Hyperliquid (HYPE) price surges 300% as altcoins stagnate, are $1B trades and a VC-free model driving the narrative?

In a market where major altcoins have largely traded sideways through most of May, Hyperliquid (HYPE) has quietly built its own bullish momentum.

In a market that has largely seen major altcoins stall out through most of May, Hyperliquid (HYPE) managed to build some bullish momentum.

The token reached an all-time high of $39.93 on May 26, notching up more than a 326% rally from the April 7 low of $9.36. The climb unfolded gradually, with the price crossing $28 by May 21 and pushing past $30 during the final stretch of the month.

As of May 27, HYPE is trading around $38.5. While that reflects a 4.5% dip from the recent peak, it still marks a 47% gain over the past seven days.

Trading activity has remained strong, with 24-hour volume hovering around $345 million. Hyperliquid’s market cap now stands at approximately $12.5 billion, placing it as the 11th largest crypto asset by market value.

This rally was fueled by noticeable improvements in key on-chain metrics. Open interest hit a record high of $10.1 billion, and daily trading fees reached $5.6 million on May 26, highlighting increased usage and engagement.

Hyperliquid reached new all-time highs again:

+ Open interest: $10.1B

+ 24h fees: $5.6M

+ USDC TVL: $3.5B

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The recent integration of USD Coin (USDC) as the main settlement asset has also added more depth to the ecosystem. With $3.5 billion now locked on the platform, confidence appears to be growing among both institutional participants and retail users.

Let’s look at what Hyperliquid does, why it’s gaining traction among users, and what current price predictions suggest about its potential path forward.

What drives the Hyperliquid price?

Hyperliquid, launched in November 2024, runs on a custom layer 1 blockchain architecture designed to support fully on-chain trading of perpetual futures.

Unlike many decentralized exchanges that rely on off-chain order matching and on-chain settlement, Hyperliquid processes all transactions, orders, and trades directly on-chain. The system is anchored by two main components: HyperBFT and HyperEVM.

HyperBFT, a consensus protocol influenced by Meta’s LibraBFT, is built to handle throughput of up to 2 million transactions per second. It finalizes blocks in under a second and can process as many as 100,000 orders per second.

HyperEVM ensures compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, giving developers the ability to deploy Ethereum-based smart contracts while benefiting from faster execution and lower transaction on a light-chain.

The platform offers perpetual futures trading across several major crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Avalanche (AVAX), Solana (SOL), and Sui (SUI). Traders can use up to 50x leverage and are not required to hold the underlying asset to open a position.

New users onboard through wallet-based login, and the exchange does not conduct any know-your-customer checks. This model stands in contrast to most centralized platforms and may raise regulatory questions in certain jurisdictions.

In addition to derivatives, Hyperliquid enables spot trading through its HIP-1 token standard, which is structurally similar to Ethereum’s ERC-20. Token listings come with relatively high costs, a measure aimed at reducing spam and filtering out low-quality projects.

The protocol also includes a Vaults feature that allows users to allocate capital to traders or algorithmic strategies in a non-custodial way. All vault performance data is public, and fund movements occur entirely on-chain.

Hyperliquid has stated that it has not taken any venture capital funding. Postitioning the absence of VC involvement as a strategic choice, the team says it is focused on building long-term infrastructure rather than chasing short-term token performance.

James Wynn’s $1.25B position boosts trust in Hyperliquid wallet

Hyperliquid’s growing presence in the DeFi space is backed by a series of tangible developments that have unfolded over the past few months.

On May 23, Hyperliquid Labs submitted two public comment letters to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in response to the agency’s request for feedback on the future of perpetual futures and 24/7 crypto markets.

The letters called for regulatory approaches that support decentralized infrastructure while maintaining financial safeguards, marking the first time Hyperliquid participated in policy discussions at this level.

This engagement had an immediate impact, as HYPE rose 15% that day, according to CoinMarketCap data, signaling investor confidence in the platform’s long-term regulatory position.