Hyperliquid's HYPE Up 69% YTD as AI Pre-IPO Perpetuals Draw Trader Interest

BlockBeats reported on May 18 that Hyperliquid's native token, HYPE, gained more than 5% over the past 24 hours, lifting its year-to-date advance to 69%, even as the broader crypto market remained subdued. Investor focus has centered on Hyperliquid's HIP3 pre-IPO perpetuals ecosystem, where cumulative trading volume has topped $120 billion. According to market information, the platform has rolled out pre-IPO perpetual contracts tied to high-profile AI names including SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI. One example cited is the Cerebras perpetual contract offered by TradeXYZ, which was priced at only about a 3% deviation from its Nasdaq opening price, versus a 35% gap implied by traditional secondary-market quotes. Hyperliquid has also listed the SpaceX pre-IPO contract SPCX, referencing a valuation of roughly $1.78 trillion. Market expectations put SpaceX's IPO fundraising at $75 billion to $80 billion, while Anthropic and OpenAI are also said to be seeking valuations around the $1 trillion level. Analysts say the HIP3 structure could allow retail traders to take part in price discovery for major tech IPOs through on-chain markets for the first time, while also increasing the risk of U.S. regulatory scrutiny over "unregistered securities" exposure.