MiCA isn’t reducing leverage demand in Europe, it’s just forcing it to relocate. Traders don’t stop using leverage because of regulation, they route to wherever execution is still efficient. That’s the part people are underestimating.
Hyperliquid already sitting at 9.4% of aggregate CEX open interest isn’t a narrative stat, it’s evidence that meaningful risk is already migrating on-chain.
At that point, this stops being a demand question and becomes a venue competition problem. CEXs introduce more friction, while on chain perps remove it. Flow follows execution.
I think people still treat Hyperliquid as an alternative infrastructure, but it’s increasingly looking like the primary liquidity sink for displaced leverage.
In 2026, the real chart isn’t price, it’s OI share dominance.