$1 trillion perps boom, yet HYPE’s price keeps slipping – Why?

Perps trading is having a huge year, crossing the $1 trillion mark in volume. But even as activity surges, the market itself is starting to change.

New players are in, old leaders are losing a bit of shine, and sentiment isn’t moving in the direction you’d expect.

Here’s the rundown.

The perp market is getting crowded

Competition has heated up this year. Perp trading volume has climbed more than $1 trillion year-over-year, yet the market no longer looks as one-sided as it did in early 2025.

New platforms like Lighter and Aster [ASTER] now make up large slices of total activity, with Lighter reaching around 28% of volume in recent weeks. Aster has also carved out a presence at roughly 19%.

But even with this shift, leader Hyperliquid [HYPE] still dominates the space. It continues to hold the largest share of users on the chart, keeping control of more than half of the market.

Strength isn’t obvious, though

Despite Hyperliquid’s strong position with users and open interest, its token hasn’t moved in the same direction. HYPE fell by roughly 13% over the past week.

Prices were below all major moving averages, and recent candles showed repeated failed attempts to push higher. At the time of writing, the RSI was stuck in a lower range.

The drop looks very sentiment-driven. The platform is still leading the market, but traders don’t seem convinced right now. That disconnect is visible in the price.

AMBCrypto previously reported that Hyperliquid had finalized its merger with Sonnet, a move that opens HYPE to U.S. public-market access and forms one of the largest crypto treasuries in the space.

The deal followed a $265 million bid for HYPE and briefly pushed the token up as much as 17% before rejection at $35.

Strong DAT participation could help limit downside and support future recovery.

Traders aren’t pulling back

At press time, Open Interest has stayed steady around the $1.28 billion – $1.29 billion range, so traders aren’t exiting positions or scaling down exposure.

Funding Rates also remained slightly positive, so there’s still a lean toward long positioning.

Traders are still active, liquidity hasn’t thinned, and the perp market on Hyperliquid continues to function with strength.

For now, the dip looks more like hesitation, and it will be long before this momentary fall changes into a long-term trend.

Final Thoughts

• The surge past $1 trillion in perp volume shows traders are still all-in despite shifting market share.
• Hyperliquid’s dominance remains intact, and recent DAT activity could give HYPE a stronger floor.