Hyperliquid CEO says Wall Street’s wealth-creation model is unsustainable for most investors

News Editor

2026-10-07 10:19:27

Hyperliquid co-founder and CEO Jeff Yan said traditional Wall Street wealth creation leaves most retail investors out of the most lucrative phase of asset growth, because many opportunities remain inaccessible until public listing. Speaking at a Token2049 Singapore fireside chat on Tuesday, Yan said assets are often tradable by only a small group for much of their growth cycle, with the public gaining access only after the largest gains have already gone to privileged participants. Yan described that pattern as a product of the broader economy, but said it is not sustainable. He said Hyperliquid’s revenue growth comes as a byproduct of expanding global access to blockchain-based wealth creation through its decentralized exchange rather than optimizing directly for revenue. He also pointed to the design of perpetual futures, which do not expire, saying that structure reduces the number of decisions traders need to make and avoids liquidity fragmentation. According to DefiLlama, Hyperliquid generated $72 million over the past 30 days, ranking it as the third-largest protocol by revenue. Pantera said in July that onchain perpetuals could become one of the dominant trading instruments in global finance, while Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher has called for a level playing field for 24/7 onchain perpetual futures.

Hyperliquid co-founder and CEO Jeff Yan said traditional Wall Street wealth-creation opportunities, including company stocks, are largely closed to the broader investing public until they reach an exchange, leaving retail participants shut out of the biggest pre-listing gains.

Hyperliquid CEO says Wall Street’s wealth-creation model is unsustainable for most investors 2

Speaking during a Tuesday fireside chat at Token2049 Singapore, Yan said, 「Some assets are only tradable by a few people for many orders of magnitude of its growth, and then ultimately tradable by the public only after all of the growth has been realized by a select few people with privilege.」

He said that dynamic is a byproduct of the broader economy, but added that this model of wealth creation is not 「sustainable.」

Yan says Hyperliquid is focused on financial openness, not revenue optimization

Yan said Hyperliquid’s rising revenue reflects broader global access to blockchain-based wealth creation through its decentralized exchange. In his account, the platform’s main goal is to open more paths into wealth creation and bring more people into the financial system, while revenue comes as a secondary outcome.

He also said Hyperliquid’s success is partly tied to its perpetual futures contracts, which do not expire. That structure reduces the number of decisions traders need to make and helps prevent liquidity fragmentation.

Hyperliquid CEO says Wall Street’s wealth-creation model is unsustainable for most investors 3

Data from DefiLlama shows Hyperliquid generated $72 million in the past 30 days, making it the third-largest protocol by revenue over that period.

Onchain perpetuals are drawing attention from traditional finance

Blockchain-focused asset manager Pantera said in July that perpetual futures could become one of the dominant trading instruments in global finance because of their structural advantages, and said Hyperliquid shows how blockchain infrastructure could challenge traditional markets.

That growth has also drawn attention from traditional finance firms, including Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. ICE CEO Jeffrey Sprecher has called on regulators to create a 「level playing field」 for the launch of 24/7 onchain perpetual futures contracts.

In March, the NYSE partnered with tokenization platform Securitize as part of a broader effort to build blockchain-based stock trading infrastructure for Wall Street with 24/7 trading and settlement.

This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more cryptocurrency news and market insights, visit www.bit.fan.

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