It’s been a strange year for Bitcoin (BTC +3.94%). After looking as if it might double in price to $200,000 in 2025, Bitcoin is now down 7% for the year. As a result, a number of other cryptocurrencies are now seriously outperforming it.

Among them is Hyperliquid (HYPE +2.48%), up 35% for the year. It now ranks among the top 12 cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap, and is drawing rave reviews from investors and traders alike.

The next Solana?

According to Cathie Wood of Ark Invest, Hyperliquid is looking more and more like the next Solana (SOL +3.74%). Just like Solana in its early years, Hyperliquid is experiencing rapid growth. And just like Solana, Hyperliquid is a blockchain capable of very high transaction processing speeds.

Image source: Getty Images.

Since formally launching in November 2024, Hyperliquid is up nearly 1,000%. Considering that Solana is now up more than 25,000% since its launch in 2020, there’s potentially plenty of upside ahead for Hyperliquid. A key to Hyperliquid’s future success is its ability to maintain a dominant market position when it comes to trading cryptocurrency perpetual futures (“perps”).

Can Hyperliquid continue to outperform Bitcoin?

Of course, it’s one thing to outperform Bitcoin over the course of 12 months. It’s another thing entirely to outperform Bitcoin over the course of 12 years. That’s the amount of time that Bitcoin has ranked among the top-performing cryptocurrencies in the world.

Hyperliquid

Today’s Change

(2.48%) $0.84

Current Price

$34.69

All of which is to say: It may still be too early to believe the hype about HYPE. It has made an impressive debut. But there’s a long way to go before it can be considered a cryptocurrency that investors can buy and hold for the long haul.