Hyperliquid Defies Crypto Crash with 50% Surge in Two Weeks

The recent cryptocurrency landscape has been one of widespread carnage. Bitcoin (BTC), the market bellwether, has crashed to around $69,000, a level not seen in over a year. Ethereum (ETH) is struggling to maintain its psychological support at $2,000. Meanwhile, Ripple’s XRP and Solana (SOL) have both plummeted by 27% in just the past week, reflecting a severe risk-off sentiment across digital assets. Against this grim backdrop, Hyperliquid (HYPE) has emerged as a stark outlier. While its peers tumbled, HYPE’s price surged approximately 50% on a two-week scale, currently trading near $32. This divergence highlights a unique and growing investor focus on the Hyperliquid ecosystem amidst the broader sell-off.

HYPE’s resilience is not occurring in a vacuum; it is supported by a series of significant fundamental developments. A major catalyst was the announcement from Ripple that its institutional prime brokerage platform, Ripple Prime, has enabled support for Hyperliquid. This move grants HYPE access to a sophisticated network of institutional capital, enhancing its legitimacy and liquidity profile. Concurrently, asset manager Grayscale highlighted the rapid growth in perpetual futures trading for non-crypto assets on Hyperliquid’s decentralized exchange (DEX), signaling expanding utility beyond traditional crypto markets.

These endorsements are reflected in powerful on-chain data. As the broader market tumbled, activity on Hyperliquid skyrocketed. Trading volume and open interest related to HIP-3, a key ecosystem proposal, saw massive growth. This momentum culminated in record-breaking metrics: open interest (OI) reached a new peak of $1 billion, while the 24-hour trading volume hit an astonishing $4.8 billion. This surge in usage and capital locked within the protocol provides a tangible foundation for HYPE’s price strength, distinguishing it from assets driven purely by speculation.

The token’s explosive performance has sparked a flurry of analyst predictions, though views on its future trajectory are sharply divided. On the bullish side, analyst Crypto General anticipates volatility ahead but forecasts an eventual explosion that could propel HYPE above $100 later this year. Popular commentator Zach (@CryptoZachLA) listed “so many reasons to buy and hold HYPE,” emphasizing that as the protocol captures more market share and volume, the resulting buyback mechanisms strengthen the token’s value proposition. Echoing this optimism, analyst Crypto Tony suggested HYPE is poised to do “magical things” once overall market conditions improve.

However, this bullish narrative is met with caution. The broader crypto market remains fundamentally shaky, and some analysts warn that sustained bearish conditions could eventually drag HYPE down. One skeptic, using the handle Greeny, has predicted that Hyperliquid’s native token could plummet to $20 later in 2026. This bearish outlook underscores a critical vulnerability: even the strongest performers in the crypto space are rarely immune to prolonged market-wide downturns. HYPE’s current decoupling may be impressive, but its long-term trajectory is still inextricably linked to the health of giants like Bitcoin and Ethereum.