Pump.fun Just Launched Futures on Hyperliquid. Better Buy: HYPE or Solana?

Pump.fun, widely recognized as a leading meme coin launchpad on Solana (CRYPTO:SOL), has introduced perpetual futures powered by Hyperliquid (CRYPTO:HYPE), according to Santiment’s trending data on October 16, 2026. Santiment also noted that about 74% of social media posts about HYPE were positive, suggesting HYPE holders view the launch as beneficial for the coin.

Both cryptocurrencies have declined over the past week. HYPE is trading at about $79, down 7.1% over the week, while SOL is around $104, down 5.7%.

In this analysis of HYPE vs Solana, the question remains. Which coin stands to gain more from Pump.fun sending its futures traders to Hyperliquid?

Pump.fun’s Perpetual Futures Run on Hyperliquid’s Order Books

A perpetual future is a contract that tracks a coin’s price without an expiration date, letting traders hold positions as long as they have enough collateral. Pump.fun integrated these contracts into its app on October 16.

Hyperliquid facilitates the markets, and Pump.fun connects through Hyperliquid’s builder codes, letting external apps place user orders in Hyperliquid’s order books while keeping a portion of transaction fees. Hyperliquid’s HyperCore engine then matches trades and manages liquidations, the forced closures of positions with insufficient collateral.

This means Pump.fun users can engage in futures trading without leaving the app they already use for meme coins, while Pump.fun collects a builder fee for each perpetual trade processed through Hyperliquid, as detailed on its fee page. However, this product is not available in the U.S. or Ontario, and futures data first appeared in Pump.fun’s API around October 9.

Pump.fun Follows Ripple Prime in Sending Trades to Hyperliquid

Pump.fun’s launched just one day after Ripple Prime launched swaps for institutional clients on October 15. These swaps cover over 100 stock and commodity perpetual markets on Hyperliquid, powered by Trade.xyz, as we previously reported.

The additional volume from Pump.fun’s futures is likely to benefit HYPE holders, as Hyperliquid uses a significant portion of its fee revenue to buy back HYPE on the open market, reducing circulating supply. So far, Hyperliquid has repurchased $1.26 billion worth of its tokens.

HYPE hit an all-time high of $97.96 on September 23 and is trading about 19.2% below that peak, remaining the closest large coin to its record. It ranks 11th by market capitalization.

However, HYPE holders should be cautious about dilution risk. Approximately 222 million HYPE tokens are in circulation out of a maximum supply of 1 billion, meaning future token releases could add selling pressure that buybacks would need to offset.

Solana Faces No Direct Benefits From Pump.fun’s Launch

Although Pump.fun is a prominent launchpad in Solana’s ecosystem, its shift to Hyperliquid for futures offerings does not directly increase demand for SOL. Trading from Pump.fun now matches and settles on Hyperliquid, implying that fees from the new trading activity benefit Hyperliquid’s buybacks and Pump.fun’s builder fees, rather than SOL.

Additionally, Solana trades from a less favorable position. It peaked at $293 on January 19, 2025, but trades 64.5% below that peak. Although SOL has risen 36.9% over the past 60 days, climbing from around $76, it remains down 15.4% for 2026.

Investor Jordi Visser mentioned Solana trading at $121 during The Pomp Podcast on September 26, stating, “I think these are all signs that money is looking into the space.” However, SOL has since dropped about 14%.

ETF investors are stepping back as well. U.S. spot Solana ETFs, which directly hold the coin and trade like stocks, experienced net outflows on every session from October 8 to October 15, according to SoSoValue, with approximately $9.8 million withdrawn on October 15 alone. These outflows weigh on SOL’s climb up the market-cap rankings from seventh place.

Is HYPE a Better Investment Than Solana After Pump.fun’s Launch?

In evaluating HYPE vs Solana, HYPE is positioned more favorably. Both Pump.fun and Ripple Prime are funneling trading activity into Hyperliquid’s order books, converting fee revenue into buybacks, while Solana doesn’t benefit from the new futures volume and continues to see ETF holders depart. Nonetheless, HYPE buyers face dilution risk from the 778 million tokens yet to circulate, so buybacks must keep pace with any new supply.

For HYPE, new volume must first show up in Hyperliquid’s fee revenue before HYPE can reclaim its record high of $97.96, about 24% above its current price. If HYPE stalls below its October 16 high of about $82, traders may have already factored in the news. SOL may show signs of a turnaround with a session of net inflows into U.S. spot Solana ETFs, followed by a recovery to $121, the price Visser cited.

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