Sand to Gold: Finding Long-Term Investment Gems That Survive Bull and Bear Cycles (Part 3)

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In the world of crypto, even during prolonged bear markets—especially in the so-called "altcoin winter"—investing in projects with strong fundamentals can yield alpha returns that outperform Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). This final installment of our series dives into two standout projects with robust underlying value: Metaplex and Hyperliquid. These are not just speculative plays but foundational protocols serving real user demand across Solana’s ecosystem and decentralized derivatives trading.

We’ve previously covered lending giants like Aave, Morpho, and MakerDAO; staking leaders such as Lido and Jito; and trading platforms including Uniswap and Jupiter. Now, we shift focus to infrastructure and service layers—critical yet often overlooked components powering the next wave of on-chain innovation.

4. Digital Asset Infrastructure: Metaplex

What Is Metaplex?

Metaplex is a digital asset creation, management, and distribution protocol built on Solana and other SVM-compatible blockchains. It provides developers, creators, and enterprises with standardized tools to issue and manage various types of assets—including NFTs, fungible tokens (FTs), real-world assets (RWA), DePIN tokens, and game items—in a decentralized way.

At its core, Metaplex offers two major service categories:

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Over 90% of NFTs and fungible tokens on Solana are created using Metaplex, making it the de facto standard for digital assets in the ecosystem.

Business Model & Revenue Streams

Metaplex generates revenue primarily through:

While not all services are monetized, paid offerings include premium features for high-volume issuers and enterprise clients. Currently, most income comes from the MPL (Metaplex Program Library) side, with Aura still in early adoption.

Key Performance Metrics

Two critical indicators define Metaplex’s health: asset minting volume and protocol revenue.

Shift from NFTs to Fungible Tokens

Historically dominated by NFTs (around 80% in early 2024), Metaplex has seen a dramatic shift. By mid-2024, over 90% of assets minted were FTs, largely driven by the explosive growth of Solana-based meme coins.

This pivot means Metaplex's performance is now closely tied to meme coin activity—a double-edged sword reflecting both opportunity and volatility.

Monthly Minting Volume

From September 2024 onward, minting activity surged, peaking at over 2.3 million assets in January 2025, before declining to around 960,000 by March. This trajectory mirrors the rise and fall of meme coin trading热度 on Solana.

Protocol Revenue

Revenue followed a similar path:

Despite the drop, this revenue is organic—driven by actual user demand rather than artificial incentives.

Metaplex did run a $1 million liquidity incentive program (with Orca, Kamino, and Jito) from January to early March 2025 to boost MPLX token liquidity, but no ongoing subsidies exist.

Competitive Edge

As the original digital asset standard on Solana, Metaplex enjoys first-mover advantage and deep integration across wallets, marketplaces, and DeFi protocols.

Its key advantages include:

Additionally, Aura Network represents a strategic expansion into data infrastructure—an adjacent market with strong synergy. Given that Aura serves the same developer base, adoption could accelerate rapidly.

Challenges Ahead

Despite its strengths, Metaplex faces risks:

Long-term sustainability will depend on diversifying beyond speculative token launches into areas like RWA tokenization or institutional-grade asset issuance.

Valuation Insights

The native token, MPLX, has a total supply of 1 billion. Its utility includes governance and a share in future buybacks.

Since March 2024, Metaplex has committed to using 50% of protocol revenue to repurchase MPLX (though execution varies between 10,000–12,000 SOL monthly). These tokens go into the treasury for ecosystem development.

With no direct competitors, valuation is assessed via market cap to monthly revenue ratio. As of Q1 2025, this ratio sits near historic lows—reflecting market skepticism about Solana’s asset issuance outlook.

5. Hyperliquid: A High-Flying Derivatives Chain Under Pressure

Overview

Hyperliquid is one of the few genuinely innovative projects launched in the current cycle. It operates as a full-stack platform combining:

While all three components are live, derivatives remain its dominant product.

Core Metrics: Trading Volume & Open Interest

Launched in June 2023, Hyperliquid gained traction after introducing a points program in November 2024 and distributing its $HYPE token via airdrop at year-end.

