Hyperliquid’s HYPE token outperformed bitcoin and the broader market as traders flocked to the decentralized exchange over the weekend, placing bullish bets on TradFi-linked futures amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
HYPE soared as much as 5% in the past 24 hours as the explosion in platform activity led to a higher rate of token consumption, thwarting fears of an imminent unlock of $316 million worth of tokens. Meanwhile, Bitcoin fell 0.7% to $66,700. The CoinDesk 20 Index, a broader market gauge, fell 1.7% to 1,937 points.
Hyperliquid’s fee mechanism channels a portion of trading fees directly into HYPE buybacks and burns. Thus, spikes in activity, like the weekend rush in oil futures, lead to increased fee revenue and a considerable reduction in the supply of tokens in circulation.
The protocol brought in $2.8 million in fees in the last 24 hours and more than $13 million in a week, according to data source Defillama. It has burned $9.22 million in tokens over the past seven days, an increase of 20.4% from the previous period.
This has distracted from the token unlocking: around 9.92 million HYPE, or around 2.7% of the released supply, is expected to be unlocked this week. With historical unlocks often resulting in smaller releases than expected, according to data tracked by Tokenomist, traders appear to be betting that the net circulating supply will not increase significantly.
Jupiter’s JUP token – up 13% last week and largely flat over 24 hours – attracted similar attention after holders, in a governance vote in late February, approved the elimination of net new issuances for 2026, suspending planned token distributions and preventing any additional JUP from entering circulation this year, reinforcing the same narrative of supply discipline that now drives the altcoin’s selective strength.
