HyperSwap vs PURR

HyperSwap

HyperSwap is the first and most established native automated market maker (AMM) built on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid's EVM-compatible smart contract execution layer. Launched in early 2025 when HyperEVM went live, HyperSwap functions as the foundational liquidity hub of the HyperEVM ecosystem, providing the AMM infrastructure that powers swaps, LP incentives, and DeFi composability for the entire chain. Its token is traded under the ticker SWAP, with a token generation event (TGE) structured around a points accumulation campaign. HOW IT WORKS HyperSwap is architecturally a fork of Uniswap V2 and V3, adapted and deployed natively on HyperEVM. It runs two distinct pool types: a V2 implementation using the constant product (x*y=k) formula, where liquidity is spread uniformly across all price ranges, making it simple for passive LPs; and a V3 implementation that supports concentrated liquidity, allowing LPs to specify price ranges where their capital is actively deployed to earn a higher share of trading fees. Trades on HyperSwap execute directly against these liquidity pools via EVM smart contracts, with pricing determined algorithmically by pool ratios rather than an order book. Every swap incurs a fee that accrues to liquidity providers in proportion to their pool share. HyperSwap also runs an incentive layer via xHSPX (vote-escrowed SWAP), where users who lock SWAP tokens can direct liquidity mining emissions to specific pools, following a model pioneered by Curve Finance's veTokenomics. The protocol integrates with Thunderhead's liquid staking module, enabling users to stake HYPE directly through HyperSwap's interface in exchange for stHYPE, with HyperSwap-native incentives (HSPX) offered on top of staking yields. This creates a composable DeFi stack where users can simultaneously earn staking rewards, LP fees, and protocol emissions within one interface. KEY FEATURES - Dual AMM Architecture: V2 passive pools and V3 concentrated liquidity pools serve different LP risk profiles and strategies - Native HyperEVM Deployment: Built from the ground up on HyperEVM, providing chain-native speed and EVM compatibility without bridging or compatibility layers - veToken Incentive System: SWAP holders can lock tokens for xHSPX to direct liquidity emissions, aligning long-term liquidity with protocol governance - stHYPE Staking Integration: Partnership with Thunderhead allows users to stake HYPE and receive stHYPE through the HyperSwap interface, with additional HSPX point incentives - Points-Based Airdrop: A structured points program rewards swap volume and LP activity ahead of the SWAP token TGE TEAM AND BACKING HyperSwap was co-founded by CryptoPoulpe (known in French crypto communities as a prominent trader and KOL who was among the earliest public advocates for Hyperliquid in France) and Ryzed, an operator who left a traditional career to focus full-time on Hyperliquid development. The two met through crypto trading circles and were building HyperSwap while staying together in Bali during the HyperEVM beta phase, where they identified the need for a native AMM as the chain's first critical infrastructure gap. The broader HyperSwap team extends beyond the two founders. The project has reached a Strategic / Series A funding stage according to ecosystem trackers, implying institutional backing, though specific investors and round sizes have not been publicly confirmed. The team operates on Hyperliquid exclusively and has signaled no plans to deploy on other chains. TRACTION AND METRICS HyperSwap launched at the inception of HyperEVM in mid-February 2025 and quickly became the dominant on-chain AMM by liquidity. DefiLlama tracks HyperSwap's TVL, fees, and volume, confirming its status as one of the top protocols by TVL on HyperEVM. The protocol has active pools for major trading pairs including HYPE/USDC, HYPE/WETH, and HyperEVM token pairs launched through the ecosystem. HyperSwap's LP pools are consistently cited as primary liquidity sources by HyperEVM DEX aggregators including Gliquid, LiquidSwap, HyperBloom, and Laminar, confirming its position as the deepest native liquidity source on the chain. The SWAP token has an active secondary market, with the SWAP/WHYPE pair trading on HyperEVM. The points program has attracted significant user participation ahead of the TGE. HyperSwap is cited as one of the highest-traffic HyperEVM dApps, processing a substantial share of all HyperEVM swap volume. COMPETITIVE POSITION HyperSwap's primary competitors on HyperEVM are KittenSwap, Laminar, Hybra, ProjectX, and Valantis. KittenSwap is its most direct AMM rival, while Laminar competes as a liquidity engine with direct HyperCore order book access. HyperSwap's advantage is first-mover status and the deepest aggregate liquidity in the ecosystem, which creates a flywheel: more liquidity attracts more volume, generating more fees, which attracts more LPs. Against the broader DeFi AMM landscape, HyperSwap's Uniswap V2/V3 fork architecture is technically well-understood and battle-tested, reducing smart contract risk, but it does not offer architectural differentiation beyond the Hyperliquid chain context. The veToken model borrowed from Curve is proven but introduces complexity for retail users and creates governance competition dynamics. Its moat is therefore primarily chain-native advantage and liquidity network effects rather than protocol innovation. HYPERLIQUID INTEGRATION HyperSwap is a HyperEVM-native protocol that interfaces with Hyperliquid's chain at the execution layer. Users must transfer assets from HyperCore's spot or perp accounts to HyperEVM before interacting with HyperSwap. The protocol benefits from HyperEVM's sub-second block finality and low transaction costs, which make AMM swaps economically viable at smaller sizes than on chains like Ethereum mainnet. HyperSwap does not directly use HyperCore's order book or HIP-3 infrastructure, but its role as the primary HyperEVM liquidity layer means it is deeply integrated with the Hyperliquid ecosystem's overall composability. Every new token, protocol, or DeFi primitive launched on HyperEVM typically bootstraps initial liquidity through HyperSwap pools, cementing its position as DeFi infrastructure rather than a standalone application. RISKS AND CONSIDERATIONS HyperSwap's core risk is architectural commoditization — Uniswap V2/V3 forks are abundant across DeFi, and if a technically superior AMM (such as Gliquid's V4-based pools) attracts deeper liquidity, HyperSwap could lose its dominant position. The veToken system introduces centralization of governance power among large SWAP holders, which can direct emissions in ways that benefit insiders at the expense of protocol efficiency. Smart contract risk, while mitigated by using Uniswap's proven codebase, is present for HyperEVM-specific modifications and the Thunderhead integration module. The TGE timeline has not been officially disclosed, creating uncertainty for LP and airdrop participants who have allocated capital based on token reward expectations. If the TGE is delayed or the token economics are unfavorable, participation incentives may collapse rapidly. Finally, as a HyperEVM-only protocol, HyperSwap's success is entirely correlated with Hyperliquid ecosystem growth — a slowdown in HyperEVM adoption directly impacts the protocol's core metrics.

