Hyperliquid (HYPE) climbed nearly 10% to $62.50 following comments from Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeff Sprecher at the Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference. According to reports from CoinDesk, Sprecher told investors that the decentralized derivatives platform has grown bigger than Nasdaq, sending the token within 4% of its all-time high of $64.44. The positive sentiment lifted Hyperliquid's market value above $13.8 billion, highlighting the significant impact of institutional validation on the DeFi exchange token. As per CoinDesk, Sprecher stated that "this Hyperliquid that we're talking – if you haven't heard about it, it's bigger than NASDAQ, okay? It's 11 people," adding that he had met with the team multiple times and praised them as "very, very smart people."
In remarks delivered on May 27, Sprecher described the Hyperliquid founders as "extremely smart" and called the venue a "true DeFi exchange." As reported by CoinDesk, he noted that ICE has met with the team multiple times and is not "freaked out" by the competition. Sprecher emphasized the platform's unique features, including weekend oil futures, leverage of up to 100x, and a fully on-chain order book, which have pushed legacy venues to extend their own trading hours. His remarks suggest the line between centralized incumbents and onchain venues is narrowing faster than many traditional exchange executives expected. According to CoinDesk, Sprecher stated that Hyperliquid's influence could become even more visible with the upcoming SpaceX IPO, noting that "depending how big this gets, it could be bigger than the IPO."
The Hyperliquid platform has launched perpetual futures tied to SpaceX's private-market valuation, allowing traders to speculate on the company's price before shares begin trading publicly. As per CoinDesk, Sprecher stated that the market surrounding those contracts could ultimately rival or even surpass the attention generated by the IPO itself. The SpaceX perpetual futures market is set to become particularly active as the company approaches its June 11 debut, with Sprecher noting that "that's why I say I don't think you can ignore it." This development adds another dimension to Hyperliquid's growth story beyond its core derivatives trading platform.
The HYPE token hit a record high of $64 last week after the launch of two new spot Hyperliquid exchange-traded funds by Bitwise (BHYP) and 21Shares (THYP). According to CoinDesk, the altcoin has been attempting to breach that level this past week, but has been unable to climb past the resistance. The token would need to climb over 4.5% from current levels to make another all-time high. Combined, the two ETFs have recorded $100 million in cumulative net inflows since their launch either in month, according to data on SoSoValue. This performance stands in sharp contrast to broader crypto ETF trends, with spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs extending their outflow streak to nine consecutive trading days and spot Ethereum (ETH) ETFs recording 13 straight days of redemptions.
Beyond Sprecher's comments, institutional infrastructure around Hyperliquid is building rapidly. As per Benzinga, Hyperliquid holds over 70% of the decentralized perpetual futures market and clears billions in daily notional turnover, while Nasdaq carries a $50 billion market cap against HYPE's $15.1 billion*. The "11 people" refers to Hyperliquid Labs, the core development team, with open-source contributors and validators running the underlying blockchain. Sprecher noted that ICE took notice partly because Hyperliquid has been trading oil derivatives on weekends when ICE's traditional energy markets are closed, activity that surged during recent Middle East tensions. Hyperliquid operates as an unregulated foreign-incorporated venue while ICE operates under US Dodd-Frank and EU EMIR rules, creating an uneven playing field. Sprecher argued this creates an uneven playing field and expects regulators to either create a new category for perpetual futures or bring offshore venues under existing derivatives law within months.
