Hyperliquid’s recent rally and renewed momentum in AI-focused crypto projects are signaling a broader return of risk appetite across the altcoin market, according to analyst Michael van de Poppe.
He noted that Hyperliquid has been one of the strongest performers in the market, with traders rotating back into higher-risk assets. The platform’s HYPE token recently hit a new all-time high following the launch of two HYPE ETFs in the United States.
Van de Poppe also pointed out growing adoption among European traders, who have increasingly turned to Hyperliquid due to limited access to perpetual futures trading on regulated exchanges in the region. He added that the protocol’s expansion into tokenized stocks, commodities, and pre-IPO assets is further reinforcing the broader trend toward real-world asset tokenization in crypto markets.
He suggested that if current momentum continues, HYPE could potentially rise toward $100 or beyond. He shared these views during an appearance on CoinDesk’s Markets Outlook with Jennifer Sanasie.
Despite his short-term optimism on Hyperliquid, van de Poppe expressed stronger long-term conviction in Solana. He said liquidity is increasingly concentrating around a small number of high-performing protocols with strong user growth and revenue generation.
According to him, Hyperliquid is currently benefiting from this liquidity concentration, but he warned that rising competition could eventually challenge its dominance. In contrast, he described Solana as evolving from a retail-driven “degen” ecosystem into a more institutional-grade blockchain network, making it a stronger long-term infrastructure play.
On artificial intelligence-related crypto assets, van de Poppe said AI tokens remain significantly undervalued compared to traditional AI companies. He highlighted NEAR and Bittensor as key infrastructure plays positioned to benefit from growing AI adoption within crypto.
He also argued that valuations in traditional AI equities have become overheated, while AI tokens have lagged despite continued ecosystem development. He noted that NEAR’s projected revenue growth—from around $10 million in 2025 to as much as $100 million this year—could justify a higher valuation.
For Bittensor, he said continued subnet expansion and ecosystem growth could support valuations implying prices between $1,000 and $2,000 if adoption accelerates.
On privacy, van de Poppe said it remains one of crypto’s most important long-term narratives, but fully anonymous systems face increasing regulatory resistance. He noted that both retail and institutional participants are demanding greater on-chain privacy, but regulators are unlikely to support fully untraceable systems.
He added that European funds already face restrictions when interacting with certain privacy-focused assets, and pointed instead to zero-knowledge proofs and permissioned privacy models as more realistic solutions for institutional adoption.
From a macroeconomic standpoint, van de Poppe said bond yields and central bank policy remain the key short-term drivers for crypto markets. He highlighted Japanese government bond yields as an especially important signal for global risk sentiment.
He added that declining yields could support both equities and crypto markets, while persistent inflation would weigh on risk assets. He also said he does not expect aggressive rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve in the near term, warning that any renewed rate hikes would likely pressure crypto and broader markets.
