HYPE hits record high as Hyperliquid opens borrowing to token holders

Hyperliquid launched manual borrowing on 18 September 2026, letting users pledge HYPE or Bitcoin as collateral for USDC or USDT stablecoins. Users borrowed $269 million on the first day, and the HYPE token climbed to a record high above $90.

Key facts

• Hyperliquid launched manual borrowing on 18 September 2026, using HYPE or Bitcoin as collateral.
• Users borrowed $269 million in USDC and USDT stablecoins on the first day.
• The HYPE token climbed to a record high above $90 during the launch week.

Hyperliquid opens manual borrowing against crypto collateral

Hyperliquid launched a manual borrowing feature on 18 September 2026. The decentralised finance (DeFi) platform now lets users pledge HYPE or Bitcoin as collateral and borrow the stablecoins USDC or USDT. Collateral is an asset a borrower locks to secure a loan. The option added direct lending to a network best known for perpetual futures trading. Perpetual futures let traders bet on price moves without owning the underlying asset. It gives token holders a way to raise stablecoin liquidity without selling their positions. Users open each borrow manually and choose how much to draw against the assets they lock.

Borrowers drew $269 million on launch day

Users borrowed $269 million in stablecoins on the first day of the feature. The launch-day total showed how quickly users adopted the new lending option. The figure pointed to early demand for lending against HYPE and Bitcoin holdings. Hyperliquid opened the option to holders who wanted cash-equivalent funds while keeping their tokens. Borrowers can direct the USDC or USDT they draw toward other positions on the network. Both stablecoins track the US dollar, and Tether issues USDT.

Collateral terms set the limits on each loan

According to reporting on the launch, the borrowing terms differ by collateral type. HYPE holders can borrow up to 65% of their token value, with liquidation triggered at an 82.5% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. Bitcoin collateral caps at 50%, with liquidation set at 75%. Liquidation means the platform sells collateral to repay a loan when its value falls too far. The lower limit on Bitcoin reflects its role as the more conservative option.

HYPE token set a record high above $90

The HYPE token climbed to a record high above $90 as the borrowing feature went live. Demand for the token rose alongside the product launch, and the price extended gains through the week. Hyperliquid runs its own layer-1 blockchain and grew through its trading products. Reporting around the launch put the network's total value locked near $7 billion, ranking it among the busiest blockchains by that measure.

HYPE price at time of publication

HYPE traded at $90.73 at the time of publication, down 2.33% over the past 24 hours but up 15.5% over the past seven days (CoinPaprika, 20 September 2026). The token reached an all-time high of $94.45 on 19 September 2026 and sat 3.84% below that peak. It first began trading in December 2024, and its recent climb set a new record. Its market value stood near $20.2 billion, with about $228 million in trading volume over the previous 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 20 September 2026).

Borrowing draws from suppliers, not platform margin

Hyperliquid said each borrowed asset comes from a supplier rather than from platform-level margin accounting. The feature runs on the same HyperCore infrastructure that supports the network's portfolio-margin system. Hyperliquid described the borrows as manual, meaning users open the positions directly. The design keeps lending funded by other participants instead of credit created by the platform. That structure ties each loan to supplied liquidity on the network.