Crypto for Advisors: Hyperliquid and the Future of Finance

Updated 7 hrs agoPublished 11 hrs ago

7 min read

Happy Thursday, advisors!

In today’s newsletter, Michael Zhao from Grayscale Research discusses how Hyperliquid transitioned exchange-level trading onto the blockchain, and why its pricing is beginning to hold significance outside its ecosystem.

Next, in “Ask an Expert,” Kim Klemballa addresses inquiries regarding the HYPE token, covering staking, transaction fees, governance, and the ETFs currently tracking it.

Enjoy your reading.

– Sarah Morton

What is Hyperliquid and why does it matter to the future of finance?

Hyperliquid is a decentralized finance platform demonstrating what blockchain infrastructure can achieve. Tailored specifically for financial systems, it is recognized primarily for facilitating perpetual futures trading, which are non-expiring derivatives operating 24/7. Achieving massive popularity since their launch, these perps are not only transforming onchain finance but also establishing new marketplaces previously unattainable via legacy financial architecture.

Unlike the majority of decentralized exchanges, Hyperliquid runs an onchain order book resembling traditional exchanges, capable of handling up to 200,000 transactions per second. Every single order, transaction, and liquidation settles transparently on the blockchain. This yields an unprecedented blend of exchange-tier speed and blockchain settlement guarantees. Amid a cryptocurrency bear market, Hyperliquid handled $1.28 trillion in perpetual volume during the initial half of 2026, positioning it among the top five crypto derivatives platforms, competing directly with much older centralized venues.

Hyperliquid is significant because it proves that financial markets can scale onchain without sacrificing operational performance. Throughout 2025, the protocol generated approximately $1 billion in revenue, driven primarily by transaction fees. Cumulatively, total volume on the network reached about $5.3 trillion as of August 2026. Consider this remarkable achievement: the initiative attained this magnitude without external financial backers or paid market makers, relying on a crew of merely 11 individuals.

Hyperliquid’s order book depth—a key indicator of liquidity—frequently surpasses even major platforms like Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Coinbase when it comes to bitcoin. Such depth implies that executing trades for bitcoin on Hyperliquid has occasionally proven more cost-effective due to reduced slippage.

Industry observers should closely monitor Hyperliquid’s expanding influence in price discovery for conventional finance. Traditional exchanges shut down overnight and during weekends, whereas Hyperliquid operates continuously. When geopolitical tensions escalated in March 2026, market participants utilized Hyperliquid to trade oil futures such as CL-USDC while traditional energy derivative desks remained closed. Once traditional markets resumed operations, their stale valuations drifted toward Hyperliquid’s live petroleum pricing. This exact paradigm has since broadened to equities, benchmarks, raw materials, private markets, and pre-IPO instruments. S&P Global licensed its S&P 500 Index to support the inaugural 24/7 perpetual contract trading on Hyperliquid.

Pre-IPO price discovery has proved equally revolutionary: Speculators deployed SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual contracts to express viewpoints concerning its anticipated public valuation prior to the official flotation. They replicated this behavior for additional pre-IPO entities, such as Cerebras, CXMT, and Unitree. The preliminary pricing for Cerebras, for instance, sat at $185, yet it changed hands near $350 on Hyperliquid, eventually debuting on the Nasdaq precisely at $350. Stated differently, Hyperliquid acted as a more dependable gauge for Cerebras’s starting price than the underwriter’s initial estimate. Although perpetual agreements do not grant direct ownership of underlying assets, they formulate a continuous reference rate when mainstream markets are shut. Consequently, this blockchain initiative has transformed into a vital reference point for worldwide financial systems.

