Hyperliquid RWA Perpetual Trading Grows as Protocol Revenue Declines

Hyperliquid’s RWA perpetual trading has expanded rapidly, but platform revenue has continued to fall, creating a divergence between record trading volume and shrinking retained income. According to Odaily, open interest rose to about $11 billion on July 13, the highest level of 2026, while perpetual futures trading volume over the past 30 days reached nearly $178 billion and its share of global perpetual open interest climbed to about 9%.Protocol revenue has dropped for four consecutive quarters, falling from about $357 million in the third quarter of 2025 to about $202 million in the second quarter of 2026, down roughly 43% from its peak. One reason cited is HIP-3, which allows external developers who stake 500,000 HYPE to create their own perpetual futures markets and receive up to 50% of trading fees.At the start of 2026, developer-deployed markets accounted for about 2% of Hyperliquid perpetual trading volume. That share has now risen to about half, meaning a larger portion of trading revenue is going to external developers.About 97% of Hyperliquid trading fees are used to buy back HYPE, so lower revenue also means reduced buyback size. As of Friday, HYPE traded at about $55, down roughly 28% from its all-time high of about $77 on June 16. Core contributors are also set to unlock nearly 10 million HYPE on August 6, valued at about $550 million at the time, with further unlocks scheduled through 2027.