Hyperliquid Soars as Arthur Hayes Predicts 126x Upside in Tokyo

Hyperliquid just caught fire—and Arthur Hayes is pouring gasoline.

The BitMEX founder's explosive prediction from Tokyo sent the protocol's token skyrocketing, with traders scrambling to position for what Hayes calls a '126x opportunity.' No vague promises here—just a hard number from one of crypto's most notorious (and occasionally right) voices.

Why Tokyo? Hayes has always had a thing for Asian markets—and regulatory arbitrage. While the U.S. tangles itself in SEC lawsuits and congressional hearings, Japan’s FSA has been cautiously opening doors. Hayes didn’t just pick a venue—he picked a narrative.

Hyperliquid itself isn’t some obscure shitcoin. It’s a perennial performer in the perp DEX space—often overshadowed by louder names, but consistently executing. High throughput, low fees, and an order book that doesn’t quit. This isn’t a meme; it’s machinery.

But let’s be real—crypto runs on hopium more than code. Hayes knows it. The 126x call isn’t analysis—it’s alchemy. He’s turning confidence into momentum, and momentum into volume. Classic Hayes. Meanwhile, traditional finance guys are still trying to short Bitcoin at ATHs. Some things never change.

Will it actually 126x? Who knows. But in crypto, believing is half the battle—and Hayes just handed the army a banner.

Open perps, DEX volume at an all-time high

Hyperliquid total open positions hit an all-time high of 198,397 on Monday, according to the Hypertracker analytics platform. 

Meanwhile, open interest, or the value of contracts yet to be settled, climbed above $15 billion, and total wallet equity peaked at $31 billion. 

Hyperliquid DEX volume also hit an all-time high of $1.56 billion over the weekend, according to DefiLlama. Transaction fees have also reached July’s all-time high of $93 million so far this month. 

DefiLlama also shows that the total value locked for the derivatives DEX is currently $685 million, just shy of its February peak. 

Hyperliquid total wallet equity peaks. Source: Hypertracker 

Hyperliquid eating competition

Data provider Redstone published a comprehensive report on the exchange last week in which they said, “In a span of less than two years, they went from zero to consistently capturing over 75% of the entire decentralized perpetual exchange market,” previously held by dYdX. 

Hyperliquid now processes up to $30 billion daily, “getting close to matching Binance’s volume on some pairs,” it added.

HYPE hit an all-time high of just below $50 on July 14 and was just 7% away from that peak at publication.