Decentralized perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid has been among crypto’s breakout projects in 2025, but rivals’ lucrative rewards systems are vying to lure investors away.
Cantor Fitzgerald forecasts Hyperliquid’s HYPE (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/hyperliquid-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">HYPE</a>) token to surge to $200 by 2035. Hyunsu Jung, CEO of HYPE treasury company Hyperion DeFi argues that the surge will be fueled by the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/hyperliquid-now-allows-builders-to-deploy-perpetual-futures-contracts" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_self">Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 3</a> (HIP-3).
"We see HIP-3 as the major driver of Hyperliquid’s next phase of growth, and as a key enabler of the valuation framework proposed by Cantor," Jung told Cointelegraph.
Perpetual swaps are futures derivative contracts that track the price of an underlying asset but have no expiration date. Contracts maintain their price close to the spot assets by a funding mechanism, which transfers payments between long and short position holders.
The market share of perpetual futures DEXs rose from 2.1% in January 2023 to a new all-time high of 11.7% in November 2025, <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/dex-to-cex-ratio#:~:text=November%202025%20marks%20the%20fifth,increase%20year%2Don%2Dyear." rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">according</a> to a report by data aggregator CoinGecko.
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 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-12/019b45e0-f1ab-7ecc-939e-88b825415dcc.png" alt="DEX adoption, HIP-3 fuel $200 HYPE case as rivals threaten Hyperliquid’s dominance">
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 DEX to CEX perps volume ratio. Source: CoinGecko.com
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<h2 id="cantor-fitzgerald-predicts-200-hype-token-price-by-2035">Cantor Fitzgerald predicts $200 HYPE token price by 2035</h2>
Earlier in December, a research note by Cantor Fitzgerald predicted that the growing usage of decentralized trading venues would push the HYPE token to over $200 in the next 10 years.
"Given the fact that all fees are returned to token holders via buybacks, we make the argument that HYPE should trade at closer to 50x,” by 2035, wrote the company in a research <a href="https://cantor2.bluematrix.com/links2/secure/pdf/869ec14c-ff67-46fa-aac8-3e0274838b55" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">note</a> published on Dec. 16, adding:
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 “Using this methodology, we see a path for HYPE eclipsing $200."&nbsp;
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The company's prediction assumed that the token's price will grow at a 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) while the Assistance Fund will repurchase about 291 million HYPE tokens, reducing the total supply to 666 million tokens.
The AF is an onchain entity that uses 99% of protocol trading fees to buy back HYPE tokens, aiming to artificially bolster demand for the token.
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 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-12/019b45ce-e290-72bc-b337-7df6d8bf6f50.png" title="" alt="DEX adoption, HIP-3 fuel $200 HYPE case as rivals threaten Hyperliquid’s dominance">
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 HYPE token predictions, 10-year forecast. Source: Cantor Fitzgerald
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The optimistic prediction also assumes that CEXs will lose about 1% of annual market share to DEXs, which is equivalent to an estimated $600 billion in trading volume.
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<h2 id="emerging-rivals-are-the-biggest-threat-to-hyperliquid">Emerging rivals are the biggest threat to Hyperliquid</h2>
Emerging rival DEXs remain the biggest threat to Hyperliquid's forecast growth, particularly the incoming token generation event (TGE) of Lighter DEX.
“In the short term, competition from other perpetual DEXs presents a risk, particularly newer entrants such as Lighter that are using token generation events as incentives to capture market share,” Jung said.
Ethereum-rollup-based DEX, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-aster-lighter-and-hyperliquid-are-competing-for-the-next-era-of-onchain-trading" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Lighter, started gaining</a> momentum through its zero-fee trading model and exclusive points-based yield farming system, reporting daily trading volumes exceeding $8 billion.
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 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-12/019b45ce-e4d1-7b32-bbdf-e96e4f72debf.png" title="" alt="DEX adoption, HIP-3 fuel $200 HYPE case as rivals threaten Hyperliquid’s dominance">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Perp Dex, 24-hour volume. Source: Perpetualpulse/Cointelegraph
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Lighter’s reward farming system ignited widespread trader expectations for an incoming TGE, rumored to occur at the end of 2025. While the platform has yet to formally announce a token, Lighter points have been selling for around $12 in over-the-counter markets as of Dec. 20, <a href="https://x.com/legendsdottrade/status/2002230196582392250" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">according</a> to airdrop farming account Legends Trade.<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GffuO-p9-Gc?start=" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen loading="lazy" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms"></iframe>
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DEX adoption, HIP-3 fuel $200 HYPE case as rivals threaten Hyperliquid’s dominance

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