Hyperliquid’s HYPE Overtakes Solana in Token Price for First Time

Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE has surpassed Solana’s SOL in price for the first time.

The Block reported on June 3 that HYPE rose to an intraday record of $74.67. It was still trading in the $73 range, above Solana in the $72 range.

The price reversal is notable because it came during a broader crypto market slump. Bitcoin, Ether and other major cryptocurrencies posted double-digit declines over the past week, while HYPE gained about 24% over the past month.

Solana, by contrast, fell about 14% over the same period, dropping to its lowest level since late 2023.

Solana still leads by market capitalization. Its market value is about $42 billion, versus roughly $16 billion for Hyperliquid.

Even so, Hyperliquid’s growth has been rapid. Its share of the global perpetual futures market reached a record 6.63% in May. Monthly trading volume for perpetual futures products built on its HIP-3 framework also exceeded $62 billion.

Institutional interest is growing as well. Grayscale launched its Hyperliquid staking ETF, HYPG, on June 3, and Grayscale Research head Zach Pandl called Hyperliquid “the biggest success story of this cycle.”

CoinShares said in a recent report that Hyperliquid is one of the few projects where protocol activity translates directly into token demand. The firm set a 2031 price target of $147 for HYPE.

Peter Pan, a research partner at venture capital firm 1kx, said recent market consensus, investor conviction and price action around Hyperliquid recall Ethereum in 2017, Binance Coin in 2021 and Solana in 2023. He said a new candidate for the No. 2 spot behind Bitcoin has emerged.