Is Hyperliquid a Good Investment? (2025)

Why is Hyperliquid a good investment?

Hyperliquid is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange built on its own custom Layer 1 blockchain. The platform allows users to trade futures, with a user experience similar to a centralized exchange like Coinbase. 

Dominant market position in DeFi derivatives

Hyperliquid has captured over 60% of the decentralized perpetual futures market, surpassing longtime leader dYdX. Since its launch, the platform has handled over $1.5 trillion in total trading volume.

High-performance custom blockchain

Unlike most decentralized exchanges that build on existing blockchains, Hyperliquid operates on its own Layer 1 that’s optimized for fast speeds. The HyperBFT consensus mechanism can process around 100,000 transactions per second. This allows the platform to offer speeds comparable to centralized exchanges like Coinbase. 

Zero gas fees and low trading costs

Hyperliquid charges no gas fees for transactions. Trading fees start at just 0.045% for takers and 0.015% for makers, with even lower rates for high-volume traders. These fees are significantly lower than competitors and are even lower than most centralized exchanges. 

Massive airdrop created strong community

The platform distributed 31% of its total token supply (310 million HYPE tokens) in one of the largest airdrops in crypto history. The average airdrop recipient received tokens worth over $28,000 at launch, with some addresses receiving millions. Notably, the token price surged 500% in the months following the airdrop, showing genuine community support.

Revenue-generating token model

Hyperliquid uses trading fee revenue to conduct regular token buybacks. The exchange generates millions in daily revenue, and buybacks help push the price of HYPE upwards.

Growing DeFi ecosystem

The launch of HyperEVM in early 2025 allows developers to build Ethereum-compatible smart contracts on Hyperliquid. The ecosystem now includes over 170 deployed projects, ranging from lending protocols to liquidity solutions. Total Value Locked has grown to over $1.2 billion.

What is Hyperliquid?

Hyperliquid is a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures contracts built on its own high-performance Layer 1 blockchain. The platform launched in 2023 and currently ranks as the largest decentralized derivatives exchange by trading volume.

How does Hyperliquid work? 

Hyperliquid’s custom blockchain allows the platform to process thousands of trades per second with fast speeds, providing a trading experience comparable to centralized exchanges.

The platform operates a fully on-chain order book for perpetual futures and spot trading. This means all orders, cancellations, trades, and liquidations execute transparently on-chain while maintaining the speed users expect from centralized platforms. 

How Hyperliquid verifies transactions 

Hyperliquid uses HyperBFT, a Byzantine Fault Tolerant Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism that allows validators to reach agreement quickly. This enables the network to finalize transactions in under one second while maintaining security. 

This unique architecture allows Hyperliquid to process approximately 100,000 orders per second. 

What is HYPE?

HYPE is the native token of the Hyperliquid blockchain. Token holders can stake HYPE to secure the network and earn yield from trading fees and participate in governance decisions. The token is also used to pay gas fees for HyperEVM, the platform's Ethereum-compatible smart contract layer.

HYPE has a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens. Currently, around 337 million HYPE tokens are in circulation. The platform conducts regular buybacks using a portion of trading fee revenue. 

What are the risks of investing in Hyperliquid?

Extreme price volatility

Like all cryptocurrencies, HYPE is highly volatile. Remember to never invest more than you can afford to lose. 

Major token unlocks create selling pressure

Starting November 29, 2025, approximately 238 million HYPE tokens (23.8% of total supply) will be released over 24 months. At current prices, this represents roughly $500 million per month in supply, which may push prices downwards. 

Network outages and infrastructure concerns

In July 2025, Hyperliquid experienced a 37-minute outage when API servers collapsed under heavy trading activity. Traders were unable to close positions during the downtime, resulting in losses that required $2 million in user refunds. 

Competition from established platforms

Hyperliquid faces competition from both centralized exchanges and other decentralized platforms. Ethereum Layer 2 solutions are also improving performance, potentially offering similar speeds at lower cost. Hyperliquid must continue innovating to maintain its advantage. 

