Crypto trader sees Hyperliquid, AI tokens leading next altcoin rally
Hyperliquid’s surge and renewed interest in AI-focused crypto projects are signaling a broader return of risk appetite in altcoins, says Michael van de Poppe.
By AI Boost|Edited by Jennifer Sanasie May 23, 2026, 2:19 p.m. 2 min readMake preferred on
Latest developments: Hyperliquid is outperforming much of the crypto market as traders rotate back into higher-risk assets.
- Hyperliquid’s HYPE token hit a new all-time high after two HYPE ETFs launched in the U.S.
- Van de Poppe said European traders have increasingly moved to Hyperliquid because perpetual futures trading remains difficult to access on many regulated venues in Europe.
- He argued Hyperliquid’s push into tokenized stocks, commodities and pre-IPO assets is accelerating broader tokenization trends across crypto markets.
- Van de Poppe said HYPE could rise to $100 or more if crypto market appetite continues to strengthen.
- Van de Poppe joined Jennifer Sanasie on CoinDesk's Markets Outlook.
What this means: Van de Poppe sees Hyperliquid as a short-term winner but Solana as the stronger long-term conviction bet.
- He said liquidity in crypto markets is concentrating around a small group of protocols generating strong user growth and revenue.
- Van de Poppe said Hyperliquid currently benefits from that concentration but warned competitors will eventually enter the market and pressure its dominance.
- He described Solana as successfully transitioning from a “degen” ecosystem into a more institutional blockchain ecosystem.
- Van de Poppe said Solana’s long-term positioning as infrastructure makes it more attractive than Hyperliquid over a multi-year horizon.
The AI trade: AI-linked crypto projects remain deeply undervalued relative to traditional AI companies, van de Poppe said.
- He pointed to NEAR and Bittensor as two of the strongest infrastructure plays tied to AI adoption in crypto.
- Van de Poppe argued valuations for private and public AI companies have become overheated, while crypto AI tokens have fallen sharply despite continued ecosystem growth.
- He said NEAR’s projected revenue growth from roughly $10 million in 2025 to as much as $100 million this year supports a significantly higher valuation.
- Van de Poppe said Bittensor’s ecosystem expansion and subnet structure could justify prices between $1,000 and $2,000 if adoption continues.
The privacy debate: Privacy remains one of crypto’s biggest long-term themes, but fully anonymous systems face major regulatory risks.
- Van de Poppe said institutional and retail users both want more transactional privacy on blockchains.
- He argued governments are unlikely to support fully anonymous privacy coins over the long term because regulators want visibility into transactions.
- Van de Poppe said funds in Europe already face restrictions interacting with certain privacy-focused assets.
- He pointed to zero-knowledge proof systems and permissioned privacy models as more sustainable paths forward for institutional adoption.
Macro outlook: Van de Poppe said bond yields and central bank policy remain the biggest near-term macro drivers for crypto.
- He said Japanese bond yields are a key market signal and could heavily influence broader risk appetite.
- Falling yields could support equities and crypto markets, while persistent inflation could create headwinds.
- Van de Poppe said he does not expect aggressive rate cuts or renewed monetary easing from the Federal Reserve in the near term.
- He warned additional rate hikes would likely pressure crypto and broader risk assets.
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