PURR

PURR is the first native spot token launched on Hyperliquid's HyperCore layer, functioning as the ecosystem's inaugural meme coin and the reference implementation of Hyperliquid's HIP-1 and HIP-2 token standards. Launched in April 2024 via a free airdrop to early Hyperliquid users, PURR carries a cat-themed identity consistent with the Hypurr mascot adopted by the broader Hyperliquid community. It has no formal utility, no venture-backed team, and no treasury — but it occupies a unique structural position as the protocol's canonical example of native on-chain tokenization, with permanently committed liquidity and a deflationary supply mechanism built into the chain's fee structure. HOW IT WORKS PURR operates entirely on HyperCore, Hyperliquid's custom-built exchange layer, not on HyperEVM. This distinction is important: HyperCore is the high-performance order book engine where perpetual and spot markets operate with sub-second finality and zero gas fees for users. PURR trades on Hyperliquid's native spot market — meaning it appears on the same interface and order book infrastructure used for HYPE and other HyperCore spot assets. PURR's tokenomics were implemented via two Hyperliquid Improvement Proposals: HIP-1 (Native Token Standard): Establishes PURR as a fully native HyperCore token with an on-chain spot order book, allowing users to trade PURR/USDC directly through the Hyperliquid exchange interface without EVM bridging or external wallets. Token transfers happen at HyperCore speed — sub-200ms finality — without gas fees. HIP-2 (Hyperliquidity): At launch, 400 million PURR (40% of total supply) were committed as permanent protocol-owned liquidity to the PURR/USDC spot order book. This mechanism, unique to Hyperliquid, locks deep on-chain liquidity that cannot be withdrawn by any party, ensuring continuous two-sided markets for PURR regardless of market conditions. These 400 million tokens have since been burned, permanently removing them from circulating supply. The deflationary mechanism is structural: all trading fees paid in PURR are continuously burned at the protocol level. This means every PURR transaction contributes to supply reduction, making PURR's effective circulating supply decreasing over time from its approximately 600 million post-burn starting point. KEY FEATURES - First HIP-1/HIP-2 Implementation: PURR is the canonical reference token for Hyperliquid's native token standards, having stress-tested the framework before broader ecosystem deployment - Permanent On-Chain Liquidity: HIP-2 committed 400M PURR to the PURR/USDC order book as irremovable protocol liquidity — later burned, but representing a novel liquidity bootstrapping mechanism at launch - Zero-Gas Native Trading: PURR trades on HyperCore's native spot market with no gas fees and sub-second settlement, providing a user experience identical to centralized exchange spot trading - Deflationary Supply: Protocol-level fee burns ensure PURR's supply contracts over time as trading volume grows, creating passive deflationary pressure without active buyback programs - Free Airdrop Distribution: 500 million PURR were distributed proportionally to Hyperliquid points holders at launch, with no sale and no team allocation — a genuinely community-distributed initial supply TEAM AND BACKING PURR was launched directly by the Hyperliquid team as a proof-of-concept for the HIP-1 and HIP-2 standards. The Hyperliquid core team — led by Jeff Yan and other pseudonymous founders from quantitative trading and academic backgrounds — created PURR as part of the native token framework launch in April 2024. There is no independent team behind PURR, no VC backing, no treasury, and no foundation. The project operates autonomously through its HyperCore smart contracts and community. Hyperliquid itself raised no external venture capital for its initial development, relying on protocol revenues and internal capital to fund development — making PURR's backing indirect but anchored to one of the best-capitalized and most technically sophisticated teams in DeFi. TRACTION AND METRICS PURR launched in April 2024 as part of the HIP-1/HIP-2 framework debut. The total supply was set at 1 billion, with 500 million distributed