Citrini: Cash Flow, Buybacks Support Hyperliquid’s HYPE

Citrini Research identified Hyperliquid as a compelling investment, pointing to the protocol’s cash-flow model and a large token-buyback program as the basis for its view. The HYPE token rose more than 8% and approached $75 on Monday.

The firm’s research note, published Monday, says over 90% of fees generated on the decentralized perpetuals exchange are routed into an Assistance Fund. Those funds are then systematically used to purchase HYPE on the open market, the report states.

The research highlights the size of the Assistance Fund and the scale of repurchases. By some measures cited in the note, Hyperliquid’s buybacks have represented nearly half of token-buyback activity across the crypto market in 2025.

Citrini linked the buyback mechanism to recent price moves. The token hit an all-time high near $75 and recorded single-day gains exceeding 8% in the 24 hours before 1:50 p.m. ET on Monday. HYPE briefly traded above Solana in price last week; Solana’s market capitalization remains roughly $39 billion, more than double HYPE’s market value.

The research also examined inflows through exchange-traded products tied to Hyperliquid. ETFs managed by 21Shares and Bitwise registered nearly $600 million in combined trading volume and more than $136 million in net inflows over a three-week span, according to the report. Those flows expanded access to the token for institutional and retail investors.

Hyperliquid operates as a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures contracts and issues HYPE, which is integrated into the platform’s fee and incentive structure. The report quantifies how the fee-to-buyback loop channels platform revenue into secondary-market repurchases of the token.

Citrini included direct language from its analysis, writing that “unlike the memetic majority of crypto (bitcoin included), HYPE generates legitimate cash flow.” The firm added that “the Hyperliquid runway is wide” and that there remains opportunity for the exchange to capture additional market share.

The research follows earlier work from Citrini that received market attention. The new note focuses on the cash-flow figures, buyback volumes and recent trading data to explain the firm’s assessment of Hyperliquid.