This bears importance for institutional players even if they abstain from transacting directly on Hyperliquid. An unbroken market offers valuable pricing signals overnight, across weekends, and during volatility shocks. Furthermore, it introduces fresh mechanisms for risk management, market making, and arbitrage. Additional innovations are anticipated; Hyperliquid allows external developers to spin up novel spot and perpetual markets. Regulatory clarity still requires improvement, though the Commodity Futures Trading Commission permitted the initial regulated futures agreement in the United States this year. Further horizons may open up, as President Trump recently mentioned that CFTC Chairman Michael Selig aims to integrate Hyperliquid into the U.S. market in a fully regulated manner.

Investors can gain exposure to the expansion of this breakthrough network through HYPE, the native asset of Hyperliquid. HYPE helps safeguard the ledger via staking, grants builders the ability to construct new markets, and supplies trading-related perks. Additionally, Hyperliquid repurchases the coin using generated fees, allowing the asset to organically accrue value. Market participants can acquire HYPE natively on Hyperliquid or via centralized exchanges. U.S. participants can likewise secure exposure through investment vehicles like the Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF (HYPG).

– Michael Zhao, Grayscale Research

Ask an Expert

What is the purpose of the HYPE token?

HYPE functions as the foundational ecosystem asset of the Hyperliquid Layer 1 network, serving multiple functions across the platform:

Staking and security: Network participants stake HYPE to fortify the protocol’s HyperBFT consensus architecture.
Gas fees: HYPE is utilized to cover network operations and smart contract execution costs.
Governance: Coin owners cast ballots on protocol upgrades and administrative choices concerning network operations.
Platform utility: HYPE secures discounts on transaction fees and covers asset deployment costs within the environment.

What can you trade on Hyperliquid?

Perpetual futures: Agreements mirroring asset prices without an expiration date. Speculators post USDC stablecoins as collateral and execute leveraged transactions up to asset-specific caps.
- Cryptocurrencies: Over 150 digital assets, encompassing primary coins like bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and solana (SOL), alongside various altcoins.
- Traditional markets: Derivatives tracking raw materials like petroleum, yellow metal, and silver, alongside major equity equities.
Spot markets: Native spot transactions are facilitated straight through the onchain order book.
- Tokens: Direct spot transactions are available for native and bridge-connected tokens inside the Hyperliquid economy.
- Settlement: Moving assets between spot and perpetual ledgers incurs zero costs.
Real-World Assets & Pre-IPOs: The platform has branched outside crypto into commodities, equities, and pre-IPO segments like SpaceX and OpenAI.

What are some ETFs that track HYPE?

Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF (HYPG): Designed by Grayscale to incorporate staking capabilities, carrying a 0.29% expense ratio.
Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP): Overseen by Bitwise, featuring a 0.34% expense ratio.
21Shares Hyperliquid ETF (THYP): Issued by 21Shares, boasting a 0.30% expense ratio.

– Kim Klemballa, CoinDesk Data & Indices

Keep Reading

The ethereum ledger’s upcoming major upgrade will permit users to disburse fees utilizing stablecoins rather than solely its native ether currency.
Pay introduces PYUSDx, a developer platform enabling commercial entities to build custom stablecoins.
Germany advances initiatives to tax bitcoin similarly to equities under a fresh draft bill targeting tax-free gains.

Seeking additional insights? Obtain up-to-date cryptocurrency news from coindesk.com and market intelligence from coindesk.com/institutions.

The Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF is an exchange-traded vehicle not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, meaning it lacks the regulatory safeguards applicable to registered funds. Allocating capital to HYPG entails substantial risk and heightened volatility. HYPG is inappropriate for any investor incapable of absorbing a total loss of principal. Holding shares in the Fund does not constitute a direct investment in HYPE tokens. Staking reward figures fail to guarantee fund performance, and these incentives remain fluid, subject to steep declines. This information must be accompanied by the prospectus, and investors should review it carefully before committing funds. Digital asset investments involve high volatility and principal loss risks. Staking locks up assets for mandatory periods, rendering them illiquid and exposing portfolios to market volatility, slashing risks, security breaches, or technical downtime.

Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/coindesk-indices/2026/09/10/crypto-for-advisors.