Hyperliquid has priced a pre-IPO synthetic contract tied to Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies, or CXMT, at about $535 billion, compared with an official IPO valuation of $85.5 billion. That puts the platform’s implied valuation at more than six times the official figure and well above Wall Street expectations.
According to ABMedia, market commentator The Wolf Of All Streets said the steep premium was driven mainly by Hyperliquid’s real-world asset, or RWA, price discovery function and the entry of Chinese retail traders. He added that investors still need to weigh the uncertainty surrounding US crypto policy given the risk attached to such an elevated valuation.
How Hyperliquid’s RWA price discovery works
The report describes RWA price discovery as a mechanism used by decentralized exchanges such as Hyperliquid to reflect market valuation and demand for an asset before it officially enters traditional financial markets.
Using onchain infrastructure and what the article calls Crypto Rails, market participants can trade synthetic contracts ahead of a conventional listing. In practice, that creates a market-based picture of how much traders are willing to pay for an asset before it is listed on a traditional exchange.
Why the gap with Wall Street is so wide
Hyperliquid’s pre-IPO synthetic contract values CXMT at around $535 billion, while the official IPO valuation stands at $85.5 billion. The Wolf Of All Streets pointed to several reasons for the discrepancy.
- Price discovery starts before traditional listing venues: decentralized exchanges and crypto rails allow an asset to trade before it reaches conventional exchanges, producing an early view of market expectations and onchain demand.
- Strong enthusiasm for the AI memory sector: the article says the premium highlights investor interest in AI memory technology. CXMT is described as China’s version of Samsung or SK Hynix, and that AI-linked upside has attracted substantial capital.
- Retail demand for broader market access: traditional IPOs often leave retail investors out of the early, high-return stage and reserve access for accredited investors. Hyperliquid opens that trading window to a global user base, which has drawn in investors looking to position early.
- An attempt to bypass the conventional IPO process: under a standard IPO model, retail investors often buy only after the company lists publicly, when valuations may already be high. Synthetic contracts give them a way to trade before that point.
- Inflows from Chinese traders: the report says China has a large trading community, and once those users reach platforms like Hyperliquid, demand for a target with national strategic significance such as CXMT could push pricing even higher.
The premium may reflect extreme sentiment
ABMedia said the RWA price discovery model turns crypto markets into more than a venue for digital assets. It also makes them an early reference point for how retail traders value assets before traditional markets produce a formal listing price.
Still, The Wolf Of All Streets was skeptical. He said the elevated premium does not mean CXMT’s eventual IPO will be priced anywhere near the same level. In his reading, the sharp markup is a sign of extreme market sentiment and, more specifically, intense investor enthusiasm around AI memory.
Japan, the UK and South Korea move ahead while the US remains uncertain
The report also points to a broader regulatory split. Japan, the UK and South Korea are all moving to attract digital asset activity through clearer legislation and tax treatment.
Japan’s parliament has passed a bill to place crypto under a financial product regulatory framework and has begun lowering what the article described as a tax burden that had reached 50%, laying groundwork for institutional-grade AI and crypto exchange-traded funds. The UK has adopted no gain no loss tax treatment for DeFi lending and liquidity pools, and said that from 2027 it will defer capital tax until an asset is actually sold. South Korea is also expected to bring crypto into its national asset management law.
By contrast, the article says proposed US clarity legislation is moving slowly, leaving Hyperliquid facing significant risk in the American market.