to points holders and 400 million committed as HIP-2 Hyperliquidity (subsequently burned), leaving approximately 600 million as the initial circulating supply, which has been declining via fee burns since launch. Market capitalization is a function of price and circulating supply. CoinMarketCap tracked PURR at approximately $0.07 per token as of early 2026, implying a market cap in the range of $40–50 million at that price point on approximately 600 million circulating tokens. PURR is listed on CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap. It trades natively on Hyperliquid's spot market with high frequency given the platform's large active user base. PURR has achieved consistent mindshare within the Hyperliquid community as the de facto ecosystem meme coin, appearing in community discussions, influencer analyses, and comparative studies positioning it against other chain-native meme tokens (SHIB/ETH, BONK/SOL, TRUMP/SOL) as a proxy for Hyperliquid ecosystem valuation. COMPETITIVE POSITION PURR occupies a unique structural niche: it is neither a pure speculative memecoin nor a utility token, but rather the first fully native HyperCore token functioning as a cultural and liquidity-bootstrapping experiment. Its nearest ecosystem comparisons are other chain-native meme tokens — BONK on Solana, SHIB on Ethereum — though both of those were deployed by independent teams rather than the protocol's core developers. Within the Hyperliquid ecosystem, PURR competes for speculative attention with dozens of HIP-1 tokens that have launched since the standard was made available to third parties. However, PURR's first-mover advantage, direct Hyperliquid team origin, and established market infrastructure (existing order books, CoinGecko/CMC listings) give it a durable brand advantage over later entrants. It is the reference point against which all subsequent HyperCore spot tokens are measured. HYPERLIQUID INTEGRATION PURR's integration with Hyperliquid is total and fundamental — it exists exclusively on HyperCore, cannot be traded outside Hyperliquid's native infrastructure without bridging to HyperEVM or external chains, and its economic mechanics (fee burns, HIP-2 liquidity) are implemented at the protocol level. The token is the living demonstration of what HIP-1 and HIP-2 can achieve: instant on-chain order books, zero-gas trading, and self-sustaining liquidity for any asset. As Hyperliquid's HIP-3 upgrade expands the permissionless creation of new perp markets, PURR's spot market precedent becomes increasingly relevant — it validated the standard that HIP-3 builders now rely on for the spot token component of hybrid spot-perp deployments. RISKS AND CONSIDERATIONS PURR's most significant risk is the absence of utility and the structural limitation that meme coins impose on long-term value accrual. With no staking mechanism, no governance function, no revenue share, and no planned protocol integration, PURR's price is purely speculative and sentiment-driven. If Hyperliquid ecosystem excitement fades or user growth plateaus, PURR's price is likely to reflect that directly. The deflationary mechanism, while structurally sound, depends on sustained high trading volume on HyperCore — a volume decline reduces burn rate and undermines the deflationary thesis. Additionally, the free airdrop distribution concentrated PURR among early Hyperliquid power users who may be sophisticated traders with low conviction to hold through volatility, creating potential for large sell pressure during market downturns. Investors should understand that PURR is a memecoin in structural form and a protocol experiment in origin — its trajectory depends almost entirely on Hyperliquid's growth and community sentiment, not on independent product development or business fundamentals.

Choose HyperSwap if you...

• ✓Want a decentralized exchanges solution on HyperEVM
• ✓Prefer a verified and vetted protocol
• ✓Need features like DEX and AMM
• ✓Need: First and largest native DEX on HyperEVM — ~$57M TVL

Choose PURR if you...

• ✓Want a nfts & collectibles solution on HyperCore
• ✓Prefer a verified and vetted protocol
• ✓Need features like memecoin and HIP-1
• ✓Need: First native HIP-1 memecoin on Hyperliquid