HYPE Jumps 10% As NYSE Owner Highlights Hyperliquid’s Wall Street Potential

Hyperliquid (HYPE) climbed nearly 10% to $62.30 on Friday after Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeff Sprecher told investors at the Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference that the decentralized derivatives platform has grown bigger than Nasdaq.

The comment from the founder of the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) sent the token within 4% of its all-time high of $64.44, lifting Hyperliquid’s market value above $13.8 billion.

Wall Street Notices an Exchange Built by 11 People

In remarks delivered on May 27, Sprecher said Hyperliquid’s founders are “extremely smart” and described the venue as “a true DeFi exchange.”

He noted that ICE has met with the team multiple times and is not “freaked out” by the competition.

“This Hyperliquid that we’re talking — if you haven’t heard about it, it’s bigger than NASDAQ, okay? It’s 11 people. You look at it, you’re like, wow, that’s pretty something.”

Sprecher also highlighted weekend oil futures, leverage of up to 100x, and a fully on-chain order book as features that have pushed legacy venues to extend their own trading hours.

His outreach broadens an institutional bid for HYPE that already includes growing spot ETF demand and a recent Arthur Hayes purchase.

HYPE Holds Near Record Highs

HYPE now ranks as the 11th-largest crypto asset by market value, helped by $1.16 billion in buybacks that have tightened circulating supply this year.

The platform also continues to draw aggressive whale positioning as new highs come into view, with the token already up roughly 80% over the past 12 months.

Sprecher’s remarks suggest the line between centralized incumbents and onchain venues is narrowing faster than many traditional exchange executives expected.

Whether ICE moves from observation to direct partnership may shape how quickly that line disappears.