Grafa logo

Kraken lists HYPE token as DeFi perpetuals activity surges

Written by Brie CarterPublished Jan. 31 2026Last Updated Jan. 31 2026

Share

Kraken has officially listed the HYPE token from Hyperliquid for spot trading on its platform.

The trading pairs HYPE/USD and HYPE/EUR went live on January 28, 2026, at 15:00 UTC, according to an announcement published on Kraken’s official X account.

The listing follows a sharp rally in HYPE, which gained more than 50% over the past week amid rising activity on Hyperliquid’s markets.

Kraken, founded in 2011 in San Francisco, is regarded as one of the most established exchanges in the crypto sector.

The platform has never suffered a major security breach in over thirteen years of operation, a record that stands out in the industry.

Kraken operates under multiple regulatory frameworks and holds a Special Purpose Depository Institution licence in the US state of Wyoming.

With more than 10 million users and daily trading volumes often exceeding $1.5 billion, Kraken consistently ranks among the world’s top five exchanges by liquidity.

A listing on Kraken is widely viewed as a signal of legitimacy, particularly for projects seeking institutional attention.

Hyperliquid launched in 2023 and has rapidly become a leading venue for decentralised perpetual futures trading.

The protocol runs on its own Layer 1 blockchain using a proprietary consensus system known as HyperBFT.

This design enables block times below one second and supports a fully on-chain central limit order book.

In January 2026, Hyperliquid processed roughly $40 billion in weekly perpetuals volume, according to Messari data.

The protocol accounts for about 70% of the DeFi perpetuals market, ahead of rivals such as Aster and Lighter.

The HYPE token sits at the centre of Hyperliquid’s economic model.

HYPE launched on November 29, 2024, through a large-scale community airdrop that distributed 31% of total supply to around 94,000 users.

The project allocated no tokens to venture capital firms and avoided early centralised exchange listings.

HYPE has a fixed supply of 1 billion tokens, with roughly 240 million currently in circulation.

The protocol uses 97% of trading fees to buy back and burn HYPE, linking token value directly to platform activity.

At the time of the Kraken listing, HYPE traded around $33–34, giving it a market capitalisation close to $10 billion.

The token remains about 45% below its all-time high of $59.30 reached in September 2025.

On-chain data showed a single address acquiring roughly $9.8 million worth of HYPE shortly before the listing announcement.

Analysts also point to the October 2025 activation of Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 3 as a key growth driver.

HIP-3 allows large HYPE stakers to launch their own perpetual markets, including products tied to commodities and traditional assets.

In late January 2026, Hyperliquid’s Silver-USDC market recorded more than $1.2 billion in daily trading volume.

Market observers say the Kraken listing strengthens HYPE’s liquidity profile and reinforces Hyperliquid’s position as a serious trading infrastructure.

At the time of reporting, Hyperliquid price was $29.07.