Results were explosive:

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However, recent security incidents have caused funds to dip from $2.5B to $1.8B.

Spot Market Expansion

Initially limited to native assets (mostly $HYPE), Hyperliquid introduced **uBTC**, a decentralized BTC spot solution, in February 2025. Daily BTC trading now averages $20–50 million—modest compared to overall spot volume (~$200M daily).

The chain also uses a decentralized listing model (HIP-1) where anyone can bid for token listing rights. Listing fees peaked at nearly $1 million in December 2024 but have since fallen to ~$50,000 amid reduced altcoin enthusiasm.

HyperEVM: The EVM Compatibility Layer

Launched in Alpha on February 18, 2025, and integrated with HyperCore by March 26, HyperEVM aims to attract Ethereum-native projects.

Yet progress has been slow. Without major protocol launches or bridge improvements—and lacking incentives—HyperEVM ranks around #20 in TVL and transaction volume.

Revenue & Tokenomics

All platform income—from trading fees and listing auctions—is used to:

  1. Compensate HLP (Hyperliquid Liquidity Providers)
  2. Repurchase $HYPE via the Assistance Fund (AF)

In the last 30 days alone, Hyperliquid generated $42.05 million in revenue, placing it behind only Tether, Circle, and Tron—and ahead of Ethereum and Solana among chains.

Crucially, unlike most protocols, this revenue directly benefits token holders through buybacks.

Competitive Landscape

In decentralized derivatives, Hyperliquid leads by a wide margin:

Its competitive edge stems from:

  1. Order book model: Offers CEX-like experience with tight spreads.
  2. Aggressive listing policy: First to launch pre-launch token futures and pure DEX token contracts.
  3. Ultra-low fees: Effective rate of ~0.0225%, far below GMX (~0.1%).

Combined with strong team execution (10–20 members delivering three major products in under two years), Hyperliquid has built significant brand equity and liquidity depth—key moats in trading markets.

Risks & Vulnerabilities

Despite success, serious challenges remain:

1. Protocol Design Flaws

Two major incidents highlight systemic risks:

These expose a deeper issue: full transparency of positions + HLP as default counterparty = exploitable attack surface. As long as these mechanics persist, future attacks remain possible.

2. Security Concerns

Most funds reside in an Arbitrum bridge contract. A prior test by North Korean hackers briefly drained funds from $2.2B to $1.9B—highlighting ongoing threats.

3. HyperEVM Delays

Much of $HYPE’s valuation assumes success as an L1. If HyperEVM lags further, investor confidence may wane—especially since L1 valuations typically exceed those of standalone exchanges.

Valuation Analysis

Using a P/S framework:

Compared to peers like GMX or ApolloX, Hyperliquid appears fairly valued among derivatives platforms—but cheaper than typical L1s.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Why should I care about infrastructure projects like Metaplex?
A: They form the backbone of ecosystems like Solana. Even if users don’t interact directly, nearly every NFT or token relies on their standards—making them silent value generators.

Q: Is Metaplex too dependent on meme coins?
A: Yes—currently over 90% of its activity comes from FT mints linked to memes. While profitable now, long-term resilience depends on expanding into RWAs, gaming, or enterprise use cases.

Q: Can Hyperliquid sustain its high revenue?
A: Its order book model and low fees drive volume—but security flaws and reliance on HLP solvency pose risks. Continued innovation and risk management will be crucial.

Q: How does Hyperliquid’s transparency affect traders?
A: Full visibility into positions aids market efficiency but enables front-running or coordinated attacks—especially when HLP acts as counterparty.

Q: Are MPLX and HYPE good investments?
A: Both have strong fundamentals but carry sector-specific risks. MPLX depends on Solana’s health; HYPE hinges on Hyperliquid’s ability to secure its system and grow HyperEVM.

Q: What makes these projects different from typical DeFi apps?
A: They’re not just financial protocols—they’re foundational layers enabling entire categories of applications (digital assets, derivatives). This gives them broader impact and stickier adoption.

Core Keywords

Metaplex, Hyperliquid, Solana, decentralized derivatives, digital asset standard, MPLX, HYPE, blockchain infrastructure

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