Key Takeaways:
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan said Hyperliquid is one of the most important crypto projects to emerge in years, arguing that investors are underestimating both the platform’s impact and the value of its native HYPE token. HYPE is the best-performing large-cap crypto asset of 2026, rising nearly 77 percent year to date.
"Hyperliquid is not a crypto app. It's a super app," Hougan said in his latest weekly memo. He argued that the platform is not targeting the $3 trillion crypto economy but the $600 trillion global asset market, stating, "Investors are valuing it as one thing. It's the other."
The core of Hougan’s valuation argument is Hyperliquid's revenue and tokenomics. The platform processed $170 billion in trading volume over the past month, generating an estimated $800 million to $1 billion in annual revenue. Unlike earlier DeFi tokens, 99 percent of Hyperliquid's trading fees are used to buy back HYPE, directly linking platform success to token value. With HYPE's market cap at roughly $11 billion, Hougan notes investors are paying a low 10 to 14 times multiple on a fast-growing business.
Hougan believes the market is making two mistakes: valuing Hyperliquid as a crypto perpetuals exchange rather than a global multi-asset trading platform, and treating HYPE like older tokens that failed to capture platform value. However, he acknowledged that regulatory execution remains a key test, as the platform is not currently available to US users and must still integrate into the US regulatory system.
Hyperliquid's growth is driven by its expansion beyond crypto into a broad set of markets, including commodities, S&P 500 futures, and pre-IPO stocks. Hougan noted that nearly half of the platform's volume now comes from non-crypto assets, a figure he expects to reach 70 percent by the end of the year. This positions Hyperliquid less as a competitor to Binance and more as a potential rival to global trading venues like CME.
Institutional interest is growing alongside this expansion. Bitwise and 21Shares both launched Hyperliquid-focused ETFs last week, providing broader access to the HYPE token. The platform's infrastructure also received a significant endorsement after Coinbase announced it had become the official treasury deployer of USDC on Hyperliquid, strengthening the stablecoin's role in on-chain capital markets. As of press time, HYPE was trading near $48.50, up over 20 percent in the past week, according to CoinGecko data.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
