CoinDesk
Hyperliquid's native token HYPE hit a record high of $59.30 on Thursday, while most of the market had been betting the other way. $33.5 million in short positions were liquidated over 24 hours, against just $2 million on the long side, per derivatives data.
Why it matters
The setup reads like a textbook short squeeze: the global long/short ratio sat at 0.89 with fresh shorts added for the first time since January, and funding rates flipped negative — yet the price kept pushing. Crowded shorts against a rallying tape is the fuel a squeeze runs on, and HYPE delivered it.
The rally isn't resting on derivatives alone. Hyperliquid has generated over $896 million in protocol revenue in the past 12 months, with 97% of trading fees routed back into HYPE buybacks. That revenue figure rivals mid-tier centralized exchanges, and the buyback mechanism gives the token a structural demand floor that most DeFi-native assets don't have.
Market impact
Institutional plumbing is now catching up. 21Shares and Bitwise rolled out U.S.-listed Hyperliquid ETFs on Nasdaq on May 12, pulling in over $5 million in early inflows. Coinbase and Circle committed to stake HYPE to activate the AQAv2 protocol upgrade, adding both validation and sticky demand from two of the most-watched names in U.S. crypto infrastructure.
While BTC trades sideways ahead of SpaceX IPO and Nvidia earnings headlines, the HYPE tape is showing what a real short-squeeze setup looks like in 2025: crowded shorts, real revenue, and institutional access arriving in the same window.
Frequently asked questions
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What record did Hyperliquid's HYPE token hit on Thursday?
HYPE hit an all-time high of $59.30, with $33.5 million in short positions liquidated over 24 hours against just $2 million in long liquidations.
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How much revenue has Hyperliquid generated in the past 12 months?
The protocol generated over $896 million in revenue over the trailing year, with 97% of trading fees routed back into HYPE token buybacks.
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Which firms launched U.S.-listed Hyperliquid ETFs?
21Shares and Bitwise rolled out Hyperliquid ETFs on Nasdaq on May 12, drawing more than $5 million in early inflows.
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What did Coinbase and Circle commit to do with HYPE?
Both committed to stake HYPE to activate the AQAv2 protocol upgrade, adding institutional validation and sticky demand for the token.
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Why is the HYPE rally described as a short squeeze setup?
The global long/short ratio sat at 0.89 with fresh shorts added for the first time since January, and funding rates flipped negative — meaning the crowd was positioned against the move just as price pushed to a new high.
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