Hyperliquid's Trading Volume Surges 33% in May, Token Price Jumps 400%

Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives protocol, has seen a remarkable surge in its user base and trading volume, establishing itself as a dominant player in the on-chain derivatives market. The platform's native token, HYPE, has experienced a significant price increase, rising over 400% from its April lows and reaching a record high of approximately $45 in mid-June. This performance is driven by Hyperliquid's innovative token economic model, which encourages user activity and community participation, and its technical architecture that ensures ultra-fast transaction finality and high throughput.

The platform's success is underpinned by its ability to attract top traders and liquidity, fueling growth and user migration trends in the derivatives market. In April 2025, Hyperliquid's monthly trading volume was approximately $187.5 billion, which surged to a record $248 billion in May. This trading boom, catalyzed by well-known trader James Wynn, has significantly increased the platform's attention and market share. As of June 25, Hyperliquid's monthly trading volume still reached $186 billion, with a cumulative trading volume of $621.5 billion for the second quarter. The platform's market share in the decentralized perpetual contract market is as high as 80%, far exceeding its share in November 2024.

Hyperliquid's revenue model is highly sustainable, as it accumulates revenue by charging fees for each transaction. The protocol's fee structure is designed to incentivize user activity and community participation, with tiered fees based on the weighted trading volume of users in the past 14 days. Spot trading volume is doubled, high-frequency users can get lower fees, and market makers even enjoy negative fee rebates in high levels, encouraging them to continue to provide liquidity for the order book. By staking HYPE, users can also get up to 40% additional fee discounts and referral rewards, further enhancing the practicality and willingness to hold tokens.

The platform's technical architecture, which runs on a proprietary Layer-1 chain driven by the HyperBFT consensus mechanism, enables ultra-fast transaction finality and processes up to 100,000 orders per second. This infrastructure provides performance similar to that of centralized exchanges while maintaining non-custodial and crypto-native features. This technical innovation has greatly improved the user experience and provided technical support for the multiple growth of on-chain users in the future.

Hyperliquid's rise has also brought renewed attention to the concept of Real Yield in the field of DeFi. Real Yield refers to income generated from actual economic activities, such as transaction fees, lending interest, or protocol income, rather than through inflationary issuance of more tokens. This shift to real returns is critical to the long-term viability and survival of DeFi protocols, as any revenue model needs a revenue-supported foundation to last. Hyperliquid's success demonstrates the importance of focusing on long-term capital efficiency and user trust, providing real financial utility that users are willing to use even without incentives.

In conclusion, Hyperliquid's growing user base and trading volume have positioned it as a leader in the on-chain derivatives market. The platform's innovative token economic model, technical architecture, and focus on real yield have driven its success and market position. As the platform continues to attract top traders and liquidity, it is poised to maintain its leading position in the industry and drive the growth and user migration trend in the derivatives market.