Valantis DEX acquires stHYPE as Hyperliquid staking heats up

Valantis has taken a decisive step in the liquid staking market with its acquisition of stHYPE, the second-largest staking protocol on Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM.

Announced on Aug. 19, the deal unifies stHYPE under the Valantis ecosystem. It sets the stage for expanded yield opportunities, deeper liquidity, and a stronger roadmap for Hyperliquid’s (HYPE) decentralized finance environment.

Integration and roadmap

Following the acquisition, Valantis takes complete control of stHYPE’s development, operations, and communication. The shift begins with a foundation phase where stHYPE is migrated to CoreWriter, a system designed to enhance security and transparency by enabling improved monitoring of off-chain infrastructure.

Community incentives will also expand through integrator rewards, ensuring stHYPE continues to be widely adopted across Hyperliquid’s protocols. In the second phase, stHYPE will be transformed into a modular liquid staking token that can support multiple staking addresses and allow new permissionless interactions between DeFi and staking applications.

This modular base is expected to connect staking with trading, lending, and HyperCore’s derivatives markets, giving liquidity providers more ways to participate from a single HYPE deposit.

Hyperliquid staking landscape

stHYPE enters this new chapter at a time of growing competition within Hyperliquid. kHYPE, which commands over a billion dollars in total value locked, has surpassed it as the dominant LST.  

Through the acquisition of stHYPE, Valantis hopes to close that gap by transforming its DEX into a hub for liquidity that vertically integrates trading and staking. The strategy also expands the scope of STEX pools, which already support efficient swaps and lending market integrations without waiting through staking withdrawal queues.

Hyperliquid’s liquid staking market appears to be changing, with protocols now competing not only on staking yields but also on depth of liquidity, DeFi integration, and the range of services provided. Valantis sees the merger with stHYPE as an opportunity to gain a stronger presence in a market that continues to attract new participants and innovations.