The recent announcements by U.S. companies Lion Group Holding and Eyenovia to include Hyperliquid's native token, HYPE, in their balance sheets mark a significant milestone. This move represents the first time a native token from a growing DeFi project has been registered as a strategic reserve asset in traditional capital markets, following major cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, and SOL. This institutional endorsement validates the security, stability, and economic model behind HYPE, signaling that Hyperliquid is evolving beyond a mere trading protocol into a core candidate for "digital asset financial infrastructure."
This analysis explores two key dimensions: first, how the Builder Code drives protocol revenue and ecosystem expansion; and second, how the token buyback mechanism establishes a valuation framework for HYPE.
With Hyperliquid's Builder Code revenue approaching $10 million, it's crucial to understand this emerging ecosystem, the applications behind it, and what it means for Hyperliquid's future as an infrastructure layer. Typically, a protocol dominates at both the application and infrastructure levels—Hyperliquid is steadily moving in this direction, and the philosophy behind its Builder Code is becoming increasingly clear.
Builder Code: The Engine of an Open Trading Ecosystem
For those unfamiliar with Hyperliquid's ecosystem, what exactly is the Builder Code, and how does it work?
As stated in the official documentation: "The Builder Code allows developers to charge fees for orders executed on behalf of users. Each order can be individually customized using the Builder Code for maximum flexibility. Users must set an acceptable maximum fee for each developer, and authorization can be revoked at any time. The Builder Code is processed entirely on-chain as part of the fee logic."
In simple terms, the Builder Code enables applications built on Hyperliquid to charge fees based on the volume of imported transactions. Any platform can integrate a Builder Code, requiring users to sign an authorized agreement to accept the fee mechanism before trading (this process is now visible on the recently launched Felix Trade, which supports Hyperliquid spot buy/sell functions via @felixprotocol).
Builder Code Total Revenue: Insights from HypeBurn
What benefits does the Builder Code offer developers? The maximum fee allowed by the protocol is currently 0.1% for perpetual contracts and 1% for spot trading.
While a 1% spot fee might sound high and hasn't yet gained widespread adoption, this rate is likely to become standard as long-tail assets increasingly launch on Hyperliquid. For example, Axiom, which focuses on meme coin trading on Solana, earns over $1 million daily from its 1% interface fee. Although most of this revenue currently comes from Solana, it is expected to shift to Hyperliquid as more spot deployments occur on the network.
Who Leads the Builder Code Movement? What’s Next?
Despite rapid growth, the total revenue from the Builder Code is still in its early stages, currently around $9.5 million. Leading the pack is @pvp_dot_trade with approximately $7.2 million, making it the most profitable builder in the current landscape. But this is just the beginning.
Currently, over 22 new developers have begun participating in the Builder Code ecosystem, bringing more transaction traffic to Hyperliquid. The closest to a true consumer product is @okto_web3, and although its current Builder Code revenue is only $662,000, this number could change significantly in the future due to its reach beyond Hyperliquid.
It's important to note that Okto remains a typical crypto application, whereas platforms like Liquid and Lootbase target a broader mainstream user base and offer a Robinhood-like trading experience, which could be more appealing. Initially, one might have expected the Builder Code to be adopted only by existing crypto interfaces (like Axiom) to call Hyperliquid's underlying infrastructure. However, trends in Liquid and Lootbase suggest this assumption may need revisiting.
Top 20 Builder Code Applications
Hyperliquid is not just a perpetual contract DEX—it is trading infrastructure. This will become clearer as more major trading platforms choose to connect to Hyperliquid's Builder Code rather than compete directly.
In this model, platforms no longer need to create their own markets or pull liquidity to launch new coins. Instead, they can achieve inclusive listing through Hyperliquid's spot deployment and future HIP-3 proposals, then integrate the Builder Code to create an optimized interface and user experience, generating significant revenue—similar to Axiom and PvP Trade.
The future of the Builder Code will depend on large interface platforms with strong distribution capabilities that seek to avoid the costs and risks of building their own markets.
Robinhood vs. Hyperliquid Builder Code: A Potential Opportunity
Robinhood, a more traditional fintech company rather than a crypto-native one, offers a viable path if it wants to accelerate crypto adoption within its app and ensure large-scale revenue generation through fees. In January 2025 alone, Robinhood reported a massive $144.7 billion in stock trading volume, 166.6 million options contracts, and $20.4 billion in crypto trading volume.
This topic might deserve a separate in-depth analysis, but it's foreseeable that Robinhood would need only about 1 million HYPE (a negligible amount of its funding) to begin deploying its own marketplace based on Hyperliquid's battle-tested infrastructure, optimized for perpetual contracts, and earn interface-level fees through Builder Code integration.
For Robinhood, this architectural solution could save months or even years of development cycles, as well as millions in technology costs. The Hyperliquid community handles the low-level work, while Robinhood reaps the benefits.
