TL;DR
- Burn engine: Hyperliquid’s fee-driven buyback system has already removed $1.27 billion in HYPE and scales with trading volume.
- AQAv2 yield: The upcoming AQAv2 upgrade will redirect reserve yield and could add up to $160 million in annual buyback pressure.
- Market reaction: Trump’s comments on regulatory progress pushed HYPE up 20% to 25%, boosting its market cap toward $18 billion.
Hyperliquid is back in the spotlight as traders highlight a structural shift that could reshape how its HYPE token captures value heading into the next market cycle. The token is holding near $77, and trader Pentosh1 argues that its fee-burn engine, soon to expand under a mechanism called AQAv2, is a major reason why HYPE has remained one of the strongest performers in the bear market.
AQAv2 Set to Expand the Burn Engine
Pentoshi1’s thesis centers on Hyperliquid’s revenue-sharing model, where nearly all trading fees from perpetual futures and spot markets are used to buy and burn HYPE rather than accumulate in a treasury. That approach has already removed 462 million tokens worth about $1.27 billion since November 2024, with roughly 99% of protocol fees funding the buybacks. The scale of this burn program is tied directly to how much trading Hyperliquid processes, and the exchange is estimated to handle between 40% and 70% of decentralized perpetual futures volume.
A few thoughts on $HYPE as we just sit under ath's, and its nothing I haven't said before. But now is a good time to reiterate it. Hype was the best performing asset in the bear market. I think its fair to assume it will be one of the best in the bull.
If you are bullish on… https://t.co/YTet25zEHw pic.twitter.com/rQBgU9nl0y
— 🐧 (@Pentosh1) August 21, 2026
Annualized protocol revenue currently ranges from $600 million to $950 million, according to Defillama, and AQAv2 is set to add a new layer of yield. The mechanism, which goes live in six days, directs about 90% of reserve yield earned on more than $5 billion in USDC toward the platform’s Assistance Fund. Analysts estimate AQAv2 could add $135 million to $160 million in additional annual buyback pressure.
Market Reaction and Regulatory Momentum
HYPE was trading around $73 when Pentosh1 posted his analysis, but it has since climbed to $77, gaining nearly 7%. The token’s sharpest recent move came after President Donald Trump told crypto executives on August 19 that regulators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission were working to bring Hyperliquid into the United States in a compliant fashion.
The remarks pushed HYPE up 20% to 25% in a day, lifted its market cap toward $18 billion, and made it the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by that measure, even though no formal approval has been announced and the interface still blocks U.S. users. The rally also builds on a milestone earlier this year when Hyperliquid’s cumulative repurchases crossed $1 billion, reinforcing trader arguments that the burn mechanism scales with activity rather than hype cycles.
