Should You Buy the Hyperliquid Cryptocurrency or the Stock?

Most platforms in crypto offer investors one way in, which is to buy the token. Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE), on the other hand, offers two. Beyond its native token, HYPE, there's Hyperliquid Strategies (NASDAQ: PURR), the stock of a publicly listed company that buys and holds the token.

These two options don't deliver the same exposure whatsoever. So should you buy the cryptocurrency or the stock?

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What each instrument does

Hyperliquid is the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) for perpetual futures contracts, also known as perps, which are crypto-financial derivatives that let people speculate on asset prices without the time-based expiration constraints of traditional instruments like options. This chain has a dominating share of perps volume, with $181.6 billion in volume over the 30-day period ending on May 1.

That's a key consideration, as the HYPE token derives its appeal to investors from the protocol's buyback-and-burn mechanism. About 97% of the trading fees incurred by its platform flow into an automated system that repurchases HYPE tokens from the open market and then permanently destroys them. This process constrains the outstanding supply, thereby increasing its value for all holders as long as demand remains healthy. Token holders can also earn staking rewards and gain eligibility for any future airdrops, both of which are benefits that don't pass through to stockholders.

The business that issues the stock is a digital asset treasury company, which you can think of as essentially a corporate wrapper around a pile of HYPE tokens; it has no business or governance relationship with the issuer of the HYPE token. As of early 2026, the company held 17.6 million HYPE and $112.6 million in cash, with zero debt. It also runs a $30 million share buyback program that's designed to increase the per-share token exposure when the stock dips. Anyone with a standard brokerage or retirement account can buy shares without needing a crypto wallet.

The accessibility is the stock's main selling point, but it comes with a risk. Hyperliquid Strategies can issue new shares explicitly for the purpose of performing token purchases, diluting the value of existing shareholders in the process.

If you invest, HYPE is the way to go

Both assets are quite risky, and neither is proven yet.

With that said, if you want the most direct exposure to Hyperliquid's growth and adoption among crypto traders who use perpetual futures, buying HYPE is the better approach by far. When fee revenue drives buybacks, the benefit accrues directly to holders, whereas stockholders experience it indirectly, filtered through a corporate balance sheet and constrained by overhead as well as the risk of dilution.

Still, the token does carry a significant overhang. Only 42.5% of the total supply of 1 billion tokens is currently circulating. Monthly unlocks of roughly 10 million tokens are scheduled through October 2027, and while the protocol's buybacks have absorbed much of this new supply so far, that isn't guaranteed to continue. The unlocks are a different form of dilution.

So be aware that buying the token is a bet on rapid growth in trading activity.

Alex Carchidi has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Hyperliquid. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.