Arthur Hayes Bets On The Underdog — Why He's Eyeing Synapse Over HYPE For 'Outsized Upside'

• Arthur Hayes said he is seeking "asymmetry" within the Hyperliquid ecosystem and identified Hypercall as a potential challenger to options giant Deribit.
• SYN surged more than 21% over the past 24 hours after Hayes highlighted the token, while Hyperliquid's native token HYPE traded largely unchanged near $62.
• The comments come days after Multicoin Capital projected HYPE could reach roughly $319 by 2028.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said he is looking to buy a peripheral Hyperliquid ecosystem token for outsized upside, flagging an options exchange he believes could challenge derivatives venue Deribit.

Hayes said late Sunday that he still wanted to be long the Hyperliquid ecosystem, "but I need some asymmetry." He pointed to Hypercall, an options decentralized exchange tied to the Synapse (SYN) token, as a potential challenger to Deribit, writing that it was "time for an options dex to properly take on" the incumbent.

The token Hayes highlighted has already seen a sharp run. SYN’s price was up over 21% during the past 24 hours. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around SYN remained in the ‘extremely bullish’ zone, while chatter around it stayed at ‘extremely high’ levels over the past day.

HYPE Trades Flat

Hayes' interest in an ecosystem token rather than HYPE itself comes as the native token has stalled.

HYPE’s price traded near $64, up over 3% during the past 24 hours. On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment around HYPE remained in the ‘extremely bearish’ zone, while chatter around it shifted to ‘low’ from ‘extremely low’ over the past day.

Hayes' focus on SYN rather than HYPE reflects his search for higher-risk, higher-reward opportunities within the Hyperliquid ecosystem.

A Bullish Case For HYPE

The post follows a detailed bullish valuation of Hyperliquid published last week by venture firm Multicoin Capital, which holds HYPE as one of the largest positions in its liquid fund. Analysts projected Hyperliquid could generate about $8 billion in annual earnings by 2028, implying a HYPE price of roughly $319 at a 20x multiple.

Multicoin called HYPE one of the cleanest token designs in crypto, noting that about 99% of protocol revenue is used to buy back the token, which is then effectively removed from circulation, with no separate equity layer above it. 

The firm compared Hyperliquid's trajectory to Binance's (BNB) early years, when the exchange went from an upstart to a dominant venue in roughly six months, while cautioning that risks around decentralization, governance, regulation, and competition remain.

The report said Hyperliquid generated about $873 million in revenue across roughly $2.9 trillion in trading volume in 2025, and now controls more than 59% of open interest across decentralized finance (DeFi) perpetual markets.

Read also: Bullish Cracks Open Tokenized Securities Trading With Gibraltar Green Light — A Regulated First

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