Multicoin Capital has published a full valuation report on Hyperliquid and its token HYPE, arguing that the market is still undervaluing the asset. The report places HYPE at around $63 today, with a trailing price-to-earnings multiple of roughly 36x. Including the already effective Coinbase/USDC arrangement, the forward multiple is estimated at about 30x. In Multicoin’s base case, Hyperliquid reaches $8 billion in annual earnings by 2028, implying a token price near $319. Its bull case rises to $689.
Multicoin said it began building its Hyperliquid position earlier this year and has kept adding. HYPE has now become one of the largest holdings in its liquid fund. The firm describes Hyperliquid as a vertically integrated Layer 1 chain and decentralized exchange built for high-speed trading, and frames 2025 and 2026 as breakout years for the protocol.
$2.9 trillion in volume and more than 59% of DeFi open interest
According to the report, Hyperliquid generated about $2.9 trillion in trading volume over the past 12 months and roughly $873 million in revenue. Its user count climbed from around 301,000 to roughly 923,000, while year-end open interest stood near $6 billion. The report says Hyperliquid now controls more than 59% of DeFi derivatives open interest, with roughly $9.6 billion in OI, more than the combined total of its major on-chain rivals.
Multicoin also argues that Hyperliquid has been taking share from centralized exchanges. Monthly volume has reached about 17% of Binance’s level, while open interest has climbed to around 21%. Two years ago, that figure was close to zero.
Eight growth drivers are central to the thesis
The report outlines eight catalysts for the next 12 to 24 months. Near the top of that list is HIP-3, launched in October 2025, which made market deployment permissionless on HyperCore. Any entity staking more than 500,000 HYPE can launch a new perpetual market and control oracle configuration, leverage limits, and risk settings. Multicoin says HIP-3 open interest grew from nearly zero to more than $2.9 billion in six months, and now accounts for about 33% of Hyperliquid’s total OI.
HIP-4, introduced in early 2026, opened the door to prediction markets and options on HyperCore. The report points to prediction market monthly volume as high as $21 billion, and crypto options monthly volume above $180 billion at peak levels. Multicoin’s argument is simple: even partial success in those categories could expand Hyperliquid’s revenue base well beyond perps.
Other catalysts include portfolio margin, Builder Codes, HyperEVM, regulatory engagement, institutional access, and ETFs. As of early 2026, more than 175 teams had deployed applications on HyperEVM. Builder Codes, which let third-party fronts route order flow into Hyperliquid in exchange for a fee share, have already been integrated by Phantom, MetaMask, Insilico, Based, and Hyperdash. Together they are said to be contributing daily trading volume in the nine-figure range. Phantom alone has processed more than $43 billion in cumulative volume since its July 2025 integration and generated about $22 million in revenue for itself.
Coinbase USDC deal and ETF demand add to the model
On the stablecoin side, the report highlights Coinbase’s role as Hyperliquid’s official USDC deployment partner starting in May. Using the report’s assumptions, if the platform holds about $6.13 billion in USDC collateral and Treasury yields are 3.65%, a revenue split of around 90% could translate into more than $200 million a year for the protocol. That income stream is treated as a meaningful upgrade to the earnings picture.
Institutional access is another piece of the thesis. The report notes that in May 2026, Hyperliquid-related ETF products from 21Shares, Bitwise, and Grayscale began trading. It also says spot HYPE ETFs absorbed more than 1% of HYPE supply within their first 10 trading days, one of the strongest starts recorded for a spot crypto ETF launch.
Valuation ranges from $109 to $689
Multicoin uses a cash-flow multiple framework and assumes 99% of protocol revenue continues to be directed to HYPE holders through buybacks and burns. Under its bear case, Hyperliquid produces about $2.73 billion in protocol earnings by 2028, implying a token price near $109. The base case reaches $8 billion in earnings and $319 per token. The bull case climbs to roughly $17.3 billion in earnings and about $689 per HYPE.
The base case rests on four assumptions: total crypto derivatives volume compounds at 35% through 2028, DEXs take 32% of the overall crypto derivatives market, Hyperliquid maintains about 30% share within derivatives DEXs, and USDC balances on the platform grow broadly in line with trading activity.
The report also flags structural and regulatory risks
Multicoin’s report is not risk-free in tone. It calls out decentralization and governance concerns, noting that as of June 2026 the network had 27 validator nodes, up from four at launch but still far below Ethereum or Solana. It also points to regulatory uncertainty, especially in the US, where the legal treatment of on-chain perpetual products is still unsettled.
Competition is another pressure point. The report names Binance as the biggest long-term threat and also highlights Aster, Lighter, and Solana-based derivatives venues such as Phoenix, Drift, and Bulk Trade. On the token side, it warns that contributor unlocks could create supply pressure. Core contributors are scheduled to receive about 9.92 million HYPE per month through 2028, worth roughly $625 million per month at current prices.
HYPE has a total supply of 1 billion tokens, with 31% airdropped to early users at launch, 38.9% reserved for future community emissions, and 23.8% allocated to core contributors. The report says the token captures value through five channels: buybacks and burns, trading fee discounts tied to staking tiers, gas usage on Hyperliquid L1, staking rewards, and governance rights.