By How Close Is Hyperliquid To Its Pre-Crash Peak?
Hyperliquid’s total open interest has climbed back to levels last seen immediately before the sharp October 2025 deleveraging event, with the recovery increasingly driven by its core crypto perpetual futures markets rather than HIP-3.
Total open interest reached $14.3 billion on Sunday, putting it within about 3% of the level recorded immediately before the Oct. 10, 2025 crash.
On that day, Hyperliquid’s open interest fell roughly 56% in a single session, dropping from $14.7 billion to $6.5 billion as leveraged positions were rapidly unwound.
The recovery has taken nearly a year and has unfolded in two distinct phases. HIP-3 markets drove much of the earlier rebound, while crypto perpetuals have become the main source of growth more recently.
That change matters because the two categories have different economics for Hyperliquid and its HYPE token.
Why Is HIP-3 Losing Share Of Open Interest?
HIP-3 initially accounted for a large part of Hyperliquid’s recovery. Its share of total open interest rose from 18% in March 2026 to more than 34% by August, while HIP-3 open interest reached a record above $4.44 billion.
Of the $8.47 billion increase in Hyperliquid’s total open interest over the past six months, HIP-3 accounted for roughly 30%.
The contribution has weakened substantially in recent months. Over the past three months, HIP-3 represented about 15% of total open-interest growth.
The difference became more pronounced over the past month. Hyperliquid’s total open interest increased by $3.57 billion, while HIP-3 open interest actually declined by $119 million.
As a result, HIP-3’s share of the platform’s total open interest has fallen from about 34% a month ago to roughly 25%.
The figures indicate that traders are increasingly returning to Hyperliquid’s core crypto perpetual futures rather than relying on builder-deployed HIP-3 markets to drive growth.
Investor Takeaway
The composition of Hyperliquid’s open-interest recovery matters as much as the headline total. Growth moving back toward core crypto perpetuals can generate substantially more value for HYPE because a much larger share of those trading fees is directed into token buybacks.
What Is Driving Crypto Perpetuals Higher?
Two developments appear to have helped accelerate activity in Hyperliquid’s crypto perpetual markets.
Coinbase began routing users of its Base App to Hyperliquid in mid-August, creating an additional retail distribution channel for the decentralized exchange.
At the same time, President Donald Trump said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was working on a compliant route for bringing Hyperliquid-related activity into the U.S.
The combination of greater retail access and the possibility of regulated U.S. exposure may have helped revive demand for Hyperliquid’s core markets.
The economic effect is important because HIP-3 builders can retain up to half of the trading fees generated by markets they deploy. Core crypto perpetuals, by contrast, direct close to 97% of generated fees toward HYPE buybacks.
That means equivalent amounts of open interest do not have equal value for the token. A dollar of activity returning to Hyperliquid’s core perpetual markets can contribute considerably more to HYPE purchases than a dollar flowing into a builder-operated HIP-3 market.
Why Does The Revenue Mix Matter For HYPE?
The effect of the earlier HIP-3 expansion could already be seen in Hyperliquid’s financial metrics.
Gross revenue peaked at $457 million in the third quarter of 2025 before falling to $202 million by the second quarter of 2026. Assistance Fund purchases declined from $290 million to $149 million over the same period, even as HIP-3 became a much larger share of total open interest.
The latest shift back toward core crypto perpetuals could reverse some of that pressure if trading activity remains elevated, because a larger portion of fee generation would again flow into HYPE purchases.
HYPE has already reacted strongly. The token reached an all-time high of about $88, taking its market capitalization close to $20 billion after gaining more than 50% during the month.
The next question is whether open interest can break above the $14.7 billion level that preceded the October 2025 crash without triggering another large deleveraging event.
For HYPE holders, however, the more important test may be where that growth occurs. If core crypto perpetuals continue taking share from HIP-3 markets, Hyperliquid could produce more buyback demand even without a comparable increase in total open interest.