Hyperliquid: A Promising Growth Opportunity in the DeFi Space

Hyperliquid is currently generating $14 million in weekly fees and is at the forefront of DeFi growth. However, analysts believe that its token, HYPE, is still trading at a lower valuation compared to its fee generation and positioning relative to centralized exchanges (CEX).

Key Takeaways

Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetuals exchange, has seen a significant increase in fees and user activity.
In the last week, it generated $14 million in fees, representing a 56% increase week-over-week.
The underlying HyperEVM chain has experienced a 55% growth in transactions and a 25% increase in active users.
HYPE has surged 662% since its launch in November 2024 and is currently trading 44% below its all-time high.
The market may still underestimate HYPE's potential compared to traditional exchanges.

Hyperliquid HYPE price chart with fee growth

Hyperliquid: Rising in the DeFi Landscape

In early March 2026, Hyperliquid emerged as a leader among decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, with its recent performance catching the attention of industry analysts. According to altFINS' weekly market brief, Hyperliquid has successfully generated $14 million in fees over the past week, marking a remarkable 56% increase compared to the prior week. This surge indicates that on-chain perpetual contracts activities are gaining traction.

Hyperliquid’s fee machine is trading like a cheap growth stock - 1

Notably, the HyperEVM chain, which underpins Hyperliquid, has also shown impressive growth. The same report mentioned a 55% increase in transactions this week, along with a 25% rise in active users. HyperEVM is now recognized as the fastest-growing chain, correlating its impressive activity with the strong price momentum of the HYPE token.

Off-chain data reflects this accelerating growth, as HyperEVM has processed around 97.8 million transactions, with an average daily volume nearing 434,000. Since its inception, cumulative fees on the blockchain have surpassed $256.2 million, as noted by analytics from CoinLaw. Daily trading volumes on HyperEVM peaked at approximately $0.9 billion in late May 2025, and the platform's fees reached over $8 million in June. Recently, the number of weekly active addresses exceeded 106,000, with total value locked (TVL) climbing to nearly $1.9 billion. This sustained growth signifies active participation from both traders and developers within the HyperEVM ecosystem, solidifying Hyperliquid's role in the DeFi trading landscape.

The rise in usage is positively influencing HYPE's token economics. A recent daily market analysis from MEXC reported that Hyperliquid's platform produced $13 million in weekly fees, with a TVL exceeding $6.2 billion, indicating strong institutional interest. Despite HYPE being up 662% since its launch in November 2024, it is currently trading 44% below its all-time high. The token saw a significant increase of 17.1%, hitting $31.86 on March 3, as traders turned to its around-the-clock commodity derivatives amidst US-Iran tensions. This surge drove the open interest to $1.23 billion, accompanied by deflationary buybacks removing 17,146 tokens to balance an impending $316 million contributor unlock.

📊 UPDATE: Hyperliquid has surpassed 24-hour fee revenue, generating over $2 million in fees. — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 20, 2026

Importantly, the market may still undervalue Hyperliquid’s growth in comparison to traditional exchanges. As HYPE's price begins to climb, analysts from altFINS note that the market is starting to account for the fundamental activities behind the platform. However, when comparing fees to market valuation, HYPE remains an attractive option relative to centralized exchange counterparts. Based on a straightforward revenue model, annualizing the weekly fee of $14 million suggests the protocol could achieve approximately $728 million in revenue if the current activity levels are maintained. This figure would correspond to mid-to-high single-digit forward multiples in the stocks of listed exchanges.

For traders, this setup resembles a late-stage Software as a Service (SaaS) evaluation: either fees and user growth return to normalization levels similar to other DeFi platforms, or HYPE's market cap continues to increase until it more accurately represents a derivatives venue that is currently capturing significant on-chain flows. Interested parties can monitor key metrics and charts for HYPE through dedicated market-cap dashboards. Additionally, comprehensive coverage of DeFi on crypto.news—including explorations of derivatives platforms, protocol fee trend analyses, and altcoin market structure—provides further context for Hyperliquid’s rise.