From Airdrop Myth to King of Derivatives: A Look Back at Hyperliquid's 2025 Conquest
Reviewing crypto's growth in 2025, Hyperliquid stands out. It began the year with an epic airdrop and strong price performance, capturing attention. By year's end, it transformed into a top-four revenue-generating platform in crypto, earning over $650M and at one point capturing 70% of all perp trading volume.
Its success was no accident. In Q1, it solidified its reputation by being first to list new assets like the TRUMP perp and launched HyperEVM, a smart contract layer. Q2 saw explosive growth: HYPE token surged 4x from April lows, and HyperEVM's TVL grew from $350M to $1.8B. The platform gained mainstream media coverage.
In Q3, major wallets like Phantom and MetaMask integrated via Hyperliquid's builder codes, routing $158B in volume and earning partners nearly $50M. A high-profile stablecoin bid war was won by Native Markets, aligning with Hyperliquid's bootstrapped ethos. However, new competitors like Aster and Lighter emerged with aggressive airdrops.
Q4 brought permissionless listings via HIP-3, enabling new markets like stock perps and yield-bearing collateral. Yet, HYPE fell nearly 50% from its September peak due to market conditions, a rare ADL event during a crash, and the start of team token unlocks.
As perps go mainstream in 2026, Hyperliquid's true test begins. Its success came from building a superior product and ecosystem without shortcuts. Maintaining leadership will require doing it all over again in a crowded field.
marsbit12/12 11:35
