Hyperliquid’s revenue held relatively steady even as its dependence on core cryptocurrency derivatives declined. HIP-3 markets and third-party distribution are expanding the protocol’s busine
Hyperliquid is changing how it makes money, with new revenue sources gaining importance even as cryptocurrency trading conditions remain challenging.
In an October 30 research report, Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl examined the decentralized exchange’s growing exposure to third-party derivatives markets, external trading applications and stablecoin reserve income.
The findings point to a business that increasingly supplies infrastructure to other market participants. For investors, the critical question is whether this expansion can produce durable earnings without sacrificing too much revenue to developers, distribution partners and other intermediaries.
Hyperliquid’s headline revenue has changed little over the past year. The composition of that revenue tells a different story.
According to Grayscale’s analysis of Artemis data, newer business lines have become meaningful contributors as the platform’s dependence on its original perpetual futures business has declined.
HYPERLIQUID / REVENUE ANALYSIS Revenue Holds Steady as the Mix Shifts September 2026 vs. September 2025 SEPTEMBER 2026 $105M SEPTEMBER 2025 $108M Year-over-year change: −2.8% September 2026 Revenue Composition CORE PERPETUAL FUTURES 64% OTHER REVENUE SOURCES 36% Growth Outside Core Trading NON-CORE REVENUE $38M YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH ~100% Source: Grayscale Research, using Artemis data as of October 27, 2026. Figures are approximate. Year-over-year change calculated from rounded monthly totals.The changing mix reduces reliance on a single source of trading activity. Transaction fees, third-party market operations and interest-linked income respond to different conditions, potentially moderating the effects of weaker speculative demand.
Diversification does not guarantee higher profitability. Each new revenue stream carries its own costs, counterparties and competitive pressures.
Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 framework allows independent developers to launch perpetual futures markets using the protocol’s infrastructure.
That opens the platform to instruments beyond conventional cryptocurrency contracts, including markets referencing commodities and other financial assets.
Under the framework, deployers can retain a portion of trading fees in exchange for creating markets and attracting users. Hyperliquid supplies the underlying execution environment while sharing the economics with outside operators.
The model offers a route to faster product expansion without requiring the core team to originate every contract.
It also creates a trade-off: greater trading activity does not necessarily produce proportionate growth in revenue retained by the protocol.
Distribution is changing alongside market creation. Through builder codes, wallets and trading applications can connect customers to Hyperliquid while maintaining their own interfaces and commercial relationships.
For Hyperliquid, this can broaden access beyond traders who use its native platform directly.
The comparison below illustrates how the infrastructure approach changes product development, customer acquisition and commercial risk.
BUSINESS MODEL COMPARISON From Exchange to Infrastructure How HIP-3 changes the economics of a derivatives marketplace 01 / Market creation TRADITIONAL EXCHANGE Markets listed by the operator HYPERLIQUID HIP-3 Independent market deployers 02 / Customer access TRADITIONAL EXCHANGE Primarily its own platform HYPERLIQUID HIP-3 External wallets and trading apps 03 / Fee structure TRADITIONAL EXCHANGE Fees primarily retained by operator HYPERLIQUID HIP-3 Fees shared with deployers 04 / Product expansion TRADITIONAL EXCHANGE Internal product development HYPERLIQUID HIP-3 Third-party market development 05 / Principal commercial risk TRADITIONAL EXCHANGE Direct trading demand HYPERLIQUID HIP-3 Partner adoption and margin sharing Source: Grayscale Research, October 30, 2026. Business-model comparison.Hyperliquid’s revenue expansion is not limited to trading fees.
Grayscale reports that, under an arrangement involving Coinbase and Circle, Coinbase passes 90% of reserve income associated with approximately $6 billion in USDC held on Hyperliquid to the platform.
Unlike transaction fees, this income depends primarily on eligible stablecoin balances and prevailing yields. It may therefore provide support when derivatives activity weakens, although lower interest rates would reduce its contribution.
A simple sensitivity calculation illustrates the exposure.
Assuming constant eligible balances, unchanged contractual terms and full repricing, a one-percentage-point decline in annualized reserve yields would reduce Hyperliquid’s annual income by approximately $54 million.
That is an illustrative calculation, not a forecast. Actual results will depend on interest rates, reserve composition, balances and the agreement’s terms.
The arrangement also introduces counterparty and contractual dependencies that differ from the protocol’s native trading operations.
Hyperliquid’s infrastructure ambitions are gaining attention beyond crypto-native markets.
On October 29, Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, announced an agreement with Trade[XYZ] to pursue U.S.-regulated perpetual futures markets using Hyperliquid-based infrastructure.
Separately, Kraken parent Payward has outlined plans involving regulated deployment through HIP-3.
These initiatives could introduce Hyperliquid’s technology to financial institutions and customers that cannot participate in its existing permissionless environment.
However, announced partnerships are not equivalent to approved trading products or realized revenue.
U.S. derivatives operations must satisfy requirements covering market oversight, clearing, margin and customer protection. The final commercial structures will determine which participants capture the resulting fees.
For Hyperliquid, the opportunity is to supply infrastructure to a broader financial marketplace. The challenge is to maintain attractive economics as regulated operators and other intermediaries enter the value chain.
Hyperliquid’s expanding business does not give HYPE holders the same financial rights as shareholders in a conventional company.
The protocol’s Assistance Fund uses eligible fee revenue to purchase HYPE, creating a connection between certain business activities and token demand.
But HYPE does not represent an equity claim on Hyperliquid’s assets or a contractual entitlement to its earnings.
The distinction matters because revenue-sharing arrangements, token supply changes and market valuations all influence how business growth translates into token performance.
Investors can monitor the relationship between activity and protocol economics through DeFiLlama’s Hyperliquid dashboard, while Grayscale’s findings provide context for the changing sources of revenue.
The investment case ultimately rests on two questions: whether Hyperliquid can sustain its growing role as trading infrastructure, and how much of that economic activity remains available to support HYPE.
Grayscale’s research strengthens the argument for a more diversified business. The durability of its margins, particularly as third-party and institutional markets expand, remains the more demanding test.
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