Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE hit an all-time high on the back of large-scale buybacks, but an analysis said intensifying competition with Binance could weigh on the revenue structure that supports the price.

Cointelegraph reported on Sunday that Alice Liu (앨리스 류), head of research at CoinMarketCap, cited token buybacks as one factor behind HYPE’s recent rise to $86, or about 115,960 won, marking a new record high. Hyperliquid runs a system that automatically buys HYPE on the market using trading fees, and more than $400 million has been spent on buybacks so far. HYPE has gained 47.5 percent over the past 30 days.

Liu stressed that an increase in network transactions does not directly lead to a rise in the token’s price. She said sustained buybacks that have supported HYPE would require continued trading activity and fee revenue.

A variable is the real-world asset (RWA)-based perpetual futures market. Liu said trading volume and liquidity in perpetual futures based on tokenised stocks, ETFs and indexes have moved rapidly to Binance over the past two months. She estimated Binance accounts for about half of that market. She added that Hyperliquid still remains the leader in the DEX market.

Binance’s own data also show the growing influence of perpetual futures tied to traditional finance. Binance’s share in ETF-based perpetual futures reached 74 percent in July, and it accounted for about 59 percent of all traditional finance-linked perpetual futures in August. Liu noted that the scope differs from the RWA perpetual futures she cited, so they cannot be directly compared.

Hyperliquid’s official documents show some trading fees are used by an assistance fund to automatically buy HYPE, and the tokens are burned. If Binance absorbs more of the related trading volume, how well Hyperliquid can maintain its fee income and capacity to buy HYPE is expected to emerge as a key factor for the price.