CZ Says Hyperliquid’s US Breakthrough Could Open ‘A Whole Continent’ For Decentralized Crypto – HYPE Token Hits Record High

Binance (BNB) founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao said last week that Hyperliquid (HYPE) gaining a route into the U.S. market would open "a whole continent of people" to decentralized crypto services, speaking at a conference at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium.In an interview with Anthony Scaramucci at SkyBridge Alternatives’ SALT conference published on Tuesday, Zhao said it was “hugely positive” that Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair Michael Selig was looking for a way to let the Hyperliquid platform operate in the U.S.Zhao’s comments come after President Donald Trump’s comments last week. “I understand that [Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair] Mike [Selig] is also working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a fully compliant and legal fashion,” he  during a press conference.Competition Not The PointIt was a “very clear case of why competition is not the right lens,” CZ said. “Good for them is good for us,” he added. CZ dismissed the notion that his stake in Binance made him a centralized-exchange partisan. “I got into this industry because I believe in the concept of decentralization,” the founder stated.CZ added that U.S. access for Hyperliquid would extend beyond one platform. "Hyperliquid is the tip. Once this tip goes in, then everything else can follow through," he said, adding that many more perpetuals exchanges and decentralized services would become available to U.S. and global users.He said the shift would benefit his portfolio companies and international centralized exchanges, including but not limited to Binance, and that deeper liquidity would leave U.S. consumers with better prices when buying or selling crypto.Market Nowhere Near SaturatedThe industry was still in its infancy, and the market is "nowhere near saturated," said CZ, arguing that early markets benefit from more competitors because they grow the total market. Crypto needs more exchanges and more businesses, in general, he said, citing jurisdictions where the industry has little representation. hit an all time high of $83.72 on Wednesday, while the larger crypto market stayed relatively muted. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around HYPE remained in the ‘extremely bullish’ zone, while chatter around it stayed at ‘extremely high’ levels over the past day.Money deposited on Hyperliquid's blockchain, known as total value locked (TVL), has risen to over $6.8 billion, close to its chart high of around $6.9 billion. Daily fees have reached roughly $12 million, but have subsequently dropped to between $1 million and $2 million, according to DefiLama data.