Crypto for Advisors: Hyperliquid and the future of finance

Happy Thursday, advisors!

In today’s newsletter, Michael Zhao from Grayscale Research on how Hyperliquid moved exchange-level trading onchain, and why its prices are starting to matter beyond it.

Then, in “Ask an Expert,” Kim Klemballa answers questions about the HYPE token: staking, fees, governance and the ETFs now tracking it.

Happy reading.

- Sarah Morton

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

Hyperliquid is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform showing the world what is possible with blockchain technology. Purpose-built for financial infrastructure, it is best known for trading of perpetual futures, which are non-expiring derivatives that trade 24/7. An enormous success since their introduction, so-called perps aren't just revolutionizing onchain finance; they are creating new markets that are unavailable through traditional financial infrastructure.

Unlike most decentralized exchanges, Hyperliquid runs an onchain orderbook that looks like a more traditional exchange, supporting up to 200,000 orders per second. Every order, trade and liquidation settles transparently onchain. This results in a unique combination of exchange-level performance and blockchain-based settlement. During a crypto bear market, Hyperliquid processed $1.28 trillion in perp volume in the first half of 2026. This places it among the top five crypto derivatives venues, including centralized exchanges which have existed for much longer.

Hyperliquid matters because it shows that financial markets can move onchain at scale without giving up performance. In 2025, the platform generated roughly $1 billion in revenue primarily from trading fees. Cumulatively, all-in volume on the platform was about $5.3 trillion as of August 2026. And consider this startling statistic: the project reached this scale without outside investors or paid market makers, and a team of just 11 people.

Hyperliquid’s orderbook depth, a measure of liquidity, consistently ranks higher for bitcoin than even the large exchanges like Binance, Bybit, OKX and Coinbase.[2] That depth means that it has been cheaper to trade bitcoin on Hyperliquid than other venues at times due to less slippage.

Market watchers should keep an eye on Hyperliquid’s increasingly important role in price discovery in traditional finance. Traditional markets close each night and over weekends. Hyperliquid does not. When geopolitical tensions were heightened in March 2026, traders were able to trade oil futures like CL-USDC on Hyperliquid while traditional energy futures markets were closed. When traditional futures markets reopened, their out-of-date prices converged toward Hyperliquid’s real-time oil price.[3] The same model has expanded to equities, indexes, commodities and private market and pre-IPO assets. S&P Global licensed its S&P 500 Index for the first-ever perpetual contract that trades 24/7 on Hyperliquid.

This information must be preceded or accompanied by a Grayscale Hyperliquid Staking ETF (HYPG) prospectus, which may be obtained by clicking here. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing in digital assets involves significant risk and heightened volatility, including possible loss of principal. An investment in the Fund is not suitable for all investors, may be deemed speculative and is not intended as a complete investment program.

This information should not be relied upon as research, investment advice, or a recommendation regarding any products, strategies, or any security in particular. This material is strictly for illustrative, educational, or informational purposes and is subject to change. Specific companies, issuers, platforms, or protocols are mentioned for educational purposes only and should not be deemed a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, digital assets, or other financial instruments. Any entities mentioned do not necessarily represent current or future holdings of any Grayscale products.

When a Fund stakes its underlying asset, the token is subject to the risks attendant to staking generally. Staking requires that the Fund lock up the token for the period of time required by the staking protocol, meaning that the Fund cannot sell or transfer the staked token, thereby making it illiquid for the period it is being staked. In addition, during the lock-up period, the Fund is subject to the market price volatility of underlying asset, and it may miss opportunities to sell during opportune times. During the unstaking period, the Fund may miss out on earning opportunities because, in some cases, the staked token may not earn rewards during the unstaking period or may only earn rewards during part of the unstaking period. Staked assets are also subject to security breaches, network downtime or attacks, smart contract vulnerabilities, and validator or custodian failure or compromise, which can result in a complete loss of the staked asset or a loss of any rewards. Potential staking rewards are earned by the Fund and not issued directly to investors.

Digital assets represent a new and rapidly evolving industry. The value of the Fund depends on the acceptance of the digital assets, the capabilities and development of blockchain technologies and the fundamental investment characteristics of the digital asset. Digital asset networks are developed by a diverse set of contributors and the perception that certain high-profile contributors will no longer contribute to the network could have an adverse effect on the market price of the related digital asset. Digital assets may have concentrated ownership and large sales or distributions by holders of such digital assets could have an adverse effect on the market price of such digital assets.

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