Hyperliquid is emerging as a challenger to traditional exchanges and prediction markets, says FalconX

Crypto trading platform Hyperliquid is beginning to compete with traditional exchanges and prediction market operators as it expands beyond perpetual futures trading, according to a new report from FalconX.

Senior crypto market strategist David Lawant outlined how Hyperliquid’s recent moves into pre-IPO markets, prediction contracts and tokenized real-world assets are broadening the platform’s appeal beyond crypto-native traders.

“Hyperliquid is seeing traction as demand for its HIP-3 markets expands to include pre-IPO markets,” the report said.

Hyperliquid first gained traction through crypto perpetual futures, a type of derivatives contract that dominates offshore digital asset trading. The platform’s native token, HYPE, has skyrocketed 94% over the past three months. But FalconX said newer products could push the platform into more direct competition with firms such as CME Group, Intercontinental Exchange-backed prediction market Kalshi and Polymarket.

The report pointed to growing activity in Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 markets, which allow users to trade assets including equities, commodities, forex and pre-IPO contracts around the clock. FalconX said those markets gained attention after traders used them to speculate on companies such as Cerebras, Anthropic and SpaceX before public listings.

The platform has also begun rolling out HIP-4 outcome markets, which function similarly to prediction markets by allowing traders to bet on binary outcomes tied to politics, economics and crypto events.

FalconX said the ability to trade prediction contracts alongside crypto and real-world asset positions on the same platform could become a major advantage.

“For example you could pair a HIP-3 perps position on NVDA with outcome markets that it could miss or beat earnings,” the report said.

The firm also highlighted strong early interest in newly launched exchange-traded funds tied to Hyperliquid’s HYPE token. Spot HYPE ETFs from 21Shares and Bitwise have attracted a combined $53 million in inflows after only a few trading sessions, according to Bloomberg data cited in the report.

FalconX said those inflows represented a larger percentage of HYPE’s market capitalization than early inflows into spot bitcoin, ether (ETH) and solana (SOL) ETFs at similar stages.

Meanwhile, Hyperliquid’s recent partnership with Coinbase (COIN) and Circle (CRCL) to integrate USDC as an aligned quote asset could significantly increase protocol revenue. FalconX estimated the arrangement could generate as much as $160 million in annualized revenue based on reserve yields tied to USDC balances on the platform.

The report also noted that regulatory developments in Washington could help accelerate adoption of tokenized real-world assets on decentralized trading venues. FalconX cited reports that the SEC is considering an innovation exemption framework for tokenized stocks.

At the same time, the firm warned that growing attention from traditional financial exchanges could bring regulatory scrutiny. CME and ICE have raised concerns with regulators about potential manipulation risks tied to Hyperliquid’s markets.

Even so, FalconX said Hyperliquid continues to lead decentralized perpetual futures markets in trading volumes, revenue and total value locked, positioning it as one of the fastest-growing trading platforms in crypto.