Hyperliquid Launches Native Staking on Mainnet, $344M in HYPE Tokens Staked
Hyperliquid, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, has officially rolled out native staking on its mainnet, offering token holders the opportunity to earn rewards by securing the network.
Key Highlights:
- Native Staking Launch: Users can now stake HYPE tokens on the mainnet, with 16 validators available for selection.
- Validator Metrics: Stakers can choose validators based on metrics like uptime, commission, reputation, and community contributions.
- Total Staked: As of Dec. 30, $344 million worth of HYPE tokens have been staked, representing a total value of over $9 billion.
Hyperliquid offers decentralized trading for crypto assets. In December, the protocol reached a significant milestone, generating over $12 billion in trading volume and $8.6 million in cumulative revenue, according to DefiLlama.
Staking and Rewards:
By staking tokens, users lock them up to help validate transactions and secure the blockchain, earning rewards in return, typically in the form of additional tokens.
HYPE Token Surge:
Since the launch of its native token airdrop in late November, Hyperliquid has distributed 310 million HYPE tokens (31% of the total supply) to its community. HYPE’s price has surged from around $3.90 on Nov. 29 to about $26.80 at the time of writing.
The remaining 38.8% of the token supply is allocated for future emissions and community rewards, with 6% reserved for the Hyper Foundation treasury, 0.3% for grants, and 23.8% for core contributors, locked for a year.
DeFi Market Growth:
In December, decentralized exchanges saw a record-high monthly trading volume of $462 billion, driven largely by expectations of a more favorable regulatory environment in the US by 2025.
Taxation on Staking Rewards:
The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) recently reaffirmed its stance that rewards earned from staking activities are considered taxable income upon receipt, not new property. This clarification was issued in response to a lawsuit over tax on staking earnings, where the IRS classified block rewards as “income” based on their market value at creation.
Additionally, IRS final regulations disclosed on Dec. 27 classify front-end protocols facilitating crypto trading as brokers, requiring them to report gross proceeds from transactions and disclose taxpayer details.
Despite these challenges, Hyperliquid continues to thrive, solidifying its position in the DeFi ecosystem.
