Usman Salis
● Hyperliquid's latest weekly report (Stats #43) paints an interesting picture of where the DeFi derivatives market might be heading. According to data shared by Cito Zone - DeFi Media Hub, the platform's perpetual futures volume dropped to $58 billion (down 9% week-over-week), while DEX volume fell even harder—27.2% to $3.4 billion.
● But here's where it gets interesting: despite quieter trading, open interest shot up 19% to $7.59 billion, and total value locked climbed 17.7% to $2.44 billion. That's a lot of capital flowing in and staying put.
● What does this mean? Traders seem to be pulling back from short-term speculation and instead locking in longer-duration or leveraged positions. It's a pattern you typically see when markets calm down after volatile periods—people stop chasing quick flips and start positioning for what's next.
● Revenue-wise, Hyperliquid brought in $22.3 million last week, down just 4.7%. The fact that revenue only dipped slightly while volume fell more sharply shows the platform's fee structure is holding up well. That's crucial for keeping validators rewarded and the protocol running smoothly.
The derivatives market is entering a phase of structural maturity, where deep liquidity and sustainable open interest growth are replacing high-frequency speculation as primary performance drivers. As Cito Zone - DeFi Media Hub noted in their analysis
● On-chain data from DeFiLlama backs this up—Hyperliquid's TVL is now over $2.4 billion, hitting its highest point in months.
Usman Salis
