Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan compares Hyperliquid’s growth to Amazon’s evolution

Amazon started out as an online bookstore. It did not stay one.

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan thinks Hyperliquid is following a similar script. He made the comparison on the Unchained podcast on November 11, 2026, describing a platform that is outgrowing its crypto trading roots and turning into a broader financial venue.

His core point is about sequencing. Hyperliquid began with crypto perpetual futures and is now moving into real-world assets and prediction markets, adding one revenue stream at a time instead of trying to build everything at once.

From crypto perps to oil, silver, and the S&P 500

Hyperliquid is a Layer 1 blockchain. It runs its own base network rather than renting space on someone else’s.

Its signature product has been perpetual futures, usually shortened to perps. These are derivatives that let traders take a position on an asset’s price with no expiry date.

A regular futures contract comes with a settlement deadline. A perp works more like a subscription to price exposure that only ends when you decide to close it.

The more interesting shift is in what people are trading. Nearly half of Hyperliquid’s trading volume now comes from assets that are not crypto at all, including oil, silver, and S&P 500 futures.

The share could grow from here. Research on the platform points to potential for non-crypto assets to account for over 90% of volume, although that is a possible outcome rather than a promise.

The roadmap also extends further. Hyperliquid is positioning itself to expand into spot commodities and options, alongside the push into real-world assets and prediction markets that Hougan highlighted.

The numbers behind the pitch

As of early November 2026, Hyperliquid recorded more than $254 billion in perps volume over a 30-day period.

Over that same 30-day window, the platform generated $69 million in revenue. Open interest stood at around $7 billion, while total value locked reached $7.74 billion.

Commentary from mid-2026 put Hyperliquid’s annualized revenue at an estimated $800 million. The more unusual detail is where that money goes: 99% of fees are used for buybacks of HYPE, the platform’s native token.

A buyback means the protocol uses its income to purchase its own token on the open market. Think of a public company repurchasing shares, but run by code and pointed almost entirely at one asset.

Why the Amazon comparison works

Hougan’s argument is that Hyperliquid is doing the financial version of that. Crypto perps provided the users, the liquidity, and the revenue. Real-world assets, prediction markets, and possibly spot commodities and options are the next shelves to fill.

He tied this layered approach to Hyperliquid’s bigger ambition, which is to rank among the largest financial entities in the world.

What this means for HYPE holders and traders

Start with the obvious disclosure. Bitwise is not a neutral observer here.

The firm manages a spot HYPE ETF listed on the NYSE, with a 0.34% expense ratio. Related products also saw inflows earlier in 2026, so Hougan’s firm has a direct business interest in investors finding the Hyperliquid story compelling.

The investment logic itself is fairly simple. Because 99% of fees flow into HYPE buybacks, more trading activity across more asset classes translates directly into more buying pressure on the token.

The flip side is just as direct. If trading volume slows, the buyback engine slows with it, because the token’s support is closely tied to how busy the platform stays.

For traders, the current metrics describe a deep and active venue. More than $254 billion in monthly perps volume and around $7 billion in open interest point to plenty of liquidity in derivatives markets.

There are a few things worth tracking from here. The first is whether the non-crypto share of volume keeps climbing from roughly half toward that potential 90% level. The second is execution on the new product lines. The third is whether the revenue figures hold up as the mix changes. The $69 million 30-day revenue figure and the estimated $800 million annualized number give a useful baseline for judging whether the expansion is adding fees or simply reshuffling them.