Hyperliquid’s RWA perps boom is eating into the revenue that backs HYPE
Reported by CoinDesk · AI-assisted summary by ChikoCorp AI News Desk
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Summary
Hyperliquid has reached a record high in perpetual futures open interest for 2026, totaling about $11 billion and handling around 9% of the global perpetual futures market. Despite this growth in volume, its quarterly gross revenue has declined approximately 43% from its 2025 peak. The introduction of builder-deployed markets under Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal (HIP-3), dominated by Trade.xyz’s real-world asset perps, now accounts for about half of Hyperliquid’s volume, leading to greater pass-through costs and a smaller share of trading fees for the protocol. This shift has weakened the buyback-driven economics of the HYPE token amid other pressures including token unlocks, institutional selling, regulatory scrutiny, and competition from platforms such as Robinhood Chain.
Why it matters
This development matters because Hyperliquid’s declining share of revenue reduces the effectiveness of its token buyback program, which relies on earnings to purchase and retire HYPE tokens. The changing market dynamics imply that while trading volumes and open interest grow, the protocol’s profitability and thus the token’s value support are shrinking. Additionally, the concentration of risk in a single market deployer, Trade.xyz, and broader regulatory and competitive pressures present operational and market challenges for Hyperliquid and its token holders.
Key context
Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 proposal allows holders who stake 500,000 HYPE to deploy their own perpetual futures markets and retain up to half of the trading fees, encouraging builder-deployed markets. These markets now represent roughly 50% of total perp volume versus 2% at the start of 2026, increasing pass-through costs from under 6% of gross revenue in Q2 2025 to 18% in Q2 2026. Real-world asset contracts (e.g., commodities and tokenized stocks) have grown rapidly, overtaking crypto perps in volume for the first time. Trade.xyz accounts for over 90% of these builder-deployed market positions, concentrating risk. Hyperliquid routes about 97% of its trading fees to an Assistance Fund for HYPE buybacks, which have declined in line with earnings.
Key numbers and entities
Hyperliquid open interest hit approximately $11 billion on July 13, 2026, with a 30-day perpetual futures volume near $178 billion. Quarterly gross revenue declined from about $357 million in Q3 2025 to around $202 million in Q2 2026. The cost of revenue rose to 18% by Q2 2026. Real-world asset perp open interest reached a record $3.6 billion in July. The HYPE token traded near $55 recently, down 28% from a June 16 high around $77. Nearly 44.5 million HYPE tokens have been retired via buybacks. Institutional holders such as Multicoin Capital and Bitwise have sold significant HYPE. Regulatory bodies including Singapore’s MAS have placed Hyperliquid on investor alert lists, and regulatory reviews are ongoing. Robinhood Chain has exceeded $600 million in daily DEX volume, drawing speculative activity away from Hyperliquid.
What remains unclear
The source does not flag open questions or uncertainties explicitly but indicates operational risk due to high market concentration with Trade.xyz and evolving regulatory scrutiny, which may imply areas of future concern.