The Rise of DEXs: Hyperliquid Faces Competition as HYPE Price Predicted to Soar
Cantor Fitzgerald expects the HYPE token to reach $200 by 2035 amid increasing competition from decentralized exchanges (DEXs) offering attractive rewards.
Decentralized perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid has emerged as a significant player in the crypto space in 2025, but it is facing stiff competition from rival DEXs that are attracting traders with lucrative reward farming programs.
Cantor Fitzgerald forecasts that the HYPE token will reach $200 by 2035. According to Hyunsu Jung, CEO of Hyperion DeFi, the anticipated growth in HYPE’s price will largely be driven by the upcoming Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 3 (HIP-3).
“We see HIP-3 as the major driver of Hyperliquid’s next phase of growth, and as a critical enabler of the valuation framework proposed by Cantor,” Jung stated, highlighting the importance of the proposal.
Perpetual swaps are unique contracts that mirror the value of an underlying asset without expiration limits, keeping prices aligned with spot assets through a funding mechanism that redistributes funds between holders of long and short positions.
The market share for DEXs specializing in perpetual futures has surged from 2.1% in January 2023 to a record 11.7% by November 2025, as reported by CoinGecko.
In early December, Cantor Fitzgerald indicated that the increasing adoption of decentralized exchanges would propel the HYPE token well beyond the $200 mark in the next decade.
“Given the fact that all fees are returned to token holders via buybacks, we argue that HYPE should trade at closer to 50x by 2035,” the firm noted in a report published on December 16, underscoring: “Using this methodology, we can foresee a scenario where HYPE exceeds $200.”
This prognosis incorporates an assumption of a 15% annual growth rate for the token’s price, alongside a projected buyback of around 291 million HYPE tokens, limiting the available supply to 666 million.
Emerging competitors pose the greatest risk to Hyperliquid’s growth trajectory, particularly with the planned token generation event from Lighter DEX on the horizon. With reports of Lighter implementing token generation events to attract users, competition in the perpetual DEX space is heating up.
“In the short term, competition from other perpetual DEXs presents a risk, especially newer entrants like Lighter that are leveraging token generation events as incentives to gain market share,” Jung cautioned.
Lighter DEX, an Ethereum rollup-based platform, is making waves with its zero-fee model and unique points-based reward system, reporting daily trading volumes that surpass $8 billion. Reports indicate that tokens related to Lighter could soon be on the market.
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