CoinDesk
Citrini Research — the firm that helped spark February's AI-driven market scare — has named decentralized crypto exchange Hyperliquid and its HYPE token as a new "compelling" investment idea. The thesis rests on a claim most crypto projects can't make: the platform generates real cash flow, and routes the bulk of it back into HYPE.
Hyperliquid, the dominant on-chain venue for perpetual futures, has produced roughly $1.06 billion in annualized fees and about $220 billion in 30-day perp volume, according to DeFiLama data cited by Citrini. Over 90% of those fees flow into the Assistance Fund, a token buyback vehicle that has cumulatively purchased more than $2 billion of HYPE on the open market since launch in January 2025. The buyback alone accounted for nearly half of all token-buyback activity across the crypto sector last year.
Why it matters
Citrini's call carries weight precisely because the firm's February note moved AI equities. A research shop with that track record putting HYPE on its screen pulls the token into the same conversation as cash-flow equities — the explicit framing in the report: "unlike the memetic majority of crypto (bitcoin included), HYPE generates legitimate cash flow." That reclassification is the argument. It's not that HYPE is going up; it's that the mechanism producing those flows looks closer to a share-buyback program than a meme cycle.
The second-order signal is regulatory. The CFTC last month opened the door to certain crypto perpetual futures products under US oversight, and major exchanges — Coinbase, Kraken — are now racing to offer them stateside. Hyperliquid built its dominance while American traders were locked out. The policy shift tightens the competition Hyperliquid will face from incumbent venues, but it also validates the product category as investable.
Market impact
HYPE has been one of the standout performers this year even as the broader digital-asset sector sold off. Citrini's framing — fundamentals over narrative — gives allocators a reason to hold through that drawdown, and the buyback fund's $2B absorption gives that thesis a structural floor while perp volumes hold.
Frequently asked questions
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Why did Citrini Research call Hyperliquid a 'compelling' idea?
Citrini argued HYPE generates legitimate cash flow unlike most of crypto, and that over 90% of platform fees flow into the Assistance Fund buyback vehicle, which has absorbed more than $2B of HYPE since January 2025.
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How much revenue does Hyperliquid generate?
Hyperliquid has produced roughly $1.06 billion in annualized fees and about $220 billion in 30-day perpetual futures volume, according to DeFiLama data cited by Citrini.
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How does the HYPE token buyback mechanism work?
Over 90% of fees generated by Hyperliquid are redirected into the Assistance Fund, which systematically uses the proceeds to purchase HYPE on the open market. Cumulative purchases have surpassed $2 billion since launch in January 2025.
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What is the CFTC's role in the Hyperliquid story?
The CFTC last month opened the door to certain crypto perpetual futures products under US oversight, prompting exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken to race to offer these products stateside — a market Hyperliquid has dominated offshore.
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What risks does the Citrini thesis acknowledge?
The buyback model depends on sustained derivatives trading volumes. If perp volumes decline, the pace of HYPE buybacks would come under pressure, weakening the structural floor the fund currently provides.
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