DEX Adoption and HIP-3 Fuel HYPE Token's $200 Valuation Amidst Rising Competition

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have seen a significant rise in popularity, with Hyperliquid gaining attention as a leading project in the cryptocurrency space in 2025. However, emerging rivals are introducing attractive reward systems that aim to attract investors away from Hyperliquid.

Key Takeaways

Hyperliquid's HYPE token could potentially reach $200 by 2035, according to Cantor Fitzgerald.
The growth of HYPE is expected to be driven by the Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 3 (HIP-3).
Competition from emerging DEXs, like Lighter, poses a significant threat to Hyperliquid's market position.
The market share of perpetual futures DEXs has surged to 11.7%, indicating a strong shift toward decentralized trading platforms.

DEX adoption, HIP-3 fuel $200 HYPE case as rivals threaten Hyperliquid’s dominance

Cantor Fitzgerald has projected that Hyperliquid's HYPE token could reach $200 by 2035. Hyunsu Jung, CEO of Hyperion DeFi, which manages the HYPE treasury, believes this potential growth will be driven by the Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 3 (HIP-3).

"We consider HIP-3 to be a crucial factor in Hyperliquid’s next growth phase and a vital component of the valuation framework suggested by Cantor," Jung stated in an interview with Cointelegraph.

Understanding Perpetual Swaps

Perpetual swaps are derivatives that track the price of an underlying asset with no expiration date. They maintain a price close to the assets' spot prices through a funding mechanism, allowing payments to be exchanged between long and short position holders.

Recent data from CoinGecko indicates that the market share of perpetual futures DEXs grew dramatically from 2.1% in January 2023 to an impressive 11.7% by November 2025.

DEX to CEX perps volume ratio. Source: CoinGecko.com

Price Predictions for HYPE Token

In a research note released earlier this month, Cantor Fitzgerald anticipated that the rising popularity of decentralized trading platforms would elevate the HYPE token's price to over $200 in the next decade.

The company stated, “Considering that all fees are returned to token holders via buybacks, we suggest that HYPE should trade closer to a 50x multiple by 2035.” They noted that this prediction assumes a 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and that around 291 million HYPE tokens will be repurchased by the Assistance Fund, decreasing the overall supply to 666 million tokens.

The Assistance Fund is an on-chain entity that utilizes 99% of the protocol's trading fees to repurchase HYPE tokens, creating an artificial boost in demand for the token.

HYPE token predictions, 10-year forecast. Source: Cantor Fitzgerald

This optimistic outlook assumes that centralized exchanges (CEXs) will cede approximately 1% of their annual market share to DEXs, which could amount to an estimated $600 billion in trading volume.

Competition from Emerging Rivals

The major competition posed by emerging decentralized exchanges (DEXs) is a significant concern for Hyperliquid's future growth. Particularly, the anticipated token generation event (TGE) for Lighter DEX is stirring up interest.

“In the near term, competition from other perpetual DEXs is a risk, especially from newcomers like Lighter, which are leveraging token generation events to seize market share,” Jung warned.

Lighter DEX, which is built on Ethereum-rollups, has gained traction thanks to its zero-fee trading model and a unique points-based yield farming program, boasting daily trading volumes exceeding $8 billion.

Perp Dex, 24-hour volume. Source: Perpetualpulse/Cointelegraph

Due to its farming rewards system, trader interest is surging ahead of a rumored TGE expected at the end of 2025. While Lighter hasn't officially announced a token yet, Lighter points have been trading for around $12 in over-the-counter markets as reported by Legends Trade.