Listing fees have always been a focal point of market controversy, especially the enormous listing fees are often seen as a significant barrier to market innovation. As a result, more and more emerging projects choose to use DEX (decentralized exchanges) as their launch ground, but at the same time, the risk of Rug has also increased significantly.
Recently, the derivatives DEX Hyperliquid successfully staged a textbook-style airdrop, not only with impressive performance in several data points but also setting a new high for its spot listing auction prices, further enhancing the platform's market advantage. Under strong data, PANews learned that many projects have already turned their attention to listing on Hyperliquid.
The listing auction price surged significantly after the airdrop, with spot trading liquidity concentrated in HYPE.
On December 6, a token ticket named 'SOLV' refreshed the Hyperliquid auction record at a price of about $128,000, attracting attention from many investors and suspected to be related to the upcoming TGE (Token Generation Event) of Solv Protocol.
According to official documents, to list on Hyperliquid, project parties must obtain the deployment rights for the native HIP-1 token. HIP-1 is the native token standard established by the protocol for spot trading and creates an on-chain order book, similar to ERC20 on Ethereum. However, to obtain permission for new token issuance, projects typically need to participate in Dutch auctions, usually held every 31 hours, meaning a maximum of 282 token codes can be deployed each year.
This auction fee can also be understood as the Gas fee for deployment, currently paid in USDC. During the 31-hour auction period, the deployed Gas fee gradually decreased from the initial price, dropping to a minimum of 10,000 USDC. If the last auction was not completed, the initial price would be 10,000 USDC; otherwise, the initial price would be twice the last final Gas price. The introduction of this auction mechanism not only avoids excessive speculation and irrational price increases due to high prices but also dynamically adjusts the listing speed of new tokens according to demand. This mechanism also ensures that the number of tokens on the Hyperliquid market is not excessive, prioritizing high-quality projects for listing.
From past auction situations, ASXN data shows that as of December 10, Hyperliquid has conducted over 150 auctions since May of this year. In terms of auction prices, the Hyperliquid airdrop has become an important turning point, with auction prices before December generally below $25,000, even reaching several million dollars, and most of the token codes participating in the auctions were MEME coins, such as PEPE, TRUMP, FUN, LADY, and WAGMI, etc. However, this month, auction prices have surged significantly. Apart from SOLV, the auction prices for SHEEP were about $112,000, BUBZ about $118,000, GENES about $87,000, etc. This also reflects the significant increase in market demand and interest for Hyperliquid after the airdrop heat.
However, based on the liquidity of the hundreds of HIP-1 tokens listed, it is mainly concentrated in a few projects. Hyperliquid trading data shows that as of December 10, the platform has listed over a hundred HIP-1 tokens, with a total trading volume of approximately $240 million in the past 24 hours, of which Hyperliquid's token HYPE accounted for 85.9% of the total trading volume, with the leading MEME project PURR accounting for over 6.7%, while the remaining projects combined accounted for only 7.4%. This is related to Hyperliquid's main focus on derivatives trading, with the spot market gradually taking shape after the rise of MEME.
‘Compared to CEX, the actual spot that can be traded on Hyperliquid is very limited now. If a large project wins a Hyperliquid spot through auction, it is actually a strong alliance. As an on-chain exchange, we are willing to see more high-quality large projects listed or launched through auctions; the USDC capital lock-in can also focus more on the speculation of newly listed assets,’ analyst @DeFioasis recently pointed out.
Many data points performed impressively after the airdrop, potentially becoming a strong competitor for listing?
With outstanding market performance and innovative listing strategies, Hyperliquid may become one of the important competitors for listing applicants.
On one hand, the wealth effect of Hyperliquid's airdrop and the consecutive price surges of the tokens have become the best marketing tool, resulting in a surge of project interest while Hyperliquid demonstrates strength in several performance metrics.
In terms of token price performance, compared to most projects that generally experience high opening and low closing after airdrops, Hyperliquid's token HYPE's FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) has soared continuously. CoinGecko data shows that HYPE's circulating market cap once reached $4.96 billion, now has slightly receded, and the current FDV has reached $13.21 billion, peaking at $14.85 billion.
