Decentralized perpetual exchange Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE climbed 21% in the past 24 hours, reaching $46.64 early Friday as traders piled in amid a wave of institutional and infrastructure developments.
The price rocketed from an intraday low of $38.45 to a high of $46.93, pushing the market capitalization to roughly $11.14 billion and yet again pushing HYPE inside the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market size.
According to CoinMarketCap data, the token’s trading volume surged to $716.7 million—more than double the previous day—reflecting aggressive buying across both retail and professional accounts.
HYPE has broken out of a multi-week consolidation range in the low $40s, though it still trades about 21% below its all-time high near $59.37 from September 2025.
What sets this rally apart is the convergence of regulated access points and on-chain upgrades that strengthen Hyperliquid’s position as a leading decentralized perpetual venue.
ETF Launch Opens Regulated Access for Traditional Investors
The clearest near-term trigger came earlier this week with the May 12 listing of 21Shares’ THYP ETF on Nasdaq—the first U.S. spot product tracking HYPE. The fund holds actual tokens, stakes a slice of its holdings for yield, and carries a modest 0.30 percent fee.
Early figures showed $1.8 million in debut volume and about $1.2 million in net inflows, a respectable start that gives traditional brokerage clients seamless exposure without wallets or on-chain hassles. Additional filings from Bitwise, Grayscale and others hint at more products on the way.
Coinbase Partnership and Stablecoin Shift Bolster Fundamentals
Adding fuel to the move, Coinbase announced on May 14 that it is becoming the official treasury deployer of USDC on Hyperliquid under the network’s Aligned Quote Asset (AQA) framework.
The integration positions USDC as the primary settlement and collateral asset across perpetuals and spot markets, gradually sunsetting the native USDH stablecoin issued by Native Markets.
Coinbase gains rights to acquire USDH brand assets and will share the vast majority of USDC reserve yields—from roughly $5 billion in circulating supply that has doubled year-over-year — back into Hyperliquid’s ecosystem, primarily through the Assistance Fund that drives automatic HYPE buybacks.
Circle handles the technical cross-chain infrastructure via its CCTP, while the arrangement reduces fragmentation, tightens liquidity, and funnels real revenue directly to token holders.
Read: Hyperliquid Kills USDH — Switches to USDC with Coinbase as Treasury Partner
Traders and analysts quickly labeled the news “extremely bullish,” noting it cements Hyperliquid’s dominance in on-chain derivatives—currently handling around 60% of global perpetuals volume—and aligns the protocol more closely with traditional finance rails.
Protocol Revenue and Buybacks Anchor the Rally
These headline catalysts rest on Hyperliquid’s established strengths. The Layer-1 chain and exchange routinely generate more than $2 million in daily fees, with nearly 97% recycled into HYPE buybacks and burns.
Recent expansions in prediction markets and commodity perps have kept activity elevated even during choppy broader conditions.
While volatility remains high and profit-taking could trigger a retrace, the combination of ETF inflows, Coinbase’s on-chain commitment, and fee-driven tokenomics has shifted the narrative toward structural growth rather than pure speculation.
For now, HYPE is trading like an infrastructure asset finding its footing in both decentralized and regulated markets.
Also read: Kelp DAO rsETH Withdrawals Go Live as Aave Unpauses Markets
