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BitMEX co-founder and crypto-visionary Arthur Hayes took to the main stage at Tokyo’s WebX 2025 to present a candid, data-driven valuation case for Hyperliquid’s HYPE token. A slide titled “Hyperliquid: 126x Upside” from Hayes’ family office Maelstrom outlined how an expanding stablecoin economy could significantly increase the valuation of the decentralized perps exchange.
Why HYPE Might Be an Excellent Crypto Investment
The slide’s assertion was straightforward: “Stablecoin Expansion To Boost Annualized Fees To $258B,” based on a 0.03% net trading-fee assumption, a 5% discount rate, and a projected “Terminal Value of HYPE Rev” of $5.161 trillion against a current fully diluted valuation of about $41.05 billion, suggesting an “Upside Potential 126X.” In his presentation, Hayes expressed his belief that HYPE “could increase 126 times in the next three years.”
This prediction aligns with a wave of on-chain and trading achievements for Hyperliquid. Data highlighted during the event showed that Hyperliquid reached a record of 196,462 open positions on Sunday, with open interest surpassing $15 billion and total wallet equity peaking at nearly $31 billion, alongside Sunday volume hitting approximately $19.46 billion, according to DefiLlama.
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A recent research note from Redstone indicated that the platform has captured more than “75% of the entire decentralized perpetual exchange market” over the past two years, challenging dYdX and occasionally rivaling Binance volumes for specific pairs.
Hayes’ 126x argument is built on a macro-to-micro perspective: an anticipated stablecoin supply of around $10 trillion by 2028, Hyperliquid’s average daily volume share reaching 26.4%, translating to $258 billion in annualized fees for the protocol.
The structure of the model is crucial: if trading volumes and fees increase alongside the stablecoin base, and if HYPE remains the main vehicle capturing protocol economics, the anticipated terminal value far exceeds the token’s current FDV. All these inputs, assumptions, and results were showcased on the Maelstrom slide during the presentation in Tokyo.
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Significantly, Hayes has been financially supporting this view. On August 15, on-chain analyst Lookonchain reported that Arthur Hayes purchased additional HYPE, LDO, and ENA, documenting cumulative purchases over five days that included 58,631 HYPE along with 1,750 ETH, 3.1 million ENA, 1.29 million LDO, 184,610 PENDLE, and 420,000 ETHFI (approximately $15.9 million in total at reported values).
The structural environment clarifies why a stablecoin-driven model appeals to Hyperliquid. The exchange operates as a decentralized platform for perpetual futures, allowing traders to engage in leveraged positions without expiration; it operates on its unique L1 and has demonstrated consistent growth in both open interest and fee generation throughout 2025.
Hayes has previously advocated for HYPE, publicly suggesting a nearer-term price target of $100 back in May—however, Monday’s presentation was his most direct effort to link a 2028 outcome to tangible factors. The debate’s crux lies in whether achieving a $10 trillion stablecoin base and a quarter-share of decentralized perps ADV is necessary. Nonetheless, the mechanism he highlighted—fee throughput scaling in line with stablecoin adoption, reflected in token value—aligns with how many analysts already perceive HYPE’s framework, where protocol revenues and buybacks connect the token’s value to platform performance.
As of now, HYPE is trading at $45.84.
Featured image generated with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