Regulatory uncertainty

As a decentralized derivatives platform offering high leverage, Hyperliquid operates in a regulatory gray area. Because of these issues, Hyperliquid is not available in the USA. 

How does Hyperliquid compare to competitors?

Let's compare Hyperliquid to its biggest competitor: dYdX. 

Hyperliquid vs. dYdX

dYdX is a decentralized perpetual futures exchange that runs on its own Cosmos-based blockchain. The platform was once the dominant exchange fir decentralized derivatives, controlling over 80% of the market before Hyperliquid's rise.

dYdX offers professional-grade trading tools, support for 200 perpetual markets, and up to 100x leverage on major pairs, which is significantly higher than Hyperliquid's 50x maximum. dYdX uses a traditional order book model and charges fees starting at 0.05% taker and 0.01% maker. 

The key difference is performance and market position. Hyperliquid's custom blockchain delivers faster transaction speeds than dYdX's Cosmos-based chain. By early 2025, Hyperliquid had captured 64.8% of the perpetual market while dYdX's volumes stagnated. 

Hyperliquid's advantages: Faster execution speed, lower fees, stronger recent growth momentum, and deeper liquidity on major trading pairs. The platform's $12 billion market cap dwarfs dYdX's valuation.

Where Hyperliquid struggles: dYdX offers higher leverage, more diverse trading pairs, and benefits from more years of operational history.  dYdX also offers mobile apps for Google Play and iOS. 

Hyperliquid historical performance

Early Days (2023-2024)

Hyperliquid launched its mainnet in 2023. The platform rapidly gained traction among traders seeking an alternative to centralized exchanges following the collapse of FTX. 

The 2024 Airdrop and Bull Run

On November 29, 2024, Hyperliquid had one of the largest airdrops in crypto history. The platform distributed 310 million HYPE tokens (31% of supply) to over 90,000 users, with an average airdrop worth approximately $28,000.

Unlike typical airdrops where tokens immediately decline in value, HYPE surged from its $3.20 opening price to reach $9.80 within days. 

The airdrop success was driven by the platform's community-first approach and users’ genuine commitment to Hyperliquid. Users loved Hyperliquid’s low trading costs and fantastic user experience. 

Recent Performance (2025)

The launch of HyperEVM in February 2025 expanded the ecosystem beyond trading, allowing developers to build DeFi applications on the chain (just like you can on blockchains like Ethereum and Solana). 

HYPE reached new highs in late 2025 as Hyperliquid solidified its position as the dominant decentralized derivatives exchange. The platform captured over 60% market share in perpetual futures trading and achieved record daily trading volumes exceeding $21 billion.

What's a good price prediction for Hyperliquid?

Making accurate cryptocurrency price predictions is difficult. The crypto market involves complex dynamics influenced by multiple factors that are hard to forecast with certainty.

Rather than betting on specific price targets, consider the fundamentals. Is Hyperliquid still capturing the majority of decentralized derivatives volume? Are trading fees generating sufficient revenue to support buybacks? Is the ecosystem growing with new applications and users? These fundamentals matter more than any prediction model. 

How do I buy Hyperliquid?

Hyperliquid is available on major exchanges including Binance and Kraken. 

Step 1: Create an account

Choose a trusted exchange that supports HYPE trading. Sign up for an account by providing your email address and creating a secure password. 

Step 2: Verify your identity

Complete the exchange's Know Your Customer (KYC) process by submitting identification documents. This typically includes a government-issued ID and proof of address. Verification usually takes 24-48 hours. 

Step 3: Link a payment method

Connect a bank account or another payment method to fund your exchange account. 

Step 4: Buy Hyperliquid

Search for HYPE. Enter the amount you want to purchase and confirm the transaction. The HYPE tokens will appear in your exchange wallet once the order executes.

Conclusion

Hyperliquid has established itself as the leading decentralized derivatives exchange. The platform's fast speeds and community-first approach helped make HYPE one of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrencies. 

However, HYPE remains highly volatile and faces significant challenges. Hyperliquid faces significant competition and major token unlocks starting in late 2025 will create downward price pressure.