Bitcoin and Ethereum trading activity has fallen to multi-quarter lows on Hyperliquid, while volume in equity-linked and pre-IPO perpetual contracts has climbed sharply.
Summary
- Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures volumes on Hyperliquid have fallen to multi-quarter lows as traders increasingly turn to equity and commodity-linked contracts, according to Block Scholes.
- Pre IPO perpetual trading volume has climbed above $50 million per day from less than $5 million, with SpaceX-linked contracts leading activity.
- Block Scholes analyst Thahbib Rahman said speculative interest remains strong in markets such as stock index perps, commodities, and HYPE despite weaker sentiment around Bitcoin and Ethereum.
According to a June 5 report from Block Scholes shared with crypto.news, risk sentiment around the two largest cryptocurrencies has continued to weaken, even as speculative demand remains active in other parts of the market.
The research firm pointed to its in-house Bitcoin and Ethereum Risk Appetite Indexes, which have moved lower over the past week alongside declines in both assets.
Recent weakness in crypto majors has coincided with several market developments. Block Scholes noted that Strategy sold $2.5 million worth of Bitcoin from its holdings, a move that came after years of public commitment from Executive Chairman Michael Saylor to continue accumulating the asset.
The report also highlighted the longest streak of outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs since their launch.
Rather than viewing Bitcoin’s drop toward the low $60,000 region as a sign of fading interest across the entire digital asset market, Block Scholes argued that trading activity has become concentrated in a different set of instruments.
Traders turn to stock and commodity-linked perpetuals
Data from Hyperliquid shows that daily Bitcoin perpetual futures volume has remained near $2 billion, while Ethereum volumes have stayed around $600 million to $700 million, levels Block Scholes described as multi-quarter lows.
At the same time, activity tied to equity and commodity markets has expanded rapidly on the platform. According to Block Scholes, the three most actively traded non-crypto perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid are XYZ100, which tracks the Nasdaq-100, SP500, an S&P 500-linked product, and CL, a contract tied to WTI crude oil.
Combined daily volume across those three markets has reached approximately $1.3 billion, generating $27.1 billion in notional trading volume over the past month. Block Scholes said that total equals about 112% of Ethereum perpetual volume and roughly 38% of Bitcoin perpetual volume on the exchange during the same period.
The report said the development does not necessarily represent a dollar-for-dollar migration of capital from Bitcoin and Ethereum. Instead, the report argued that trader attention and speculative activity that previously supported crypto majors are increasingly being directed toward alternative markets available through the same trading venue.
Pre-IPO contracts draw growing interest
Beyond stock index and commodity products, Block Scholes identified pre-IPO perpetual contracts as another area attracting crypto-native traders.
According to the report, the ratio of pre-IPO perpetual volume relative to Ethereum perpetual volume increased from roughly 0.1% to a peak near 3.0% in recent weeks. Daily trading volume in the segment has climbed from less than $5 million to more than $50 million, with contracts linked to SpaceX accounting for much of the increase.
Block Scholes said the rise has been abrupt and concentrated, with activity accelerating into late May and early June while Bitcoin and Ethereum volumes remained subdued.
The firm’s risk appetite data also showed a divergence among digital assets. While sentiment tied to Bitcoin and Ethereum has weakened, Block Scholes reported that Hyperliquid’s HYPE token is one of the few major crypto assets where its risk appetite indicator continues to move higher.
HYPE risk appetite index. Source: block Scholes.
As previously reported by crypto.news, Binance Research recently published a report noting that capital has been flowing toward a concentrated group of U.S. equity sectors, including artificial intelligence infrastructure, semiconductor companies, defense contractors, energy firms, and commodities.
According to the report, strong performance in those sectors has historically reduced liquidity available to Bitcoin and other alternative assets.
Using the CBOE Dispersion Index as a measure of market concentration, Binance Research noted that the indicator recently reached 42, its third-highest reading on record. The firm argued that periods of concentrated equity leadership have often coincided with weakness in Bitcoin as investors direct funds toward a smaller group of high-performing themes.
