Hyperliquid is still expanding in a weak trading environment for crypto, and one business line now sits at the center of that growth: HIP-3. Within that market, Trade.XYZ has become the dominant venue in less than a year, at times posting higher volume than Hyperliquid’s native crypto perpetuals and fueling fresh speculation over whether it may eventually launch a token of its own.
That speculation has split the market. One side sees a token as a possible tool for liquidity incentives and user growth. The other worries that a separate Trade.XYZ token could siphon traffic, capital and attention from Hyperliquid and weaken HYPE’s value capture.
Hyperliquid keeps gaining share
According to Hypeflow data cited by PANews, Hyperliquid’s open interest, measured by a 14-day rolling average as of July 14, had reached 22.2% of Binance, 53.5% of Bybit and 81.1% of OKX. The gap with leading centralized exchanges has narrowed since the start of the year.
In the global perpetual futures market, Hyperliquid’s volume share climbed to 9.2%, a record high, up from 5.4% at the beginning of the year.
PANews points to HIP-3 as the main engine behind that move. Since launching last October, the market has scaled quickly. Hyperscreener data shows cumulative HIP-3 volume had passed $386.7 billion as of July 14, with on-chain equity products making up more than 61.5% of the total.
Its contribution to the broader Hyperliquid ecosystem has risen just as quickly. As of July 14, HIP-3 represented 44.7% of Hyperliquid’s daily trading volume, up from 4.92% at the start of the year. Its share of daily open interest jumped from about 3.5% to 33.4% over the same period.
Trade.XYZ dominates HIP-3
Inside HIP-3, Trade.XYZ is far ahead of the field. Hyperscreener data cited in the report shows that as of July 14, the platform accounted for 93.9% of market volume and 99.8% of open interest in HIP-3.
Blockworks data, also cited by PANews, shows Trade.XYZ recently exceeded Hyperliquid’s crypto perpetuals volume for several consecutive days on a nominal Perp DEX volume basis, ranking first across the market and staying well ahead of Lighter, Aster and grvt.
That concentration has made Trade.XYZ one of Hyperliquid’s core liquidity sources. It has also led to concern over centralization risk.
Token talk grows, but so do concerns over ecosystem leakage
As Trade.XYZ has built scale and network effects, expectations around a possible token have climbed. The basic thesis is straightforward: a platform of this size could use a token to reward liquidity, expand its user base and create its own value capture structure.
The concern is just as clear. If Trade.XYZ were to issue an independent token, it could draw capital, user attention and activity away from Hyperliquid, especially after its volume at times moved above Hyperliquid’s native crypto market.
Trade.XYZ is already tied closely to HYPE
PANews argues that the probability of a token launch may be overstated at this stage because Trade.XYZ and Hyperliquid already share strong economic alignment. Under the HIP-3 mechanism, project operators are required to hold, stake and spend HYPE.
Trade.XYZ has staked 500,000 HYPE as HIP-3 deployment collateral and has taken part in about 100 ticker Dutch auctions, consuming roughly 65,000 HYPE in total, worth about $4.1 million, according to the report. Since May, it has won at least 30 ticker auctions, with more than half clearing at the 500 HYPE floor price.
Each additional market therefore requires more HYPE usage. As Trade.XYZ expands, its demand for HYPE rises with it.
Revenue and regulation reduce the case for a token
The report also says Trade.XYZ already has a workable business model. Based on hl.eco data, its cumulative protocol revenue has reached $15.91 million. In PANews’ reading, that means business growth can be supported by real fee income rather than token fundraising or token-based user incentives.
PANews adds that a token can become expensive for a platform with stable cash flow. Buybacks, staking rewards and liquidity subsidies may eat into profit and compete with spending on product development, market expansion and ecosystem building.
Regulation is another factor. A large share of Trade.XYZ’s listed products is tied to U.S. stocks, stock indexes and Pre-IPO assets under the real-world asset, or RWA, category. Those are areas with higher regulatory sensitivity. PANews says keeping the business positioned as tokenless trading infrastructure may help reduce compliance risk and preserve strategic flexibility.
From that perspective, the relationship between Trade.XYZ and Hyperliquid looks less like a rivalry and more like an aligned interest structure. Trade.XYZ expands the market with low fees and a broader set of tradable assets, while Hyperliquid gains liquidity and fee revenue. PANews concludes that, at least for now, continuing to scale within the Hyperliquid ecosystem and staying linked to HYPE may remain the lower-cost and more efficient path for Trade.XYZ.