HYPE token staking goes live on the HyperLiquid mainnet

Staking of HyperLiquid's native HYPE token has officially launched on the decentralized exchange's mainnet, according to a statement from the Hyper Foundation.

"Staking is an important milestone for HyperLiquid because it allows the diverse community of HYPE stakers to collectively secure the network," a Hyper Foundation post on X said. "Like other proof of stake networks, new blocks on HyperLiquid are proposed by validators in proportion to the HYPE staked to them."

Holders of HYPE can now delegate their tokens to trusted validators to earn staking rewards. The statement from the Hyper Foundation encouraged users to consider metrics such as validator uptime, commission rates, reputation, and community contributions when choosing where to stake. "This system not only rewards participation but also strengthens the network’s security and decentralization," the Hyper Foundation added.

To further support network decentralization, the Hyper Foundation also noted plans to launch a Delegation Program aimed at rewarding high-performing validators. While details about the program remain forthcoming, the foundation noted that it would prioritize validators contributing to the ecosystem's growth and robustness.

The staking of locked tokens is also enabled, although rewards from these tokens are currently locked.

Token performance and ecosystem growth

HyperLiquid’s native token, HYPE, has experienced notable growth since its token generation event on Nov. 29. The token’s price surged by over 640% since then, reaching an all-time high of $34 on Dec. 22 before settling around $28 as of Friday, according to CoinGecko data.

HYPE’s circulating supply stands at 333.9 million tokens out of a maximum supply of 1 billion, giving it a current market capitalization of approximately $9.3 billion and a fully diluted valuation exceeding $27.9 billion.

DeFiLlama data shows that Hyperliquid now ranks as the fifth-largest decentralized derivatives exchange by total value locked, behind Jupiter Perpetual Exchange, Drift Trade, GMX and dYdX.