Bitwise Leader Thinks Hyperliquid is Bigger Than the Crypto Market

Hyperliquid (HYPE) should be valued against the $600 trillion global asset market, not crypto’s $3 trillion universe. That is the case Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan made for the fast-growing perpetual futures platform.

Hougan said BHYP, Bitwise’s spot Hyperliquid ETF, has pulled in close to $60 million since its mid-May NYSE debut. He called it the strongest single-asset crypto ETP launch since Bitcoin.

Bitwise CIO Says Hyperliquid Is a Gen 2 Token

Hougan said HYPE differs from prior exchange tokens. The platform routes nearly all trading fees into buybacks.

“I think it’s going to take investors a while to realize that this is a Gen 2 token. Like it’s a new version. It’s not like the past,” he noted during a Friday interview with Nate Geraci.

HYPE traded near $68 on Saturday, up 10% in 24 hours. It ranked 11th by market cap, per BeInCrypto data.

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Why Hyperliquid Targets $600 Trillion in Assets

Hougan framed Hyperliquid as a fintech application, not a crypto play.

“This is not a crypto app. This is a financial app that uses crypto in the back end to create a new financial experience that in many ways is better than the traditional system.”

He said non-crypto assets like S&P 500 perpetuals and oil already make up half of perpetuals volume.

“Already today, Nate, about 50% of the volume is in non-crypto assets. I think that will eventually be 90% plus of the volume.”

Competition and US Access Remain Open Risks

Hougan acknowledged execution risk. He named the NYSE, the CME and rival DeFi protocols as preparing to challenge Hyperliquid.

“…there is going to be significant competition for Hyperliquid in the future, and there is no guarantee that it will win.”

US investors still cannot trade directly on the offshore exchange. The BHYP ETF stakes about 70% of holdings using Bitwise’s own infrastructure.

The firm also routes 10% of management fees into HYPE held on its balance sheet.