Hyperliquid’s Hypurr cats reward early users, stir NFT buzz
Early Hyperliquid users were rewarded on Sunday with airdropped Hypurr NFTs (a free distribution for early users) – the free cats are fetching eye‑watering sums.
By Monday, the collection’s floor price (lowest listing) hovered around ~1,460 HYPE (Hyperliquid’s native token; ≈ $68–69K) and one rare piece, Hypurr #21, changed hands for 9,999 HYPE (≈ $467K), according to OpenSea data and project posts.
Hypurr launched on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid’s general‑purpose smart‑contract layer, as a thank‑you to early adopters. Most allocations went to participants in last November’s Genesis event tied to the launch of the HYPE token. In total, the collection includes 4,600 NFTs: 4,313 allocated to Genesis participants, 144 to the Hyper Foundation, and 143 to developers and artists.
Trading was immediate and heavy. OpenSea showed roughly 952,000 HYPE in turnover since the drop (about $45M at current prices). Outliers with scarce traits commanded much more. The standout so far, Hypurr #21 with “Knight Ghost Armor” and “Knight Helm Ghost,” sold for 9,999 HYPE.
Demand brewed even before mint. OTC desks enabled pre‑arranged deals via platforms like DripTrade, letting buyers and sellers lock a price ahead of the airdrop with collateral and a post‑mint settlement window; some of those pre‑deals reportedly cleared near $88,000.
The market action rekindled the debate about NFTs’ comeback. After a long lull since 2021’s peak, a free airdrop commanding mid‑five‑figure floors grabbed attention across Crypto Twitter. Some users highlighted the contrast with day‑to‑day economic pressures, while recipients said they would watch price discovery before deciding whether to hold or sell.
The collection depicts cartoon cat avatars with varied traits and was billed by the Hyper Foundation as a community memento for those who “believed in and contributed early” to Hyperliquid’s growth. The project stresses that no specific utility is promised: benefits or features may be associated from time to time, but they are not guaranteed under the terms published by the foundation.
Hyperliquid is a perpetuals‑first Layer‑1; its EVM layer hosts general‑purpose apps like NFTs.
