HYPE skyrockets, outshining Bitcoin and Ethereum
On Thursday morning, HYPE reached $59.29, climbing around 8% in a single day, pushing its market capitalization close to $16 billion. Over the past month alone, HYPE has gained nearly 40%, far outperforming giants like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP.
Hyperliquid is known as a decentralized exchange specializing in perpetual futures – derivative contracts without an expiry date, allowing speculators to take leveraged positions without owning the underlying assets.
The milestone quickly caught the attention of BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes, who called it an “All-time Hype.” Back in August, Hayes predicted that the token could see a potential 126x upside, with annual revenues fueled by stablecoin expansion potentially soaring to $258 billion, compared to its current $1.2 billion.
Big money pouring into HYPE
According to analytics platform Nansen, one trader opened a $30 million leveraged long position on HYPE, currently sitting on an unrealized profit of over $1.39 million while still adding aggressively. Reports show the trader started longing three hours earlier and has been buying about 123 HYPE every 30 seconds.
Among the top 40 altcoins, HYPE is one of the day’s strongest performers, only trailing Avalanche, which posted a 9.5% gain.
CZ promotes ASTER, a direct rival
Just hours before HYPE’s peak, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) – former Binance CEO – unexpectedly shared a chart of ASTER, the native token of a newly launched decentralized derivatives exchange.
ASTER, launched in July as Aster Chain, is backed by YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) and PancakeSwap, the leading DEX on BNB Chain. It is seen as a direct competitor to Hyperliquid.
The ASTER token began trading on Wednesday and surged more than 350% within 24 hours, hitting an all-time high of $0.50, according to CoinMarketCap.
“CZ rarely shares charts. But this time, he posted ASTER. Why? Because Hyperliquid is eating into Binance’s market share,” commented Hunters of Web3 founder “LANGERIUS.”
A fierce market share battle
According to CoinGecko, Hyperliquid’s current daily trading volume sits at $790 million, still a fraction compared to Binance’s massive $34 billion. However, the growing shift of traders toward decentralized platforms is putting pressure on the exchange giant.
With HYPE breaking new records and ASTER making a spectacular debut, the decentralized derivatives sector is entering a fierce battleground that even Binance cannot afford to ignore.
