Citrini Research, the influential firm that sparked massive fear of an artificial intelligence bubble in February and triggered a brief market meltdown, has listed crypto exchange Hyperliquid and its token as a new 'compelling' investment idea. According to the firm's report released on Monday, Citrini stated that unlike the memetic majority of crypto, including bitcoin, HYPE generates legitimate cash flow and features a token buyback mechanism. The recommendation comes as the digital asset sector continues to face challenges, with HYPE emerging as one of the biggest outperformers this year despite broader market freefall. As reported by The Block, HYPE's price has risen over 8% in the past 24 hours as of Monday, with the token recently hitting an all-time high of nearly $75. The latest development sees Citrini adding Hyperliquid to the New Ideas section of its State of the Themes: June 2026 report, giving the decentralized exchange and its HYPE token a fresh nod from a macro and thematic research firm followed closely across equities and crypto.
The platform has generated $1.06 billion in annualized fees and approximately $220 billion in 30-day perp volume, according to DeFiLama data. As reported by Citrini, over 90% of the fees generated by the platform are redirected into the Assistance Fund, which are then systematically used to purchase HYPE on the open market. Since its launch in January 2025, cumulative purchases have surpassed $2 billion, with the buyback accounting for nearly half of all token-buyback activities across the crypto sector last year. The structure is designed to tie HYPE's value increasingly to Hyperliquid's trading volumes and revenue. According to The Block, by some measures, Hyperliquid repurchases have accounted for nearly half of all token-buyback activity across the crypto market in 2025, highlighting the scale of the program. Citrini noted that the buyback mechanism is attractive on its own, but argued that the size of the Assistance Fund is what makes the model stand out, with the firm estimating that Hyperliquid repurchases have represented close to half of all token buybacks recorded across the digital asset industry this year.
Coinbase has activated Hyperliquid's USDC treasury wallet, marking a key step in the network's shift toward USDC as its aligned quote asset. The exchange will begin activating AQAv2 from two addresses: 0x4E5319dEb1072B01439EE674db5C321d11fd96F8 and 0xc20699185c15D0a2fD65779BB5d69f5b0B113c00. This move connects Coinbase directly to Hyperliquid's stablecoin treasury structure as the protocol moves deeper into a USDC-centered market design. Coinbase said it had enabled the AQAv2 framework through two designated treasury wallet addresses and assumed responsibility for deploying the decentralized exchange's USDC reserves. The framework routes most of the yield generated from Hyperliquid's USDC treasury back into the protocol ecosystem. Coinbase previously estimated that the arrangement could increase Hyperliquid's annual revenue by as much as $200 million, potentially expanding the amount available for future token buybacks since Hyperliquid directs up to 99% of protocol revenue toward HYPE repurchases through its Assistance Fund.
Hyperliquid has emerged as the dominant player in decentralized perpetual futures trading, accounting for the majority of on-chain derivatives volume. The exchange allows users to trade perpetual futures of crypto and other assets, including commodities and private stocks. Unlike much of the crypto sector where many token valuations are simply a result of speculation, the company's ability to generate substantial revenue sets it apart. However, analysts have argued that the buyback model relies heavily on sustained trading activity and could face pressure if derivatives volumes decline. Despite Hyperliquid recently overtaking Solana on a per-token price basis, Citrini noted that Solana's market capitalization remains more than twice the size of HYPE's, even as the firm argued that Hyperliquid still has room to capture additional market share within the decentralized derivatives sector.
The company's dominance in global markets has helped fuel a broader push into perpetual futures, which have historically been banned for American traders due to regulatory constraints. The Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last month opened the door for certain crypto perpetual futures products to be offered under U.S. oversight. This regulatory shift has triggered a race among exchanges, including Kraken and Coinbase (COIN), seeking to capture demand for a market that accounts for the majority of global crypto trading activity. While Coinbase has already expanded its perp offerings in the U.S., Kraken is likely launching its product later this month. Additionally, The Block reports that Bitwise's Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) is helping to broaden interest in the exchange, with 21Shares and Bitwise's Hyperliquid ETFs together registering nearly $600 million in trading volume with over $136 million in net inflows in three weeks. Beyond protocol revenue, Citrini pointed to growing investor participation through exchange-traded products linked to Hyperliquid, with the research firm highlighting recently launched Hyperliquid ETFs from Bitwise and 21Shares as another source of market attention.
