Hyperliquid DEX Tops $1.1B Revenue Per Employee, Claims Over 80% On-Chain Perps Market

Hyperliquid, founded by Jeff Yan in late 2022, has swiftly become the leading decentralized perpetual futures exchange (DEX), commanding over 80% of the on-chain derivatives market. Operating on its proprietary HyperBFT Layer-1 blockchain, the platform delivers sub-second execution, one-click trading and zero gas fees, processing up to $30 billion daily with a $29 billion peak. As a DEX, Hyperliquid’s lean team of 11—half engineers—generated $1.127 billion in annual revenue, equating to $102.4 million per employee, outpacing Tether, Nvidia and Apple. Its protocol-level HLP liquidity pool ensures fair, transparent market-making without private funding or third-party makers. The native HYPE token, 31% airdropped to 94,000 users, underpins governance and fee discounts. In July 2025, protocol fees reached $86.6 million. Despite ranking as the third-largest DEX by weekly volume, analysts warn that validator concentration (16 nodes) and limited transparency could undermine decentralization, while a drop in trading volume might strain the HYPE token buyback model. OAK Research and GL Capital value HYPE at $32–$49, near current levels, highlighting questions over long-term sustainability.