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Hyperliquid’s HYPE Rallies on Token Distribution News

Hyperliquid’s native token, HYPE, posted a strong move at the end of December, rising more than 3% on December 29 as markets reacted to news of an upcoming team token distribution. The token briefly climbed to $26.24, giving Hyperliquid a market capitalization of approximately $8.89 billion.

According to CoinMarketCap, HYPE is currently trading near $26, with the rally coinciding with a broader market upswing led by Bitcoin’s push toward $90,000 and Hyperliquid’s standout operational performance throughout 2025. Despite the price increase, sentiment remains mixed, with the Community Sentiment Index showing 67% bullish and 33% bearish positioning.

HYPE Gains Ahead of Team Token Distribution

The rally follows a December 28 announcement from Hyperliquid co-founder Iliensinc, shared via Discord, confirming that 1.2 million unstaked HYPE tokens—worth roughly $31 million at current prices—have been prepared for distribution to core team members.

The first distribution is scheduled for January 6, 2026, marking the start of a predefined vesting process. The allocation is part of Hyperliquid’s 24-month linear vesting schedule, covering 23.8% of the total 1 billion token supply reserved for the team. Subsequent distributions will occur predictably on the 6th day of each month, a move designed to improve transparency and reduce uncertainty around token unlocks.

The distribution aligns with Hyperliquid’s bootstrapped, VC-free model, ensuring that all token releases are internal and tied to long-term project incentives. Community reactions have been mixed: while some praised the clear communication, others are closely monitoring potential short-term volatility.

To offset new supply, the platform continues its token buyback program and recently completed a burn of 37 million HYPE, helping balance tokens entering circulation. Additional releases from reserves have also been disclosed.

Hyperliquid Posts $844 Million in 2025 Revenue

Hyperliquid’s fundamentals remain strong. The decentralized perpetual futures exchange, built on its own dedicated blockchain, generated approximately $844 million in revenue in 2025, according to data from ASXN Data.

Trading fees from perpetual derivatives were the primary revenue driver, placing Hyperliquid among the most profitable protocols in the crypto sector. The platform recorded $2.95 trillion in cumulative trading volume for the year—averaging $8.34 billion per day. Perpetual contracts alone generated $848 million in fees, translating into roughly $808 million in net revenue.

Market observers note that HYPE has shown notable resilience amid broader market volatility. While it remains unclear whether this stability is directly tied to expectations around LIT’s upcoming launch, price action over recent weeks suggests a potential short-term support level may be forming.

Commenting on the competitive landscape, crypto commentator Tulip King wrote on X:
“If lighter volume is sustained after TGE then it validates the existence of alternative perps DEXes, but contingent on a race to zero fees, imo the whole sector would need to reprice down. If lighter volume returns to Hyperliquid, then this is a phenomenal price to buy HYPE at.”

Lighter, a perpetuals-focused Ethereum-based Layer 2 decentralized exchange (DEX), has announced the launch of its native token, the Lighter Infrastructure Token (LIT), aimed at aligning traders, builders, and long-term backers as the platform works to bridge traditional financial markets with DeFi.

The total LIT supply is split evenly between the ecosystem and the team/investors. Fifty percent is allocated to the ecosystem, while the remaining 50% is reserved for the team and investors. As part of the launch, Lighter is distributing an immediate airdrop to early participants, converting 12.5 million points earned in 2025 into LIT tokens. This airdrop represents 25% of the project’s fully diluted value (FDV)—the maximum possible valuation if all tokens are issued.

The remainder of the ecosystem allocation will support future incentives, partnerships, and expansion initiatives. Tokens allocated to the team (26%) and investors (24%) are subject to a one-year lockup, followed by three years of linear vesting, according to a post shared by Lighter on X. The LIT token is issued directly by Lighter’s operating entity, a U.S.-registered C-Corporation.

“The future of finance lies at the intersection of traditional financial systems and DeFi,” Lighter stated. “Efficient, secure, and verifiable infrastructure is essential in both directions—bringing real-world assets on-chain while introducing transparency and composability to traditional markets.”

Lighter added that the utility framework for LIT is designed around how value is exchanged across the financial system, with an emphasis on efficiency, transparency, and innovation.

