Multicoin Capital has published a detailed valuation for HYPE, the native token of decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, projecting a price target of $319 by 2028—more than five times its current trading level of approximately $63. The forecast rests on an expected $8 billion in annual protocol revenue as Hyperliquid captures a growing share of derivatives trading volume from centralized exchanges.
The firm disclosed that HYPE has become one of its largest liquid fund positions, with accumulation underway since February 2026. Investment partner Spencer Applebaum noted, “HYPE is now one of our largest liquid fund positions and we’ve been accumulating aggressively since February.” This institutional endorsement adds significant weight to the bullish outlook.
Two major factors are driving HYPE’s momentum. First, regulated spot ETFs have seen a surge in inflows: a single 24-hour period recorded over $17 million in net inflows, with cumulative ETF inflows reaching $171 million. Second, on-chain data shows a wallet withdrew 572,900 HYPE (around $40 million) from Coinbase Prime and immediately staked it on Hyperliquid, marking one of the largest staking events in recent months and reducing circulating supply.
Hyperliquid’s expansion beyond crypto-native markets is accelerating. The platform’s first SpaceX-linked perpetual contract (SPCX) recorded over $1.2 billion in pre-IPO futures volume, becoming the most traded asset. Real-world asset-linked open interest now stands near $2.9 billion, while a licensed S&P 500 perpetual contract generated over $100 million in daily volume during its first week. Oil, gold, silver, equity indexes, and individual stocks are also available.
The protocol’s underlying metrics are robust. In 2025, Hyperliquid generated around $873 million in revenue on $2.9 trillion in trading volume. Its user base tripled to 923,000, and open interest hit $9.6 billion—representing 59% of the decentralized perpetual futures market. Monthly volume has reached 17% of Binance’s, while open interest is 21% of the centralized giant, both all-time highs.
Multicoin compared Hyperliquid’s rise to Binance’s ascent in 2017, emphasizing structural advantages: fully on-chain order execution and a buy-back mechanism where 99% of protocol revenue is used to repurchase HYPE tokens. The $319 target applies a 20x multiple to projected 2028 earnings, versus current multiples of 36x trailing earnings or 30x factoring in a recent Coinbase/USDC revenue agreement.
Broader industry voices echo the bullish sentiment. BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes bet $100,000 that HYPE will outperform any top-10 cryptocurrency this year, with Multicoin co-founder Kyle Samani matching the wager on Solana. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan called Hyperliquid “one of the most important crypto projects to emerge in years,” arguing it is undervalued as a full global trading platform.
Risks remain, including decentralization, governance, regulatory pressures, competition, and potential issues from bad loans. The US has reportedly approved perpetual futures trading on domestic exchanges partly due to Hyperliquid’s growth. The recent HIP-4 upgrade added options, prediction markets, and portfolio margining, while daily new wallet addresses surged by 44,000, pushing total users over 2.15 million. Whether this growth sustains will determine if the $319 target proves conservative or overblown.
