Multicoin Capital invests $100M in Hyperliquid's HYPE token as institutional demand builds

Multicoin Capital invested more than $100 million in Hyperliquid's native HYPE token, one of the largest single institutional positions in a DeFi protocol token to date.

"Hyperliquid's ability to match trades atomically on-chain, at speeds comparable to centralized exchanges, closes the gap between the transparency of decentralised markets and the execution quality they're used to from traditional venues," Myles Harrison, chief product officer at AMINA Bank, said.

The commitment lands as regulated rails for HYPE multiply. AMINA Bank, a Swiss FINMA-regulated crypto bank, added trading and custody for HYPE on Aug. 13 with no volume caps or trading limits. Bitwise launched a spot HYPE exchange-traded fund (BHYP) in the U.S. in May and added a staking ETP on Deutsche Börse Xetra. Hyperliquid processes roughly 70 percent of all on-chain perpetual futures volume across decentralized platforms, according to the exchange.

The $100 million-plus position from Multicoin, a firm known for early-stage DeFi bets, could tighten HYPE's available supply and draw follow-on capital from funds tracking whale flows. On-chain data shows a separate whale transferred 923,700 HYPE, worth about $53 million, to Coinbase Prime and FalconX after unstaking a position staked at an average $19.79 in early 2025.

Institutional Infrastructure Widens Around HYPE

Hyperliquid operates a fully on-chain exchange for perpetual futures and spot trading, matching buyers and sellers directly on-chain. In March, S&P Dow Jones Indices licensed the S&P 500 index to TradeXYZ for a perpetual futures contract trading on Hyperliquid, the first licensed perpetual derivative based on the index.

The whale that moved HYPE to Coinbase Prime and FalconX originally staked 2.886 million HYPE at an average price of $19.79 in early 2025. After unstaking in late July, the entity has transferred 1.956 million HYPE, worth about $110 million, to exchanges, with estimated profit near $109 million. It still holds 969,000 HYPE, valued at roughly $55.73 million, implying a token price near $57.

Multicoin's $100M Bet Tightens HYPE Supply

Multicoin's commitment, disclosed Aug. 15, ranks among the largest single-token positions taken by a venture firm in a DeFi protocol. The purchase adds to a tightening supply picture: HYPE's circulating supply is constrained by staking, and the token's price has drawn attention from both retail and institutional desks.

For Hyperliquid, the investment strengthens its case as a venue where traditional finance can gain exposure to on-chain derivatives without sacrificing execution quality. The next test is whether follow-on capital arrives before the whale's remaining 969,000 HYPE position is liquidated.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.