HYPE hits all-time high of $59.30 as short squeeze burns $33.5M in bearish bets!

Hyperliquid's native token HYPE surged to a record $59.30 on Thursday, punishing a crowded short trade that had built up against the rally. The long/short ratio sat at just 0.89 — more accounts were shorting HYPE than going long for the first time since January — and funding rates had flipped negative, signalling the crowd was actively fading the move. That bet backfired: $33.5 million in short positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours against just $2 million on the long side.

The squeeze isn't running on thin air. Hyperliquid has generated over $896 million in protocol revenue over the past 12 months, with 97% of trading fees funnelled back into HYPE buybacks — a structural support mechanism that keeps constant buy pressure on the token.

Institutional tailwinds are adding fuel. 21Shares and Bitwise launched U.S.-listed Hyperliquid ETFs on Nasdaq on May 12, pulling in over $5…