Hyperliquid Strategies Soared by 94% in August. Should Investors Forget Bitcoin and Buy This Stock Instead?

Shares of Hyperliquid Strategies (NASDAQ: PURR) gained about 94% in August 2026, easily outperforming Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). However, investors should first understand what soared.

Hyperliquid Strategies is not the same as Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE), the native token of the Hyperliquid blockchain network. It is a publicly traded company that owns HYPE tokens and earns additional ones by committing some of them to help secure and operate the Hyperliquid network. HYPE itself rose about 60% in August 2026, while Bitcoin gained roughly 25%.

But Hyperliquid Strategies' much stronger performance was not driven only by rising Hyperliquid token prices. Investors were also willing to pay more for the publicly traded company holding those tokens. The decision to buy Hyperliquid Strategies instead of Bitcoin is more complicated than simply comparing their August returns.

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Hyperliquid Strategies' stock rose much more than the Hyperliquid token

Shares of Hyperliquid Strategies gained far more than the Hyperliquid token in August 2026. PurrmNAV, an independent tracker of the company's market value relative to its underlying assets, estimated that Hyperliquid Strategies traded at about 82% of its net asset value (NAV) on Aug. 18. The company was trading at roughly 1.07 times NAV by Aug. 20. FalconX later reported that the company was trading at about 1.2 times NAV on Aug. 27.

Investors may be willing to pay a premium because Hyperliquid Strategies can earn additional HYPE by using some of its tokens to help support the Hyperliquid network. The company can also issue shares when its stock trades above NAV and use the proceeds to buy more Hyperliquid tokens. If done well, this strategy can increase the value backing each share over time.

The optimistic regulatory environment also seems to be boosting investor sentiment. On Aug. 19, President Donald Trump said U.S. regulators were working on a legal path for the Hyperliquid decentralized perpetual futures trading platform to operate in the country. The comments helped send both the Hyperliquid token and Hyperliquid Strategies shares sharply higher.

The Hyperliquid token's growth is backed by real activity

The Hyperliquid platform already has a strong position in crypto trading. It accounted for about 63% of the open positions in decentralized perpetual futures as of Aug. 23. That's the value of outstanding positions in derivative contracts that allow investors to bet on crypto prices without an expiration date.

Hyperliquid also has a mechanism that can directly create demand for the Hyperliquid token. Part of the trading fees generated on the network goes to its Assistance Fund, which automatically uses the money to buy Hyperliquid tokens. The tokens held by the fund are then permanently removed from supply. Hence, higher trading activity can support demand for the Hyperliquid token while also reducing its supply.

However, growing trading activity does not necessarily mean the Hyperliquid trading network is making more money at the same pace. The network's gross revenue fell from about $356.7 million in the third quarter of 2025 to $201.8 million in the second quarter of 2026, a decline of roughly 43%.

Hence, investors should not assume that rising trading volume or open positions will automatically translate into similar growth in the amount of money available to buy Hyperliquid tokens and reduce its supply.

Hyperliquid Strategies needs to grow value per share

Hyperliquid Strategies increased its Hyperliquid token holdings from about 29.3 million tokens on July 30 to roughly 30.1 million tokens by Sept. 3. However, simply owning more tokens does not necessarily make each share more valuable.

The company issued 76.1 million shares at an average net issue valuation of about 15% above its NAV and used $773 million to buy 16.5 million Hyperliquid tokens in fiscal 2026 (ending June 30, 2026). Issuing shares above NAV can benefit existing shareholders if management uses the proceeds productively. On Sept. 1, the company increased the amount of stock it can sell under an existing agreement from $1 billion to $2.5 billion, giving it a greater capacity to raise money by issuing new shares.

While the company can use that money to buy more tokens, issuing more shares also means that its assets are spread across a larger number of shares. Hence, investors need to determine whether the value backing each share is increasing, rather than focusing only on the company's total Hyperliquid token holdings.

Valuation makes this even more important. Hyperliquid Strategies closed at $12.18 on Sept. 4. PurrmNAV estimated the company's adjusted NAV at about $10.25 per share. Investors were paying roughly a 19% premium to the estimated value of the assets backing each share.

In other words, investors are already paying for some of the company's expected future value creation.

Investors should not forget Bitcoin

Hyperliquid Strategies offers more ways to potentially grow investor value, but each one adds another layer of risk. Bitcoin's investment case is much simpler. Its supply is limited to 21 million coins, while its long-term value depends mostly on whether adoption continues to grow.

The company's investors need more things to go right. The Hyperliquid network must continue to attract trading activity, and enough of the money generated must benefit the Hyperliquid token. Hyperliquid Strategies must also increase the value backing each share as it raises more capital.

Investors should not sell Bitcoin simply because Hyperliquid Strategies soared in August. Hyperliquid Strategies could deliver higher returns if all these factors work in its favor. However, Bitcoin's simpler investment case makes it more suitable as a core cryptocurrency holding, while I would consider Hyperliquid Strategies a smaller, higher-risk investment.

Manali Pradhan, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Hyperliquid. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.