At the same time, Hyperliquid occupies a strong competitive advantage in the derivatives DEX track. According to statistics from The Block on December 9, Hyperliquid's trading volume reached $9.89 billion that day, accounting for 58.4% of the entire track (approximately $16.92 billion).
Currently, Hyperliquid has accumulated a considerable amount of asset lock-in. According to DeFiLlama data, as of December 10, the TVL of Hyperliquid Bridge reached $1.54 billion. With such a large asset pool, if Hyperliquid lists more quality projects, it may further release trading potential.
Moreover, in terms of fundraising capability, Hyperliquid demonstrates strong profitability. According to research and analysis by @stevenyuntcap of Yunt Capital, Hyperliquid's revenue includes instant listing auction fees, profits and losses from HLP market makers, and platform fees, with the first two being public information, but the team recently clarified the last revenue source. Based on this, it can be estimated that Hyperliquid's revenue from the beginning of the year to date is $44 million. When HYPE launched, the team used the Assistance Fund wallet to purchase HYPE in the market; assuming the team does not have multiple USDC AF wallets, the year-to-date profit and loss of USDC AF is $52 million. Therefore, adding HLP's $44 million and USDC AF's $52 million, Hyperliquid's year-to-date revenue is approximately $96 million, surpassing Lido, making it the 9th most profitable crypto project in 2024.
All of the above data also showcase Hyperliquid's attractiveness and competitiveness in the market.
On the other hand, Hyperliquid's listing mechanism is more transparent and fair. It is well known that the controversy surrounding listing fees has a long history, including the recent widespread disputes caused by Binance and Coinbase over listing fees, with significant divergence in opinions on listing fees.
Opponents argue that the rising listing fees undoubtedly place a heavy economic burden on the early development of projects, often forcing them to sacrifice long-term development potential, thereby affecting the healthy development of the overall ecosystem. Arthur Hayes disclosed in his article that among leading CEXs, such as Binance, the highest fee charged is 8% of the total token supply for listing, while most other CEXs charge between $250,000 and $500,000, usually paid in stablecoins. He believes that it is not wrong for CEXs to charge listing fees, as these platforms invest heavily to build a user base, which needs to be recouped. However, as advisors and token holders, if a project gives tokens to CEXs instead of users, it may harm the project's future potential and negatively impact the token's trading price.
However, proponents argue that listing fees are part of the operations of exchanges and can serve as an effective tool for screening project quality. By charging certain fees, exchanges can not only ensure the sustainable operation of the platform but also ensure that listed projects possess certain economic strength and market recognition, thereby reducing the influx of low-quality projects and maintaining market order and healthy development.
In this regard, IOSG partner Jocy once published several suggestions, firstly, exchanges need to enhance information transparency and take strict punitive measures against problematic projects; secondly, exchanges should adopt departmental interest isolation to avoid conflicts of interest; finally, thorough due diligence must be conducted to ensure a diversified decision-making process, saying 'no' to any form of project fraud.
In addition to exchanges, project parties should not rely on CEX listings, but rather on user participation and market recognition. For example, Binance founder CZ recently stated, 'We should strive to reduce such 'quote attacks' in the industry. Bitcoin has never paid any listing fees. Focus on the project, not the exchange.' Arthur Hayes indicated that the biggest problem with current token issuance is the excessively high initial price. Therefore, regardless of which CEX obtains the first listing rights, it is almost impossible to achieve a successful issuance. Meanwhile, for those project parties that blindly pursue CEX listings, selling tokens to listing trading platforms can only be done once, but the positive flywheel effect created by increasing user participation will continue to yield returns. Crypto researcher 0xLoki also once stated that ‘to forge iron, one must be strong oneself; any sufficiently good project will be listed by any exchange. If it requires accepting extremely harsh terms to go on an exchange, one must first consider the project's motivation: Is the project really good enough? What is the true purpose of going on an exchange? Who ultimately bears the cost?’
Ultimately, the core issue regarding listing fees lies in the transparency and fairness of the fees, as well as the project's sustainable development potential. Compared to the opacity and high costs faced in the CEX listing process, Hyperliquid's listing auction mechanism can reduce listing costs and enhance market fairness, thereby ensuring that the assets on the platform possess higher value and market potential. At the same time, Hyperliquid gives back the listing fees to the community, which also helps incentivize more users to engage in trading.
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