Hyperliquid's Open Interest Jumped 80% in Q3: Can It Hold the Gain?

Hyperliquid's share of open interest across the eight largest centralized exchanges and the platform itself rose to 11.7% at the end of September from 9.6% at the end of June, and its own open interest closed the quarter at $16.7 billion, up 79.9% from $9.31 billion three months earlier. The third-quarter report carrying those figures also records a quarter in which matched volume stayed 30.5% below the same period a year earlier and $953 million left in net bridge outflows.

Key Facts

• Open interest reached a record $18.1 billion in September and ended the quarter at $16.7 billion, up 79.9% from $9.31 billion at the end of June (report).
• Hyperliquid's share of open interest across the eight largest centralized exchanges and itself rose to 11.7% at the end of September from 9.6% at the end of June (report).
• HIP-3 perpetual volume set a record $262 billion, up 23% quarter over quarter, 35.9% of the platform's matched volume (report).
• Protocol revenue was $190.9 million, up 21.7% quarter over quarter and down 36.5% year over year, including $17.3 million of USDC reserve income accrued from 27 August (report).
• Matched volume was $730.6 billion, up 9.3% quarter over quarter but 30.5% below a year earlier (report).

Open Interest Set a September Record and Closed at $16.7 Billion

Open interest is the value of derivatives positions still open, so it tracks exposure rather than activity. Hyperliquid reached a record $18.1 billion in September before closing the quarter at $16.7 billion.

The climb up the table was stepwise:

• 12 August: Open interest passes Kraken and Bybit.
• 19 August: President Trump says the CFTC is working to bring Hyperliquid to the US.
• 27 August: USDC reserve income begins to accrue.
• 16 September: Payward, Kraken's parent, says it plans for Bitnomial to operate a HIP-3 venue on Hyperliquid.
• 17 September: Open interest passes OKX.
• End of September: Open interest of $16.7 billion, share of 11.7%.

At quarter-end, the figure was equal to 93% of Bitget's open interest and 27% of Binance's. Hyperliquid had already moved above HTX in May, the report says.

Revenue Rose 21.7% but Trailed the Same Quarter Last Year

Hyperliquid generated $190.9 million in protocol revenue in the quarter, up 21.7% from the second quarter and down 36.5% from a year earlier. USDC reserve income added $17.3 million, accrued from 27 August, and accounted for half the quarterly increase in revenue. The report attributes the income to USDC reserves without naming the counterparty in the part that could be read.

HIP-3 Set a Volume Record as Its Share of the Platform Halved

HIP-3 venues traded $262 billion in perpetual futures, up 23% from the second quarter and 35.9% of all matched volume. Equity perpetuals accounted for $153.8 billion of that, up 161%, or 58.8% of HIP-3's total. Commodities moved the other way, down 47.7% to $45.6 billion.

Even with the record quarter, HIP-3's share of Hyperliquid's perpetuals volume fell from 51% in July to 25% in September. Its $3.94 billion of open interest at the end of September, up 27.4% from June, was also a smaller part of the platform's total, down from roughly a third to 23.5%.

The HYPE Fund Paid More, and Traders Set a Third Record

The Assistance Fund spent $148.7 million on HYPE in the quarter, 5.7% more than in the second quarter, but bought 26.4% fewer tokens as its average purchase price rose to $72.93.

Daily traders averaged 65,161, a record for a third straight quarter and 20% more than the previous one. New traders rose 14.5% to 362,611.

Kraken's US Derivatives Venue Still Needs Approval

On 16 September, Payward, Kraken's parent, announced plans for Bitnomial, a US-regulated derivatives exchange, to operate a HIP-3 venue on Hyperliquid. Regulatory approval was still pending at the end of the quarter, and US clients could not trade on the venue. On 19 August, President Trump said the CFTC was working to bring Hyperliquid to the US.

The report was produced by the Hyperliquid Research Collective, which it describes as "an independent research initiative founded by Four Pillars and GLC Research."

Regulatory approval for the Bitnomial-run venue is the dated item still outstanding, and the test for the open-interest gain is whether the trading numbers keep pace with the positions that produced it.