Hyperliquid leapfrogs Bybit, Kraken and OKX in open interest as Q3 positions grow 80%

Hyperliquid closed out the third quarter with a record $16.8 billion in open derivatives positions following a July slowdown.

Open interest jumped nearly 80% from the end of June, according to a new report from the Hyperliquid Research Collective. This was enough for Hyperliquid to surpass centralized exchange rivals Bybit, Kraken and OKX in open interest.

Its share of open interest across Hyperliquid and eight major exchanges climbed to 11.7%, up from 9.6% three months earlier.

This came alongside an uptick in crypto trading, with native perpetuals volume climbing from $109.5 billion in July to more than $188 billion in September. Average daily traders also hit a quarterly record of 65,161.

Protocol revenue rose 21.7% quarter over quarter to nearly $191 million, including $17.3 million earned from its USDC reserve-income arrangement tied to Coinbase's role as Hyperliquid's treasury deployer. Revenue remained 36.5% below the same period last year.

Stock-linked perpetuals volume also rose 161% to $153.8 billion, overtaking the commodities asset class in HIP-3, which lets third-party operators launch perp futures.

Hyperliquid traders paying for advantages

Wintermute, one of crypto's biggest market makers, has become a major user of Hyperliquid's auctions for early access to trading data, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

A wallet linked to Wintermute won 76% of auctions for the top-priority data slot over the preceding month, according to analysis from Loris Tools and cited by Bloomberg.

The system gives traders an early look at incoming orders, allowing them to change their positions before other orders are processed. Critics say the feature gives larger firms an unfair advantage. Wintermute defended it as a transparent way to compete for speed.