[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] Arthur Hayes put a $150 price target on Hyperliquid's HYPE token and said it could overtake Solana (SOL) before the current bull market ends.

On May 31 (local time), blockchain media outlet BeInCrypto reported that BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes (아서 헤이즈) rebutted the recent spread of bearish views on the cryptocurrency market through X, formerly Twitter.

Hayes said that, contrary to the view that the broader market has turned bearish, a bullish trend is still continuing in high-risk altcoins. When one user described the current market as a bear market, he replied that his speculative altcoin portfolio was showing a different trend, saying, "My shitcoin portfolio is clearly in a bull market. Choose better degens."

The remarks are seen as Hayes stepping up his previously built HYPE investment position. He has already accumulated more than 26,000 HYPE, and in a recent post he indicated the investment was not simple short-term trading but a high-conviction bet. He cited the 'Clarity Act' bill and the possibility of resistance from traditional finance as parts of his investment rationale.

Whether HYPE can actually surpass Solana is seen as hinging on Hyperliquid's revenue structure. Hyperliquid repurchased HYPE through a buyback program, putting more than $1.16 billion into the open market. That is seen as creating structural buying demand below the market price.

Protocol revenue is also rising quickly. Hyperliquid Strategies said quarterly profit was $152.5 million.

Supportive views on HYPE are not limited to Hayes. Matt Hougan (맷 호건), chief investment officer at Bitwise, called HYPE a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" and argued it should be valued against a global market of $600 trillion, not a $3 trillion cryptocurrency market. He also said about $60 million has flowed into Bitwise's spot HYPE exchange-traded fund (ETF) 'BHYP' since mid-May, and described it as the strongest single-asset crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) launch since bitcoin.

Hougan described HYPE as a "second-generation token." He cited a structure in which 99 percent of fees are used for token buybacks. That suggests the bullish case for HYPE is not simply about expectations of rising prices, but focuses on a structural design that links protocol revenue and buybacks.

Still, whether HYPE can actually narrow the gap in market capitalization with Solana is a separate issue. Solana currently maintains a much larger market value and has established itself as one of the dominant smart-contract platforms in DeFi and speculative trading. The key questions are how long the remaining upcycle lasts and whether Hyperliquid's revenue growth can continue to justify the premium reflected by Hayes and institutional investors.

Are we dreaming big enough? Looking at this list of mostly dogshit coins, I think $HYPE should at a minimum overtake $SOL before this bull run is over. pic.twitter.com/EZrZxHwNwR