HYPE Token Valuation Analysis
The Builder Code demonstrates Hyperliquid's monetization capabilities at the infrastructure level. If the Builder Code is the front-end "distribution layer" driving the trading ecosystem's prosperity, the HYPE token is the core value carrier of this system. This analysis attempts to value the HYPE token by comparing Hyperliquid's protocol buyback, backed by treasury funds, to buybacks by traditional public companies.
Using payment processing companies like Visa and Mastercard as a conservative reference group, the methodology yields an estimated valuation of $25.9 billion for HYPE (**or approximately $76 per HYPE**, about 72% higher than the current price of $44). Notably, this valuation does not yet include the broad use of HYPE as a Layer 1 native asset.
The methodology for this valuation is detailed below.
Quantifying Return on Capital
According to on-chain data from the last 30 days as of June 16, 2025, the Hyperliquid protocol has an average daily buyback of $1.63 million. Extrapolating from this, its quarterly buyback amounts to approximately $146.4 million.
To assess the market valuation of similar cash flows, we turn to the "market capitalization/quarterly buyback amount" multiple of publicly traded companies. This multiple reflects how much market value the market is willing to assign for each dollar of buyback, which varies significantly by industry, reflecting market confidence in growth and stability.
Industry Multiple Comparisons:
- Tech Giants (Average Multiple: 296x): Companies like NVIDIA and Google are highly valued due to rapid growth, technological innovation, and market dominance.
- Payment Industry (Average Multiple: 177x): Examples include Visa and Mastercard, which are highly profitable, strong financial infrastructure players with network effects, leading to stable and high multiples.
- Banking Sector (Average Multiple: 73.3x): Mature institutions like JPMorgan and Bank of America face slower growth and high regulatory pressure, resulting in lower valuation multiples.
From the above comparisons, the payment industry best aligns with Hyperliquid's business model. Like Visa or Mastercard, Hyperliquid is a critical part of the infrastructure within the financial system: with high-profit margins, its business model is directly tied to transaction volume, and network effects continue to grow—the more users and liquidity, the greater the platform's value.
While HYPE could be analogized to tech companies in some respects, using valuation multiples from the tech sector might lead to overestimation without practical grounding. In contrast, the payment industry offers more conservative valuation multiples and is more comparable.
Applying the payment industry multiple, the estimated valuation for HYPE is:
- Quarterly Buyback Amount: $146.4 million
- Payment Industry Valuation Multiple: 177x
- Estimated Valuation: $146.4 million × 177 = $25.9 billion
- Per HYPE Price: Approximately $76 (about 72% higher than the current $44).
Note: $44 is the value of HYPE at the time of publication.
This valuation is not only significant but also highly conservative. It is based on a core metric and intentionally ignores numerous other sources of value that HYPE possesses. Why is this valuation conservative?
- Single-Dimension Focus: The model does not account for the premium value of HYPE as a high-performance Layer 1 native token, its role in governance mechanisms, or the utility of future staking rewards.
- Historical Data Basis: The data used is based solely on performance over the last 30 days and does not consider potential future revenue growth for Hyperliquid or increased market share boosting buybacks.
The model uses the average valuation multiple of the payment industry to avoid the high multiples common in the tech sector, further ensuring a conservative estimate.
Conclusion: Buyback Framework Provides a Clear Valuation "Floor" for HYPE
While no single approach can capture the full value of crypto assets, valuations based on strong protocol buybacks combined with real cash flows provide HYPE with a data-backed benchmark. As the Hyperliquid ecosystem continues to grow, this valuation "floor" is expected to rise further.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Hyperliquid's Builder Code?
The Builder Code is a mechanism that allows developers to charge fees for orders executed on behalf of users on the Hyperliquid network. It enables applications to monetize their transaction volume while providing flexibility in fee structures.
How does the Builder Code benefit developers?
Developers can earn revenue by integrating the Builder Code into their platforms. They can charge up to 0.1% for perpetual contracts and 1% for spot trades, creating a sustainable income stream based on user activity.
Why is HYPE considered valuable beyond its trading utility?
HYPE serves as the native token for a growing Layer 1 ecosystem with institutional adoption, protocol buybacks, and potential use in governance and staking. Its value is backed by real cash flows from network activity.
How does Hyperliquid compare to traditional payment companies like Visa?
Hyperliquid functions as critical financial infrastructure, similar to Visa, by facilitating transactions and earning fees based on volume. Its valuation model draws parallels to established payment industry multiples.
Can traditional companies like Robinhood benefit from integrating Hyperliquid?
Yes, companies like Robinhood can leverage Hyperliquid's infrastructure to save development costs and time while earning interface-level fees through Builder Code integration.
What factors could drive HYPE's valuation higher?
Increased adoption of the Builder Code, expansion of spot trading, institutional investments, and broader use of HYPE within the ecosystem could all contribute to higher valuation over time.