Hyperliquid; a decentralized perpetuals-focused exchange on its own L1 chain has shown impressive growth and has surpassed Coinbase in certain metrics—particularly notional trading volume—the company’s actual revenue figures tell a different story.
Hyperliquid (protocol fees/revenue, per DefiLlama and Artemis): Annualized around $999 million to $1.11 billion recently, with 2025 totals in the $800–$844 million range. Recent daily revenue has hit peaks like $6.84 million (early Feb 2026), with 24h figures around $2–$2.6 million.
Much of this funds HYPE token buybacks rather than traditional profit. Coinbase full-year 2025 reported: Total revenue $7.18 billion up 9% YoY, including transaction fees, subscriptions/services ($2.8–$2.83 billion), and other streams. This is significantly higher than Hyperliquid’s protocol revenue.
Coinbase’s Q4 2025 alone was ~$1.78 billion, though it included a GAAP net loss due to crypto investment marks and expenses.
Hyperliquid’s revenue comes almost entirely from trading fees on perps/spot with low fees but massive volume, while Coinbase diversifies across retail/institutional trading, staking, custody, USDC interest, subscriptions, and more.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026).
Register for Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab.
Coinbase is a publicly traded company with broader operational scale, compliance costs, and profitability challenges in volatile markets, but its top-line revenue dwarfs Hyperliquid’s. Hyperliquid is “quietly outgrowing” Coinbase in derivatives-specific activity and efficiency for crypto-native traders (low fees, on-chain transparency, high leverage).
Its HYPE token has outperformed COIN stock in early 2026 performance; +31.7% vs. -27% YTD at times, reflecting market excitement about decentralized perps. However, “making more money” typically refers to revenue/profit for the entity/exchange, not just volume or token gains—and Coinbase clearly leads there.
Hyperliquid’s model (decentralized, token buybacks via fees) differs from Coinbase’s centralized, regulated business, so direct apples-to-apples comparisons have limits.
Hyperliquid “makes more money” than Coinbase primarily stems from its dominance in notional trading volume and protocol fees in the decentralized perpetuals space, but the broader impacts of this shift especially in early 2026 are significant for the crypto industry, traders, centralized exchanges (CEXs), and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Hyperliquid has not surpassed Coinbase in total revenue. Coinbase reported ~$7.18 billion for full-year 2025 with subscription/services at ~$2.83 billion and transaction fees making up much of the rest, while Hyperliquid’s protocol fees were around $822–$844 million in 2025, with YTD 2026 figures in the $79 million range and daily/annualized peaks occasionally hitting higher.
However, Hyperliquid’s efficiency (massive volume with a tiny team of ~11–15 people vs. Coinbase’s thousands) and revenue-per-employee metrics highlight a lean, high-margin model.
Traders increasingly prefer on-chain platforms for perpetual futures due to lower fees, non-custodial control (no account freezes or KYC hassles for many users), transparency, and high leverage up to 50x without intermediaries.
This signals a structural migration: Hyperliquid captures users frustrated with CEX restrictions like US perp bans, outages, or regulatory risks. It’s “quietly outgrowing” Coinbase in derivatives-specific activity, forcing a reevaluation of where serious trading happens.
Liquidity is becoming more distributed, with on-chain venues challenging CEX dominance in perps; Hyperliquid now handles significant shares vs. Bybit and OKX in some metrics. Pressure on centralized Elexchanges especially Coinbase. Coinbase faces competition in derivatives and spot-like activity, contributing to challenges like its Q4 2025 revenue miss, and COIN stock underperformance -27% YTD early 2026 vs. HYPE +31.7%.
CEXs may need to innovate or risk losing market share to efficient DEXs. Coinbase has listed HYPE and enabled related trading, showing adaptation rather than outright rivalry. Hyperliquid generates substantial fees with minimal staff, while Coinbase’s scale brings compliance costs and slower innovation.
Hyperliquid’s model funnels ~97% of fees into HYPE buybacks/burns, creating deflationary pressure and direct value accrual to holders. This contrasts with Coinbase’s traditional equity structure. HYPE outperforms COIN significantly in early 2026 performance, reflecting market excitement for decentralized, revenue-sharing protocols over regulated incumbents.
Boosts confidence in “real revenue” DeFi projects (trading fees, not emissions/taxes), with institutions eyeing HYPE via ETF filings despite no VC allocation. Hyperliquid dominates on-chain perps, expands into prediction markets/options via HIP-4, no-liquidation designs, and tests new products, pressuring competitors like Polymarket, dYdX, or Aster/Lighter.
CEXs and DEXs coexist/compete more intensely, driving better UX, lower costs, and composability. Growth draws scrutiny, but also highlights DeFi’s appeal in restricted regions/markets. Hyperliquid’s model has criticisms e.g., liquidity provider risks during liquidations, structural conflicts where fees benefit from volatility/losses.
Notional volume inflates due to leverage—actual economic activity differs from spot-focused Coinbase. Early 2026 bearish conditions hit COIN harder, but Hyperliquid’s resilience shows strength. Hyperliquid’s rise isn’t about fully eclipsing Coinbase’s revenue scale yet—it’s a powerful signal of DeFi maturity, efficiency advantages, and trader migration to decentralized models.
This pressures incumbents to evolve, accelerates on-chain adoption, and underscores crypto’s shift toward transparent, high-performance trading infrastructure. If trends continue, it could reshape exchange hierarchies far beyond just perps.