Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
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Wednesday was already shaping up to be the best day for crypto assets in recent memory. Bitcoin The stock traded at its highest level since June as President Donald Trump plans to meet with industry leaders.
Then the big news came.
Around 3 p.m. ET, the president hinted at the possibility of regulating the decentralized exchange HyperLiquid. This decentralized exchange is gaining popularity among traders as the home of “perpetual futures” trading. Highly leveraged, never-expiring swap-like derivative contracts have become a thorn in the side of existing exchanges this year, even though U.S. residents are not allowed on the platform.
“I understand that (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) Chairman Mike (Selig) is also committed to bringing hyperliquid into the United States in a fully compliant and legal manner,” Trump said at a press conference.
shares of Super liquidity strategyThe publicly traded financial company, which owns the Hype token, soared 30% before the closing bell, bringing its stock price up more than 163% since the beginning of the year. hypethe digital token that underpins the exchange’s blockchain-based payments and operations, soared 18%, just below its all-time high. shares of CBOE Global Market down 3.5%, miami international holdings‘Stocks fell 3.1%; CME Group‘s stock price fell 1.7%.
Hyperliquid stocks in the past day
“We’ve been looking for a way to get into the U.S. for some time and the CFTC has been pretty responsive, but for President Trump to say that in a press conference means it’s a priority,” David Shamis, CEO of HyperLiquid Strategies and founding partner of Atlas Merchant Capital, said on a call after the bell Wednesday.
“You can’t do something like this and create new rules. You see how difficult it is to pass the Clarity law. We have to find a way to make it work with the rules that exist today,” he said. The Clarity Act is a bill that establishes a regulatory framework for virtual currencies.
HyperLiquid’s options trading volume was nearly eight times its 30-day average, with more than 120,000 calls traded compared to less than 8,000 puts. Traders bought about 45,000 calls and sold 29,000 calls. About $10 million in premium trades were made, with the largest single trade occurring about 30 minutes after the announcement, when someone bought 2,000 eight-strike calls expiring in November and December for about $510,000.
There was also heavy call trading activity in the hours before the announcement. A variety of strikes and expiring calls traded before 3 p.m. were worth just under $2 million, including trades that showed signs of indiscriminate, hasty buying, indicating someone looking to enter the trade.
In one case, around 11 a.m., someone spent $65,000 trading 719 eight-strike calls expiring in mid-October, paying 90 cents each for a contract that arrived Wednesday with just 67 open positions. These calls are now worth $2.45 each, meaning the trader was up about $111,000 by the close.
“These were opening trades by definition, so are you asking us to believe that someone came out ahead of this announcement and sold a ton of upside call opening trades?” said Dennis Davitt, CNBC contributor and co-founder of Milbank Dartmoor Portsmouth, an investment firm that manages more than $500 million in institutional assets. “I hope they have a solid alibi.”
transaction in iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) It was more than 4.5 times its 30-day average even before hyperliquid made headlines as Treasury yields retreated and investors generally pivoted to sectors that have underperformed over the past year. Bitcoin volatility, as measured by Volmex Labs’ BVIV index, rose 13% after hitting a year-to-date low of 35.5 on Friday.
It remains to be seen whether Hyperliquid’s success will lead to a resurgence in Bitcoin prices. michael saylor stock strategy It rose nearly 13% on Wednesday, but coinbase It soared nearly 10%. Both have fallen about 30% since the beginning of the year as Bitcoin had its worst year compared to the S&P 500 since 2019.
“There are four items on the balance sheet,” Shamis said. “2 billion HYPE tokens, cash, common stock, deferred tax debt. No debt, no funky converts.”
Correction: Hyperliquid Strategies does not own the Hyperliquid exchange.
