If any altcoin could claim to be the top coin of 2025, then Hyperliquid has a pretty good case. Not only were they the brains behind the most significant and most valuable airdrop of all time, but their token has spiralled into the stratosphere, launching at $2 and topping out at an all-time high price of $59.29 less than a year later.
Hyperliquid’s DEX became the dominant technology in the space, at one point controlling over 70% of the market and catapulting the company to an 11-figure valuation. Over the course of 2025, though, there have been murmurs from others in the space, and the recent arrival of competitors like Aster has undoubtedly given the team something to think about.
The NFT Craze
NFTs? Is it 2021 again? I hear you ask. It is fair to say that the complete lunacy of the NFT craze in 2021 is unlikely to re-enter the crypto sphere. Even in light of Bitcoin hitting all-time highs and essentially crossing over into the mainstream, there’s still not that insatiable demand for digital art that defined much of the 2021 bull run.
That said, the emergence of the Hypurr NFT, which was promised to those lucky enough to be part of the seismic first Hyperliquid airdrop, has been highly anticipated throughout most of this year.
With a varying degree of rarity, ranging from kangaroos, presumably aimed at the Australian market, to surfboards, shiba dogs and baguettes, it’s a project that has injected some life into the drab and exhausted NFT space.
Harnessing Cryptocurrency & The Mass Appeal
Many projects have sought to capture a new audience by integrating cryptocurrency and blockchain technology into their designs. We have seen it in the world of casino gaming, where innovative brands have championed this fresh new payment method as another route to onboard new customers.
The rise of cryptocurrency casinos, particularly Down Under, where slot games are referred to as pokies, have helped to usher in a new wave of contemporary gaming. In the same way digital art has become highly sought after in an increasingly digital environment, crypto pokies are a way for contemporary gamers to explore exactly what casino platforms have to offer using mediums of currency and digital designs that they have greater awareness of.
Channelling into this mass appeal is one of the many factors that have led to the success of crypto pokies. But, ultimately, it’s down to the ability to capture a large audience, and it’s through digital collectibles and community engagement that Hyperliquid is looking to replicate the sort of success we saw in the early days of pokies and the current format of crypto pokies.
Obviously, with Hyperliquid, there are other considerations; they are not a gambling platform per se, but the same essence remains. A project’s success is measured by its ability to onboard a wider audience.
Hyperliquid essentially single-handedly brought tens of thousands of new customers into the world of perp trading and DEXs with a smooth UX, and the NFT is a badge of honour for those who have been with the project since the very beginning.
Hype vs Aster: Who Comes Out On Top?
Hyperliquid has been the DEX of choice for many whales for the majority of 2025. Some prefer the technology they use, while others have one eye on a rumoured second airdrop. Other whales, however, prefer the liquidity and use it for their long-term investments.
However, many in the crypto industry have commented that Hyperliquid may have gotten too comfortable in pole position. Changpeng Zhao, the former head of Binance, has been backing Aster, which has been heavily marketed on social media as an alternative to Hyperliquid.
Initially, the signs looked extremely promising; they had a concerted effort across social media, using prominent sites and influencers to push their brand. As you can see in the link below, utilising social media and creating viral content can be an effective way to promote your brand.
Several eagle-eyed social media crypto savants have been digging into the potential of Aster, and with vast amounts of the token concentrated into four wallets, a much slower transaction speed, and an obvious, clear social media bid to oust Hyperliquid through paid influencers, there’s still a long way to go before they could be considered a legitimate rival to Hyperliquid’s cutting-edge platform.
Hypurr NFTs – The Verdict
The short answer to this question is probably not. That’s not to say that Hypurr NFTs could result in a quality return for those who managed to snag a rare one, but if the first couple of days of sales are anything to go by, they’re unlikely to fetch anywhere close to a $100,000 floor price, which is what some predicted earlier this year.
The rare ones are a collector’s item, and have already fetched prices of 10,000 HYPE – close to half a million USD at the time of writing. However, the chances of Hyperliquid kickstarting an NFT bull run are unlikely. Many whales who own the NFT view the current floor price of 1,176 HYPE ($54,300) as loose change, considering many of them were airdropped millions of dollars’ worth of the native HYPE token.
Many who sell are reinvesting their funds in the Hype EVM, opting for liquid staking, staking on the Hyperliquid platform itself, or allocating their profits to other projects they like the look of.
Few are likely to reinvest hundreds of thousands of dollars in NFTs when the sector has not recovered since the 2022 crash and shows no signs of doing so in the future. The Hypurr NFTs are another significant win for the Hype team, but they are commemorative and offer no utility. Despite being worth a decent amount, the initial sales have been relatively slow.