While the cryptocurrency market is generally sluggish, the HYPE token from the Hyperliquid platform has seen an impressive 60% increase in recent days. How can this surge at the beginning of the year be explained?
HYPE token explodes by 60%: is the specter of unlocks receding?
Since its launch, the Hyperliquid perpetuals platform has been shaking up the decentralized finance (DeFi) and cryptocurrency trading sector, establishing itself as a clear competitor to the centralized exchange (CEX) leaders in the sector, with a market now considered “the most liquid for perpetual contracts on TradFi assets,” according to its founder and CEO, Jeff Yan.
However, this success has been largely undermined in recent months, with the price of HYPE falling by more than 65% since its September peak just below the symbolic $60 level. The reason for this is the specter of a massive token unlock scheduled for early January, which raised fears of significant selling pressure.
However, the situation appears to be quite different at the end of January, with a 60% increase over the last few days, which seems to be the opposite response from the market.
And for good reason, as investor fears have ultimately “proved to be incorrect,” according to a comprehensive analysis published by Ericonomic on the X network, following what he describes as “one of the biggest sources of confusion surrounding HYPE.”
Most trackers still show 9.9 million HYPE being unlocked each month, which has led many market participants to assume a constant monthly selling pressure of around $200 million. This assumption has proven to be incorrect. Unlocked does not mean distributed. Distributed does not mean sold. And sold does not mean sold on the open market.
Eroconomic
And for good reason, as investor fears ultimately “proved incorrect,” according to the comprehensive analysis published by Ericonomic on the X network, following what he presents as “one of the biggest sources of confusion surrounding HYPE.”
Most trackers still show 9.9 million HYPE being unlocked each month, which has led many market participants to assume a constant monthly selling pressure of around $200 million. This assumption has proven to be incorrect. Unlocked does not mean distributed. Distributed does not mean sold. And sold does not mean they are sold on the open market.
Eroconomic
Open interest in HIP-3 skyrocketing
At the same time, activity on the Hyperliquid platform is currently picking up again, after a notable decline in the last months of 2025.
The main cause of this resurgence in activity? Open interest (OI) on its HIP-3 market, which is “reaching new ATHs every week,” according to Hyperliquid’s official X account, currently stands at over $1 billion, compared to $790 million on January 26… and $260 million a month ago.
This activity, “recently fueled by a surge in commodity trading,” pushed its daily volume above the symbolic threshold of $2 billion on January 28, with 90% of that coming from TradeXYZ, the perpetual trading interface on Hyperliquid.
This situation seems to have excited analysts at Tom Lee’s investment fund, Fundstrat, who describe it as “an evolution beyond a simple crypto platform to a broader on-chain market infrastructure.”
Hyperliquid’s move could be more than just a crypto rebound. With HIP-3 enabling multi-asset expansion and a weaker dollar providing tailwinds, investors should focus on (…) its valuation as a broader market infrastructure rather than simply a crypto beta. (…) Continued innovation and fundamental traction support maintaining HYPE in our model portfolios.
Fundstrat
HYPE listing on Kraken and Coinbase
With these impressive results, Hyperliquid is undoubtedly establishing itself as a key platform in the crypto perpetual markets sector, to the point where its HYPE token is gaining access to some leading exchanges, even those of its competitors.
The Kraken cryptocurrency exchange has been offering HYPE trading since January 28 to support the development of the “blockchain that will house all finance” set up by Hyperliquid.
At the same time, the American giant Coinbase has announced “the addition of Hyperliquid’s HYPE to its roadmap,” with a launch that will be officially confirmed once “market-making support and sufficient technical infrastructure” are available.
