Hyperliquid tokens are valued at over $9B, but may carry extreme risk

Hyperliquid completed the first days after its airdrop, focusing on the native HYPE token. The perpetual futures DEX, however, is building an ecosystem of tokens, which may hold both opportunities and high risks. 

Hyperliquid is shifting the focus from its native HYPE token to its wider ecosystem of assets. As a high-speed chain, Hyperliquid has already started adding tokens. Its initial list of assets is now valued at over $1B for all the new tickers, based on Cryptorank data. As of December 18, the HYPE ticker is valued at $8B, still making the bulk of the Hyperliquid trading ecosystem. 

HYPE peaked above $28.20 before sliding again to the $24 range. The expectation for HYPE is to reflect the growing activity and possibly climb to a higher price range. For others, HYPE is not sustainable and may start to lose value more rapidly. HYPE still depends on its native DEX trading, with limited opportunities for more balanced price discovery.

Hyperliquid DEX sparks a wave of token generation

Tokens are quickly catching up, in a way similar to aping into meme tokens on Solana. For months before the generation of the HYPE token, the Hyperliquid DEX was seen as another perpetual futures platform, similar to dy/dx. 

Once tokenized, the chain and the DEX showed their potential for price discovery through rapid trading. The Hyperliquid DEX may have turned into another token casino with the potential for breakouts. 

PURR is the biggest meme token to date, which was airdropped to early users. The Hypurr (PURR) project trades at $0.47, with a total capitalization of $277.8M. Just days ago, the token peaked above $370M. The asset grew by as much as 200% within days, granting unexpected airdrop value to early adopters. 

The third-largest token is Hypurr Fun (HFUN), which launched on December 5 and had a vertical climb with 1,500% gains at one point. The token is the native asset of the fastest Telegram trading bot for Hyperliquid. 

Within days, Hyperliquid was carrying a small selection of blue chip memes, with liquidity flowing in. Auctions are also launching based on their 31-hour schedule, each with a higher starting price for new tickers.

Hyperliquid limits the number of tickers

Hyperliquid has put a bottleneck on the number of tokens listed. The perpetual futures DEX will not have unlimited listings like other automated platforms. 

Instead, Hyperliquid sets up Dutch auctions for available tickers. Even established projects will have to buy their ticker at auction. 

A Dutch auction starts at the highest possible price, which decreases until a buyer is found. For instance, the SOLV ticker was sold for $128,000, raising the floor for the next bid. Hyperliquid carries out a ticker auction every 31 hours. 

Over time, the price to deploy tokens gradually increases, making the first listings look cheap by comparison. The tokens pay the fees in the form of network gas, which keeps climbing for new tickers. 

In the past few days, listing prices climbed close to $1M, with the potential to increase. A high fee to buy a ticker is not an endorsement or a guarantee of the token’s performance. 

In the last few days after Hyperliquid started adding more tokens, the GOD ticker was the leader, selling for $975K. The next auction will start with a price of $1.95M, further challenging the projects that want to list on Hyperliquid. 

Top Tokens on @HyperliquidX by Gas Paid for Deployment

Token deployment on Hyperliquid operates through a Dutch auction mechanism, where the gas price gradually decreases every 31 hours. Deployer may pay the current gas price, halting further deployments for the remainder of the… pic.twitter.com/wOoQAJQ3m9

— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) December 18, 2024

Hyperliquid is listing already existing projects that want to be represented on the exchange. The rapidly rising price essentially blocks the launchers of small-scale or experimental memes, thus discouraging rug pulls. 

Hyperliquid tokens, however, may hold one major risk. The newly listed tokens may lack market makers and remain practically frozen. Currently, buyers are even aping into tokens with a small investment, while waiting for assets to enter the hyperliquid stage. At that point, previously inactive tokens may pump significantly. 

Hyperliquid tokens are already available through DexScreener, transparently showing the available market makers. The tokens offer the opportunity to buy during periods of low activity, then sell when there is available hyper-liquidity. 

Token trading is just taking off on Hyperliquid and is yet to show the full effects of the Dutch auctions and limited listings. 

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