HYPE Leads Altcoin Recovery as Bitcoin Price Steadies

HYPE emerged as the strongest performer among top 15 assets by market cap—excluding stablecoins. Its 7-day gains have outpaced major altcoins as Bitcoin volatility posts record lows for the year, pushing a relatively stable trading pattern.

The Hyperliquid platform’s native token, HYPE, traded at $41.31, down 0.3% on the day, yet maintaining strong momentum with 12.4% weekly gains and 67.2% monthly appreciation, according to data from CoinGecko. It has sustained this uptrend since mid-May, with recent price action pushing HYPE back toward monthly highs around the $42 range.

Compared to established altcoins, heightened investor interest around HYPE “reflects both speculative momentum and deeper fundamentals like ecosystem growth and institutional interest,” Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at crypto and quantitative trading firm Kronos Research, told Decrypt.

For instance, Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin posted modest gains, extending their upward momentum as the broader crypto market remains relatively stable.

Over the week, ETH has climbed 7%, SOL by 7.3%, and DOGE by 4.4% over the same stretch. All three are showing signs of recovery from late-May lows, but remain well below recent local highs.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, posted record lows for implied volatility, which gauges how much of its spot price could move further, based on options prices.

Of the four, Liu suggests “a mix of retail hype in DOGE and HYPE, alongside real progress in ETH and SOL” is taking shape.

But while the upswing “has legs short‑term, driven by liquidity, retail energy, and fresh institutional interest,” Liu acknowledged how broader macro factors are still at play, citing how “tariff headlines and dollar strength” ratios add friction to the fray.

“Long‑term upside hinges on macro stability and clear regulation,” Liu told Decrypt.

Interest in Hyperliquid has resulted in “consistently high organic usage” as it competes with “centralized derivative exchanges like Binance and Bybit,” analysts at investment firm Grayscale wrote last week, citing how the decentralized exchange has attracted users for its perpetual futures offerings, as fiscal risks generated broader demand for Bitcoin and other cryptos.

In crypto, perpetual futures are derivatives contracts that never expire, allowing traders to speculate on price movements indefinitely without taking delivery of the underlying asset.

The idea was first proposed in 1992 by American economist and Nobel Laureate Robert Shiller. It later gained traction and now accounts for roughly 93% of all derivatives trading in crypto, according to industry estimates.

Last month, Hyperliquid joined a group of other top exchanges responding to the SEC’s call on perpetuals, citing how “continuous, on-chain markets” such as its platform “already meet—and in several respects exceed” what the regulator requires “for resilience and customer protection.”

Edited by Stacy Elliott.