Bitcoin Dominance Broken for the First Time on Hyperliquid: Revenue Plummets 43% Amidst Volume Record
While futures based on real-world assets (RWA) are breaking records on the Hyperliquid platform, a 43% drop in the protocol’s gross revenues is increasing pressure on the HYPE token.
Hyperliquid, one of the leading derivative exchanges in the cryptocurrency world, is experiencing an unexpected contraction in revenue despite becoming a giant in terms of trading volume and market share. The platform’s open interest—the total value of leveraged positions held by investors—reached a historic peak of over $11 billion on July 13, 2026. While the platform increased its share of the global futures market to 9%, its volume over the last 30 days reached $178 billion. However, this massive growth is not reflected proportionally in the money entering the protocol’s treasury.
Gross revenues, which were $357 million in the third quarter of 2025, fell to $202 million by the second quarter of 2026. At the heart of this decline lies the platform’s new revenue-sharing model known as HIP-3. Under this system, markets created by external developers have begun to account for half of the total volume. Since Hyperliquid pays back a large portion of the commissions earned from these transactions to developers and market makers, its own profit margin is narrowing.
RWA Transactions Overtake Bitcoin
The most striking change on the platform is occurring on the real-world assets (RWA) side. Futures based on the shares of giant companies like Nvidia, Tesla, and SpaceX broke Bitcoin (BTC) dominance for the first time with an open interest value of $3.6 billion. In particular, the 90% dominance of a single player like Trade.xyz in this market is also changing the system’s risk balance. The recent sudden drop in the SK Hynix contract and the accompanying liquidations once again highlighted the risks brought by this centralized structure.
HYPE Token and Buyback Program
The decrease in revenue directly affects the buyback mechanism that supports the value of the HYPE token. The relief fund, which buys tokens from the market with a portion of protocol revenues, purchased $290 million last year, while this figure fell to $149 million in the last quarter. Large transfers by institutional investors to exchanges and the emergence of new competitors like Robinhood Chain indicate that the upcoming period will be quite critical for HYPE investors. This situation shows how vital revenue sharing is for token holders despite record volumes.