Hyperliquid Surges on Regulated Perps and Strong Onchain Fundamentals
Hyperliquid (HYPE) has seen a 3.6 percentage point surge in value over the last 10 hours, driven by several key catalysts. The main driver is the announcement from Payward, Kraken's parent company, that it plans to launch regulated US onchain perpetual futures markets using the Hyperliquid protocol, subject to CFTC approval. This move will utilize Hyperliquid's HIP-3 permissioned perps and involve Bitnomial Exchange and Bitnomial Clearinghouse as deployer and clearer, with NinjaTrader Clearing acting as the futures commission merchant for US clients.
The growth of real world asset (RWA) perpetuals on Hyperliquid has also contributed to the price increase. RWA markets have seen a significant jump in volume, from about 2% in January 2026 to nearly 50% by mid-year, driven by equity and index perps built on its HIP-3 framework. Additionally, liquidity and fee metrics are strong, with recent reports showing $8.31 billion in perpetual trading volume and over $2.1 million in fees.
The macro environment has also been supportive of risk assets, particularly crypto. After the Federal Reserve's latest 25 basis point rate hike to a 3.75-4.00% target range, the aggregate crypto market cap rose by about 1.4%, and most top 100 coins were green overnight, including Hyperliquid.