Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, surged past $50 on Wednesday for the first time since September 2025. The move followed public comments from Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan, who argued the market is undervaluing the Hyperliquid ecosystem.
Hougan’s valuation argument
In a post shared Wednesday, Hougan said Hyperliquid’s current market cap doesn’t reflect the platform’s on-chain activity or revenue potential. He didn’t provide a specific price target, but the remark was enough to trigger a wave of buying. HYPE had traded below $40 for most of October and November, hovering in a range that many traders considered quiet.
Hyperliquid operates as a decentralized exchange built on its own Layer 1 blockchain. The platform handles perpetual futures trading and has seen steady user growth since launching its mainnet in 2023.
Price action and market reaction
Data from CoinGecko shows HYPE hit an intraday high of $51.20 Wednesday afternoon before settling around $50.70. Trading volume spiked to roughly triple the daily average, with most activity concentrated on Binance and Hyperliquid’s own DEX.
Some traders took profits near the $50 mark, but buying pressure held the token above that level into the evening. It’s the first time HYPE has stayed above $50 for more than a few hours since early September.
What Hougan’s role means
Hougan isn’t a portfolio manager at Hyperliquid, nor does Bitwise hold a disclosed position in the token. But his opinions carry weight in crypto markets—Bitwise manages billions in digital asset funds, and Hougan often speaks publicly about valuation gaps he sees.
His comment about Hyperliquid being undervalued didn’t come with a formal research note. Still, the market treated it as a signal. Whether that signal holds depends on whether the fundamentals Hougan alluded to materialize in the coming quarters.
Hyperliquid’s team has not issued a statement about the price movement. The project typically avoids commenting on short-term price action.
HYPE now faces resistance around $52, a level it hasn’t cleared since August. If it breaks that, the next test could be the all-time high near $58 set in July 2025.
