Key Takeaways:
Hyperliquid will triple fees on HIP-3 tokenized asset perpetuals in its next network upgrade, replacing a 90 percent discount deployers currently receive, founder Jeff Yan said. The fees will apply to specific listed assets rather than across the board, with no timeline yet shared for the upgrade.
"Few people are pricing in HIP-3 revenue acceleration from fee increases," Ryan Watkins, founder of crypto venture firm Syncracy Capital, said. "While I don't expect dramatic changes overnight, I do think gradual fee increases are in the cards, with even small changes leading to multiples more revenue."
The protocol splits revenue 50/50 with deployers. Of Hyperliquid's share, 99 percent flows to the Assistance Fund for HYPE buybacks and 1 percent to the Hyperliquidity Provider. HIP-3 volume now accounts for more than 60 percent of total Hyperliquid trading volume, with TradeXYZ the dominant deployer in the segment.
The fee hike could boost protocol revenue and accelerate HYPE buybacks, but critics warn it may push traders to cheaper venues. Hyperliquid's monthly revenue climbed to $57.5M in June, a record since November, before falling to $38M in July.
Analyst Tobias Reisner said the upgrade would be bullish for HYPE. "If people are willing to pay higher fees to trade stocks in HL vs other venues, that would be very bullish. More fees = More HYPE burned."
But analyst Wazz called the fee hike "insane," arguing that HIP-3's low fees were its primary competitive advantage. "In my opinion, HIP-3 has only remained competitive and attracted so much capital because of the very low fees, and in some cases they still lose out to brokers like IBKR."
Hyperliquid's Q2 report showed RWA perps generated 6.6 percent of the protocol's $169M quarterly revenue, with $141M returned to token holders through buybacks. RWA trading volume reached $213B in Q2, rising from 20.7 percent of total volume in Q1 to 32.2 percent. RWA holders increased 56 percent to 1.6M investors, while onchain tokenized assets rose 3.3 percent to $37.8B, according to RWA.xyz.
The RWA segment became Hyperliquid's largest trading category for the first time in July, accounting for 52 percent of weekly trading volume between July 13 and July 19. RWA perpetual futures reached 99.2 percent of Bitcoin perps volume on the platform by the end of July.
HYPE was up 13 percent as of Aug. 6, but a sustained uptrend depends on reclaiming the $60 level (50-day EMA) as support. The token previously posted a 79 percent gain to a record high during the Q2 revenue recovery, decoupling from the broader crypto market.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
