Kraken Lists Hyperliquid's HYPE token

The American exchange Kraken has officially added Hyperliquid’s HYPE token to its spot trading offering. The pairs HYPE/USD and HYPE/EUR have been available since January 28, 2026, at 15:00 UTC, according to the announcement published on the platform’s official X account. This listing comes as the token shows a spectacular increase of more than 50% over one week, driven by the explosion in trading volumes on the protocol’s commodity markets.

Kraken: a pillar of trust in the crypto industry

Founded in 2011 in San Francisco, Kraken has established itself as one of the most respected and reliable exchanges in the crypto ecosystem. A pioneer in the industry, the platform has never suffered a major hack in over thirteen years of existence, a rare feat in a sector marked by security breaches. Regulated in numerous jurisdictions, Kraken notably holds a SPDI (Special Purpose Depository Institution) license in the State of Wyoming, making it one of the few crypto platforms to benefit from a US banking framework.

With over 10 million users worldwide and a daily trading volume regularly exceeding 1.5 billion dollars, Kraken consistently ranks in the top 5 global exchanges by liquidity. Its reputation for rigor in compliance and asset selection makes it a barometer for the industry: a listing on Kraken is often seen as a seal of legitimacy for crypto projects, especially in the eyes of institutional investors and compliance officers.

Hyperliquid: from niche DEX to global financial infrastructure

Hyperliquid has established itself in a few months as the must-have reference for decentralized perpetuals trading. Launched in 2023, the protocol runs on its own Layer 1 blockchain optimized for high-frequency trading, with a proprietary consensus mechanism called HyperBFT.

This technical architecture allows it to deliver impressive performance: block time under one second, theoretical capacity of 200,000 orders per second, and above all a fully on-chain order book. Unlike traditional DEXs using AMMs (Automated Market Makers), Hyperliquid replicates the CLOB (Central Limit Order Book) model of centralized exchanges, offering tighter spreads and better price discovery.

In January 2026, Hyperliquid processes about 40 billion dollars in weekly volume on perpetual contracts, ahead of competitors Aster (31.7 billion) and Lighter (25.3 billion), according to Messari data. The protocol holds about 70% market share in the DeFi perpetuals segment, a dominance that justifies growing interest from centralized exchanges.

HYPE: a token with solid fundamentals

The HYPE token represents the economic core of the Hyperliquid ecosystem. Launched on November 29, 2024, through a massive community airdrop (31% of the total supply distributed to 94,000 users), it made an impression with its radically different approach to traditional launches: no allocation for venture capitalists, no initial listing on centralized exchanges, and an average valuation of about 45,000 to 50,000 dollars per participant in the airdrop.

The total supply is 1 billion HYPE tokens, with about 240 million currently in circulation. The tokenomics mechanism provides that 97% of trading fees generated by the platform are used to buy back and burn HYPE tokens, creating deflationary pressure proportional to platform activity.

At the time of the Kraken listing, HYPE trades around 33-34 dollars, showing a market capitalization close to 10 billion dollars. The token remains about 45% below its all-time high of 59.30 dollars reached in September 2025.

What the Kraken listing changes for HYPE

The addition of HYPE on Kraken represents a significant milestone for several reasons.

• Access to fiat pairs: For the first time, investors can acquire HYPE directly in dollars or euros without going through stablecoins. This fiat on-ramp greatly reduces friction for new investors, especially retail investors less familiar with DeFi mechanisms.
• Institutional credibility: Kraken is among the most regulated and reputable exchanges in the industry, especially in the United States. A listing on this platform serves as a form of validation that can reassure institutional investors and compliance officers.
• Liquidity depth: Arrival on a major exchange mechanically increases order book depth, tightens spreads, and facilitates large volume transactions without significant price impact.

According to on-chain data, the announcement triggered significant capital movements: a unique address acquired about 9.8 million dollars of HYPE in the hours preceding the listing, signaling aggressive positioning by high-capital investors.

HIP-3: the little-known catalyst of the rise

While the Kraken listing captured media attention, the spectacular rise of HYPE finds its roots in a deeper protocol evolution: the Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 3 (HIP-3), activated on mainnet in October 2025.

This update allows anyone staking at least 500,000 HYPE (about 17 million dollars at current prices) to deploy their own perpetual markets permissionlessly. The deployer receives 50% of the fees generated, with the protocol keeping the other half.

The major innovation lies in extending beyond cryptocurrencies: HIP-3 opens the door to perpetuals on traditional assets—stocks, stock indices, currencies, and commodities. A historic convergence between crypto markets and traditional finance.

The results exceed expectations. In three months, HIP-3 markets have accumulated over 1 billion dollars in open interest, 25 billion dollars in total volume, and more than 3 million dollars in fees, all transparently on-chain.

The silver trading explosion: 1.2 billion dollars in 24 hours

On January 27, 2026, Hyperliquid’s Silver-USDC market recorded more than 1.2 billion dollars in volume in a single day, a figure rivaling volumes of traditional commodity exchanges. Silver became the third most traded asset on the platform, behind Bitcoin and Ethereum.

This explosion is explained by a combination of factors. Investors seeking safe havens amid macroeconomic uncertainty turn to gold and silver. Decentralized perpetuals offer 24/7 access without the trading interruptions of CME or COMEX. All without mandatory KYC and with competitive fees.

Total open interest on HIP-3 markets reached 920 million dollars by January 28, 2026, up more than 200% in a month. This growth directly feeds the HYPE buyback mechanism through generated fees.

Market context: the rally in a sea of red

HYPE’s performance takes on a particular dimension in the current context. While Bitcoin oscillated around 89,000-91,000 dollars and most altcoins showed mixed performances, HYPE outperformed the entire market with a rise of more than 50% over the week.

Retail sentiment, measured by Stocktwits, shifted from “bearish” to “extremely bullish” in 24 hours. Technical analysts now monitor the 36-dollar resistance and 28-26 dollar support as key levels.

This outperformance illustrates a perception shift: Hyperliquid is no longer seen as a niche DeFi experiment but as a serious trading infrastructure capable of competing with centralized exchanges on their own turf.

What this means for users

For traders and investors, the Kraken listing opens several opportunities.

• Existing HYPE holders benefit from a new liquidity option and potentially more efficient price discovery due to increased order book depth.
• New investors can now get exposure to HYPE through a regulated platform offering higher security and compliance guarantees than native DEXs.
• Active traders on Hyperliquid may see their tokens potentially valued by increased institutional and retail demand the listing can generate.

Finally, the listing indirectly validates Hyperliquid’s economic model: token buybacks funded by trading fees create a virtuous circle where volume increases reinforce upward pressure on HYPE.