Hyperliquid is beating ethereum in trading volume on some days as big money rotates, says FalconX

Institutional investors are ditching range-bound bitcoin and ether for Hyperliquid as the decentralized platform wins over hedge funds with massive liquidity and early access to hot markets, according to Joshua Lim, head of markets at FalconX.

What to know:

• Hyperliquid’s HYPE token and derivatives platform have become a major liquidity hub for hedge funds and institutional investors seeking trades beyond bitcoin and ether, according to FalconX.
• With bitcoin and ether seen as range-bound amid macro uncertainty and ETF outflows, speculative capital is rotating into altcoins such as HYPE, Zcash and AI-linked tokens, driving higher volatility there.
• Hyperliquid is drawing interest for its early, hard-to-access markets like pre-IPO perpetuals and tokenized stocks, fueling a broader bet that crypto-native venues could evolve into 24/7 platforms for trading a wide range of financial assets despite regulatory risks.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) has emerged as one of the most liquid trading venues in the crypto market, attracting growing interest from hedge funds and institutional investors as capital rotates away from bitcoin and ether, according to Joshua Lim, global head of markets at FalconX.

The decentralized derivatives exchange, which launched its HYPE token last year, has become a significant source of trading activity for FalconX clients. Lim said demand for Hyperliquid products has grown as investors search for opportunities beyond the largest cryptocurrencies.

"For things like HYPE, where there's broad consensus that it's an allocatable asset, there's a ton of liquidity. It's not hard to trade it," Lim said in an interview. "HYPE is probably on some days more active than Ethereum for us."

The comments come as bitcoin BTC$69,482.04 and ether (ETH) have struggled to attract fresh inflows while investors focus on a smaller group of alternative crypto assets. Lim said FalconX expects major cryptocurrencies to remain range-bound over the next few months because of macroeconomic uncertainty, ETF outflows and competition from other speculative investments.

"What it is translating to is actually implied volatility, so the price of options is near all-time lows," Lim said. "People don't think bitcoin and ether are going to move very much."

Instead, traders have been moving into assets tied to emerging themes such as artificial intelligence (AI) and decentralized trading infrastructure.

"The altcoins are moving a lot," Lim said. "That's where the speculative money is going. It's into things like HYPE and Zcash (ZEC) and Venice (VVV). AI-associated tokens are performing very well."

Hyperliquid's appeal extends beyond its token. Lim said hedge funds are increasingly using the platform's derivatives products because they provide access to markets that are difficult or impossible to trade elsewhere.

"They're very good at launching things early," he said, pointing to Hyperliquid's pre-IPO perpetual contracts tied to companies such as SpaceX. "We have hedge funds who there's no other way to really trade that in a liquid way."

The growing interest in Hyperliquid reflects a broader bet that crypto-native trading infrastructure can expand beyond digital assets. The platform generated about $800 million in revenue in 2025 and has steadily broadened its product lineup from crypto perpetual futures into tokenized stocks, commodities and prediction-style markets.

Grayscale has argued that Hyperliquid's long-term significance may lie less in the HYPE token itself and more in its potential to serve as a 24/7 trading venue for a wide range of financial assets. Regulatory developments remain a key uncertainty, particularly because the platform currently restricts U.S. users, but supporters increasingly view Hyperliquid as a test case for how blockchain-based markets could compete with traditional exchanges in the future.

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