Key Takeaways:
Hyperliquid has cemented its dominance in decentralized perpetual futures, capturing 80% of the market as the investment firm Multicoin Capital projects its HYPE token could rally more than fivefold by 2028.
Hyperliquid, a blockchain-based decentralized exchange for perpetual futures, now handles about 80% of all decentralized perpetual contract trading volume, according to on-chain data. The platform generated approximately $873 million in revenue from $2.9 trillion in trading volume in 2025, with its user base expanding from 301,000 to 923,000 over the year.
"Hyperliquid's trajectory looks eerily similar to Binance's early years — in 2017, Binance went from a new upstart to the dominant centralized exchange in approximately six months," Multicoin Capital said in a report published this week. The firm, which began accumulating HYPE in February and made it one of the largest positions in its liquid fund, set a base-case price target of $319 for the token by 2028.
The platform's open interest has grown from $2 billion to $6 billion over the past year, now standing at approximately $9.6 billion — exceeding all major on-chain competitors combined. Hyperliquid's monthly perpetual futures volume has reached about 17% of Binance's, while its open interest is equivalent to roughly 21% of the centralized exchange's, per The Block data.
The HIP-3 upgrade unlocks new markets
The October 2025 HIP-3 upgrade allows any user staking 500,000 HYPE tokens — about $31 million at current prices — to deploy perpetual markets for nearly any asset, including stocks, commodities and equity indexes. Open interest linked to real-world assets has already surpassed $2.9 billion, and an officially licensed S&P 500 perpetual contract generated more than $100 million in daily volume during its first week.
Multicoin's base case assumes a 35% compound annual growth rate in crypto derivatives volume, decentralized exchanges rising to 32% of the derivatives market, and Hyperliquid maintaining a 30% share. The firm projects $8 billion in annual protocol earnings by 2028, valuing HYPE at 20 times that figure. Its bull case reaches $689 per token, while the bear case sits at $109.
Revenue flows directly to token holders
Hyperliquid routes 99% of trading fees into open-market purchases of HYPE, effectively removing the acquired tokens from circulation at a pace equivalent to about 7% of its market cap per year. The platform has never accepted venture capital funding and operates with just 11 employees, including its founder.
At around $63, HYPE trades at roughly 36 times trailing earnings of $869 million, or about 30 times after including revenue from its Coinbase and USDC agreement. The token hit an all-time high of $76.70 on June 16 before pulling back with the broader market.
Risks include competition from regulated exchanges such as Coinbase and Kalshi, which gained a path to list crypto perpetuals in the US after a late-May regulatory shift. Rival decentralized exchange Aster temporarily overtook Hyperliquid's market share last year. The report also flagged regulatory uncertainty, Hyperliquid's validator set, and a monthly contributor unlock as key risks to the thesis.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
