Apollo Crypto Explains Why Hyperliquid Is Its Top Altcoin Holding

Apollo Crypto has made Hyperliquid its largest altcoin position, with head of research Pratik Kala arguing that the protocol stands apart not only because of its product-market fit, but because its token design and expanding market structure give traders something few crypto venues currently offer: usable, revenue-linked infrastructure.

In comments shared via X, Kala described Hyperliquid in unusually direct terms. “Hyperliquid is our biggest altcoin position in the fund. Why? Because it is phenomenal. The product works,” he said. For Apollo, the case appears to rest on two pillars: the exchange’s traction as a trading venue, and a token model Kala framed as cleaner and more transparent than much of the industry’s recent experimentation.

He contrasted Hyperliquid’s buyback structure with the more convoluted token systems that defined earlier market cycles. “The tokenomics is refreshing. It uses 97 to 99%, depending on how you want to calculate it, of all the revenues to buy back its token in a very transparent manner. No governance mumbo-jumbo. No, you know, a token feeding into some other token and some dynamic inflation, burning, minting stuff that has destroyed many people’s capital and brains, to be frank, over the last few years.”

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That framing is central to Apollo’s thesis. Kala’s argument is not simply that Hyperliquid has momentum, but that it has paired a working product with a token accrual model that traders can actually follow. In a sector where valuation stories often hinge on future governance or vague utility, he presented Hyperliquid as comparatively straightforward: trading activity generates revenue, and that revenue feeds token buybacks.

He also pointed to adoption trends. According to Kala, “a lot of the volumes are going there,” while market makers and funds are increasingly using the platform. He argued that Hyperliquid has been superior “in many, many ways,” particularly in how it handles new listings, pre-markets and other product extensions.

A major part of the bullish case, though, is HIP-3, which Kala said is already opening up tradable opportunities outside the usual crypto schedule. He described a weekend trade tied to news that OpenAI had secured a contract after Anthropic would not allow its AI technology to be used by the Department of Defense. Because the development broke while traditional markets were closed, Kala said most market participants were effectively stuck on the sidelines.

“Personally, I made 50%. How? Because HIP3, OpenAI, Anthropic were both trading on HIP3,” he said. “Liquidity is not fantastic, but OpenAI went up 50% on the weekend. Anthropic was static, could have expected that you could have taken a spread trade where you can short Anthropic and long open AI. Do it on HIP3, you can make money, you can generate alpha.”

That example gets to the broader point Apollo is making. HIP-3 is not being pitched merely as another product vertical, but as a venue where traders can express event-driven views in assets that are normally inaccessible when news breaks. Kala said the market now includes private-market trading as well as listed equities and commodities such as oil, gold and silver on weekends.

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He offered one data point to show early traction: during a recent silver mania, HIP-3 briefly accounted for 1% to 2% of global silver volumes, despite having launched only around a month to six weeks earlier. For Kala, that signals not retail novelty but serious engagement from hedge funds, sophisticated investors and active portfolio managers looking for round-the-clock execution.

He added that HIP-3 revenues are split 50-50 between deployed markets and Hyperliquid, with Hyperliquid’s share feeding back into HYPE buybacks. From Apollo’s perspective, that strengthens the flywheel rather than diluting it.

Kala also flagged what could come next. He said HIP-4, focused on prediction markets and options, could push the platform further, while regulatory shifts in the US may eventually open a path for a KYC-compliant version there. Competition exists, he acknowledged, including from rival platforms such as Lighter. But in Apollo’s view, Hyperliquid has already done something harder than launching a new venue: it has captured trader attention, liquidity and, increasingly, loyalty.

At press time, HYPE traded at $30.485.

Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com