Valantis, the innovative modular decentralized exchange (DEX), announced this week that it had successfully acquired stHYPE in a bold move that will restructure the Hyperliquid ecosystem. It is the second-biggest liquid staking protocol on HyperEVM, securing its place within the growing liquid staking market.
Announced publicly on August 19, the transaction places stHYPE under Valantis Labs’ control as an important move towards integrated supply chains between staking and decentralized trading protocols. The total value locked (TVL) of stHYPE at around $180–200 million ranks it second on the leaderboard behind industry leader kHYPE at this time, with more than $1.3 billion in TVL.
Valantis’ acquisition of stHYPE is not just a purchase—it’s a statement. The move brings staking and DEX infrastructure onto a single cohesive platform. It allows deeper liquidity, new yield streams, and more seamless DeFi integration. More incentives will come after integration, like integrator bonuses to drive adoption faster and additional yield incentives to first adopters.
Liquid staking is at the heart of Hyperliquid’s protocol base, accounting for over 50% of its $2–2.7 billion DeFi TVL. With over 100 active protocols on top of HyperEVM since its February launch. It creates a leading, combined staking and DEX platform, which isn’t shrewd; it’s necessary.
Valantis already has a DEX pedigree under its belt. It’s separate LST-only pools for stHYPE and kHYPE hold up to nearly $70 million of TVL and well over $500 million of trading volume. And with stHYPE going all-in-house at Valantis. They can provide the most liquid liquidity and the most optimal pricing, uniquely without discounting market competition.
The acquisition isn’t just a strategic expansion; it’s a statement of intent. With kHYPE leading at over a billion dollars in TVL, Valantis aims to narrow the gap by supercharging stHYPE’s liquidity and utility. Deven Matthews, co-founder and CEO of Valantis Labs, highlighted that liquidity remains the single most critical factor in an asset’s DeFi success, suggesting stHYPE could reclaim its competitive edge under Valantis’ stewardship.
This deal follows a bigger trend within crypto, as small agile projects are being bought and enhanced by large infrastructure players, a model duplicated by recent deals by companies such as Stripe and Ripple.
Users also get benefits from smoother protocol interactions, smaller spreads, and increased yield opportunities as staking and trading are combined smoothly.
Liquidity providers also benefit from increased returns and adaptability with stHYPE’s modular progression. Hyperliquid protocols and developers might draw on a more standardized platform to ease integrations and open up new composability opportunities.
Valantis’ acquisition of stHYPE marks a significant milestone for liquid staking within Hyperliquid. It converts the staking-DEX axis into a full-stack approach, a position to provide deeper liquidity, highly scalable modularity, and higher returns. As Hyperliquid gains traction, everyone is waiting to see Valantis breathe new life into stHYPE and whether this aggressive move can turn the tables within the LST war.
