Real builders, real numbers.
CEX's perpetual contract monthly trading volume dropped from $7.11 trillion in 2025 to $4.69 trillion in 2026.
At the same time, Hyperliquid, an on-chain DEX, hit a monthly trading volume of $190 billion.
Last week, deBridge released some data showing that over $1.7 billion flowed into Hyperliquid through cross-chain bridges in the past year. When I saw that number, I thought, isn't that just what I was doing a few days ago?
I remember around the 15th, everyone was speculating on alt fun on Hyperliquid, the on-chain version of pump fun, but with perpetual contract leverage.
A lot of folks in the community wanted to get in but didn’t know how to move their funds over. I tried a few options and found #deBridge was the smoothest with the least slippage, so I recommended it in the group.
When you look at one person's experience in the context of $1.7 billion in funds flowing in, it suddenly becomes more than just 'user-friendly.' It's the siphoning effect of the entire chain at work.
Hyperliquid now has a TVL over $5.1 billion, up from $4.2 billion in early May. HYPE has surged more than 156% from its low at the beginning of the year.
Just yesterday, it hit an all-time high of $64. Last week, institutions poured in $72 million, with a16z's wallet buying nearly $10 million of HYPE and staking it right away.
What matters to me isn’t the price, but a comparison. CEX's average monthly perpetual contract volume is shrinking, while on-chain DEX's average is rising. In 2025, DEX averaged $531.6 billion, and in the first four months of 2026, it jumped to $611.5 billion.
The direction is no longer debatable.
To be honest, I have two typical friends. One has been telling me to dollar-cost average into $HYPE since it was $20 last year, claiming it's a major on-chain trend. I didn't listen back then.
The other bought in directly below $50 a couple of days ago. Two types of people: one sees the trend early, and the other acts fast. I'm neither.
Currently, I don’t hold any HYPE. But I’m looking for new alpha opportunities as funds continue to migrate to this chain. That's how I noticed alt fun.
In this process, there's a type of project quietly raking in profits – cross-chain bridges. Whether you're chasing memes or making serious trades, money has to cross the bridge.
deBridge is one of them; their protocol revenue is real and transparent, and the foundation uses this money to continuously buy back DBR.
Not all infrastructure can withstand the test of time. Personally, I hold $DBR.
CEX's perpetual contract monthly trading volume dropped from $7.11 trillion in 2025 to $4.69 trillion in 2026.
At the same time, Hyperliquid, an on-chain DEX, hit a monthly trading volume of $190 billion.
Last week, deBridge released some data showing that over $1.7 billion flowed into Hyperliquid through cross-chain bridges in the past year. When I saw that number, I thought, isn't that just what I was doing a few days ago?
I remember around the 15th, everyone was speculating on alt fun on Hyperliquid, the on-chain version of pump fun, but with perpetual contract leverage.
A lot of folks in the community wanted to get in but didn’t know how to move their funds over. I tried a few options and found #deBridge was the smoothest with the least slippage, so I recommended it in the group.
When you look at one person's experience in the context of $1.7 billion in funds flowing in, it suddenly becomes more than just 'user-friendly.' It's the siphoning effect of the entire chain at work.
Hyperliquid now has a TVL over $5.1 billion, up from $4.2 billion in early May. HYPE has surged more than 156% from its low at the beginning of the year.
Just yesterday, it hit an all-time high of $64. Last week, institutions poured in $72 million, with a16z's wallet buying nearly $10 million of HYPE and staking it right away.
What matters to me isn’t the price, but a comparison. CEX's average monthly perpetual contract volume is shrinking, while on-chain DEX's average is rising. In 2025, DEX averaged $531.6 billion, and in the first four months of 2026, it jumped to $611.5 billion.
The direction is no longer debatable.
To be honest, I have two typical friends. One has been telling me to dollar-cost average into $HYPE since it was $20 last year, claiming it's a major on-chain trend. I didn't listen back then.
The other bought in directly below $50 a couple of days ago. Two types of people: one sees the trend early, and the other acts fast. I'm neither.
Currently, I don’t hold any HYPE. But I’m looking for new alpha opportunities as funds continue to migrate to this chain. That's how I noticed alt fun.
In this process, there's a type of project quietly raking in profits – cross-chain bridges. Whether you're chasing memes or making serious trades, money has to cross the bridge.
deBridge is one of them; their protocol revenue is real and transparent, and the foundation uses this money to continuously buy back DBR.
Not all infrastructure can withstand the test of time. Personally, I hold $DBR.