Hyperliquid’s HYPE token crossed $50 on Wednesday for the first time since September 2025, in part fueled by a high-profile call from Bitwise’s chief investment officer.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan on Tuesday argued in a weekly memo that the market is undervaluing Hyperliquid. Hougan framed Hyperliquid as a fast-growing trading venue moving beyond crypto perps into commodities, S&P 500 futures, pre-IPO stocks, prediction markets, and other non-crypto assets. He said Hyperliquid is targeting not the $3 trillion crypto economy, but the $600 trillion global asset market. He expects non-crypto assets to grow from nearly half to 70% of total platform volume over time.
Hougan estimated Hyperliquid is generating between $800 million and $1 billion in annualized revenue, trading at roughly 10–14 times its buyback stream, a multiple he argued compares favorably with traditional exchanges like Robinhood and CME Group, which trade at higher multiples with slower growth.
“Hyperliquid’s move above $50 looks like a combination of momentum and improving fundamentals, but unlike many narrative driven rallies in crypto, Hyperliquid actually has meaningful on chain activity underneath the price action,” said Jason Rindahl, CEO of Nebula DeFi, in an emailed comment Wednesday.
Hyperliquid has been on a tear, gaining 32% in the past seven days, making it the best-performing large-cap crypto asset of 2026, according to CoinGecko.
SpaceX Pre-IPO Trading
The rally is also fueled by Trade.xyz, a decentralized perpetuals platform built on Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 framework, which on Monday launched a synthetic pre-IPO perpetuals contract tracking SpaceX’s implied valuation.
The SPCX-USDC contract opened at a $150 reference price implying a $1.78 trillion SpaceX valuation, spiked to $216 within hours, and settled around $202.89. The market recorded $33 million in 24-hour volume and $21.8 million in open interest on its first day. The Defiant reported on the SpaceX launch when it triggered HYPE’s 7% move on Monday.
SpaceX filed its S-1 confidentially with the SEC on April 1 and is reportedly targeting June 11 for IPO pricing on Nasdaq.
The SpaceX launch sits within a broader expansion of Hyperliquid’s permissionless perpetuals marketplace. The HIP-3 framework, which allows third-party teams to create their own perpetual futures markets, has processed more than $120 billion in total volume since launch, according to Dune Analytics. On April 8, HIP-3 deployers generated 48.1% of Hyperliquid’s total platform volume, approaching parity with its native markets.
HYPE ETF
Institutional infrastructure has also converged around the token in recent weeks. On May 12, 21Shares launched the first US-listed spot HYPE ETF on Nasdaq. Bitwise followed on May 15 with its BHYP fund on the NYSE.
The 21Shares fund has since recorded around $10.5 million in cumulative net inflows, according to SoSoValue.
On Monday, Bitwise said it will allocate 10% of BHYP management fees to purchasing and holding HYPE on its balance sheet, with acquired tokens subject to a minimum 12-month holding period. Bitwise cited Hyperliquid’s model, under which approximately 99% of the network’s revenue goes toward buying back and burning HYPE, as the rationale for its approach.
Tighter
The ETF moves followed Coinbase announcing on May 14 that it had become Hyperliquid’s official USDC treasury deployer under the platform’s Aligned Quote Asset framework. As part of the deal, Circle said it will expand USDC’s role on Hyperliquid while staking 500,000 HYPE tokens as it moves toward validator status, and approximately 90% of the interest income from the platform’s USDC deposits will be rebated to Hyperliquid.
Regulatory Pressure
Not all signals are uniformly bullish. Intercontinental Exchange and CME Group have reportedly urged the CFTC to address potential market integrity risks associated with Hyperliquid’s pseudonymous trading environment, while the Hyperliquid Policy Center has pushed back, arguing the platform’s transparency is “hostile” to insider trading.
Hougan also acknowledged that Hyperliquid is not currently available to US users and still requires integration into the domestic regulatory framework, leaving regulatory execution as a key test for the business. The platform also faces ongoing token unlock pressure: 237 million HYPE tokens allocated to core contributors began unlocking in November 2025 and continue to vest through late 2027.