According to Dune-based analytics, perpetual contracts traded on Lighter have averaged $2.7 billion in volume over the past seven days, ranking it third among perpetuals DEXs, behind Hyperliquid and Aster. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token currently carries a market valuation of $6.26 billion, placing it among the world’s largest digital assets.

More than a governance token

LIT extends beyond traditional governance use cases. It functions as a core component of Lighter’s trading and data infrastructure.

The platform offers execution and data-verification services across multiple tiers, with higher levels requiring users to stake increasing amounts of LIT. Staking locks tokens to access advanced features and scales as the network becomes more decentralized. Traders and data providers also pay fees in LIT to access market data and validate pricing, helping ensure accurate information for secure trading and risk management.

Revenue transparency and potential buybacks

Lighter noted that all revenue generated from its trading platform and future products will be fully transparent and verifiable on-chain. The team may use this revenue to fund ecosystem growth or conduct token buybacks, reducing circulating supply and potentially supporting token value.

These decisions will not follow a fixed schedule and will depend on broader market conditions and Lighter’s long-term strategic goals.

The leading perpetuals DEX by trading volume is preparing for its highly anticipated token airdrop. Excitement intensified after Lighter published its full codebase and circuit architecture ahead of its upcoming token generation event (TGE).

The TGE for Lighter’s LIT token is expected imminently. The protocol’s airdrop delegation form closed earlier today, while odds on Polymarket strongly favor a Monday, December 29 token launch.

A fresh analysis has reignited one of crypto’s most persistent debates: should investors sell or hold tokens received through airdrops?

New data suggests that selling early may often be the more rational choice. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), crypto trader Didi reviewed personal airdrop allocations from the past year and found that the vast majority of tokens experienced severe post-launch declines. Among the worst performers, M3M3 fell 99.64%, Elixir dropped 99.50%, and USUAL declined 97.67%.

Even high-profile projects were not spared. Magic Eden is down 96.6%, Jupiter has fallen 75.9% from its token generation event (TGE) price, and Monad is lower by 39.13% since launch. Avantis was the lone outlier, trading 30.4% above its initial price.

The analyst noted that historical data consistently shows long-term holding of most altcoins is a low-probability strategy, with downside risk far outweighing the chances of sustained appreciation.

Broader industry research supports this view. Memento Research examined 118 token generation events in 2025 and found that 84.7% of tokens are currently trading below their TGE valuations. Approximately 65% have lost around half their value, while more than half are down 70% or more.

Projects launching with high fully diluted valuations (FDV) performed especially poorly. Of the 28 tokens that debuted with FDVs of $1 billion or higher, none are trading above their launch price today.

Analysts argue that many crypto projects pursue billion-dollar valuations regardless of product maturity or real-world utility. As a result, tokens often begin trading far above their fundamental value, leading to sharp repricing once market forces take hold.

Polymarket traders are assigning an 86% probability that Lighter will launch its token airdrop before the end of 2025, as the decentralized exchange moves closer to its long-awaited token generation event (TGE).

Lighter, a perpetual DEX and a key competitor to Hyperliquid, has intensified airdrop speculation after opening wallet allocation forms and confirming the redistribution of slashed points. The momentum was further boosted on Monday when Hyperliquid listed Lighter’s yet-to-launch LIT token against USDC, signaling growing market confidence ahead of the launch.

In a Discord update on Monday, Sebas (Babastianj), a core contributor to Lighter, said the project is entering the final phase of Season 2 preparations.

“We’re in the final stretch of Season 2 and are running data science to remove Sybil, self-trading, and wash-trading points,” Sebas said, adding that all removed points will be redistributed to the community.

Lighter also launched an airdrop allocation form on Sunday, allowing eligible users to split their token allocation across up to four additional wallets. The optional form remains open until Friday.

“If you do not submit this form and are eligible, the airdrop will be sent to your main Lighter account,” Sebas noted.

Speculation accelerated further after Lighter transferred 250 million LIT tokens, or 25% of the total supply, on Friday—a move widely interpreted by the community as a signal that a user airdrop is imminent. The TGE is currently expected to take place by December 31.