Hyperliquid's HYPE token touched an all-time high of $68.64 on May 30, 2024, capping a month of roughly 50% gains and over $1.4 billion in single-day trading volume. The milestone came a day after the CFTC approved KalshiEX's BTCPERP contract — the first Bitcoin perpetual futures product on a US-regulated exchange — and as ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher revealed his team has met repeatedly with Hyperliquid's founders, calling the platform 'bigger than Nasdaq' in trading activity.
The ATH and the volume
HYPE's rally has been fueled by a mix of retail speculation and institutional appetite. By May 29, US-listed HYPE spot ETFs — Bitwise's BHYP and 21Shares' THYP — had racked up $136 million in cumulative net inflows over just 13 trading sessions. That pace suggests demand isn't slowing, even after the token nearly doubled from its April lows. The $1.4 billion single-day volume figure, if sustained, would put HYPE among the most actively traded crypto assets globally.
A first for US-regulated crypto derivatives
The CFTC's May 29 approval of KalshiEX's BTCPERP contract marks a turning point for US crypto derivatives. Until now, perpetual futures — popular offshore for their 24/7 trading and built-in leverage — were unavailable on domestic exchanges. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said the move brings crypto perpetuals “onto regulated exchanges that uphold customer protections and market integrity.” The agency also issued a 24/7 trading advisory, effectively blessing continuous crypto derivatives trading under existing rules. The approval came under Section 5c(c)(4) of the Commodity Exchange Act, a provision typically used for novel products.
What ICE's CEO said
Jeffrey Sprecher, head of Intercontinental Exchange — the parent of the New York Stock Exchange — didn't mince words. He told investors that Hyperliquid's trading activity now exceeds that of Nasdaq, and confirmed his team has met with Hyperliquid's founders multiple times. The remarks, coming from a traditional exchange heavyweight, add credibility to Hyperliquid's claim of capturing significant order flow from centralized venues. Sprecher didn't announce any partnership, but the repeated meetings signal ICE is watching closely.
ETF inflows and staking pressure
Bitwise's BHYP ETF carries a structural twist: 10% of management fees go toward purchasing and staking HYPE tokens on the firm's own balance sheet. That creates ongoing buying pressure independent of investor flows. With $136 million in cumulative inflows across both ETFs, the staking mechanism is already locking up a meaningful chunk of the token supply. If the trend continues, HYPE's already tight liquidity could get even tighter.
The CFTC's approval and Sprecher's comments have put Hyperliquid in an unusual spot — a DeFi protocol drawing comparisons to traditional exchange giants while US regulators open the door for regulated perpetuals. Whether that momentum holds will depend on sustained volume and the next wave of institutional products.
