Hey there, crypto enthusiasts! If you’ve been keeping an eye on the DeFi space, you’ve probably heard the buzz around Hyperliquid and its HyperEVM ecosystem. A recent post by Castle Labs on X dropped a goldmine of info, breaking down the ultimate guide to farming opportunities in this rapidly growing ecosystem. Written by @DeFiDerivatives, this guide dives deep into how you can position yourself early to potentially score big rewards, including $HYPE tokens and ecosystem payouts. Let’s break it down in a way that’s easy to digest, even if you’re new to DeFi farming.

Why Hyperliquid and HyperEVM Matter

Hyperliquid has been making waves since its massive airdrop in November 2024, where it distributed 31% of its $HYPE token supply to over 90,000 users. That airdrop was valued at a staggering $10.5 billion at its peak, with $HYPE tokens launching at $3.20 and soaring to $34. Fast forward to April 2025, and Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM—a layer for decentralized apps (dApps)—is live, offering fresh opportunities for early adopters. What’s exciting? There’s still 39% of the $HYPE supply unclaimed, worth nearly $4 billion at current valuations, potentially reserved for future participants.

While Hyperliquid’s perpetual futures (perps) trading platform has already built a loyal following, the HyperEVM app layer is where the real action is heating up. Liquidity is still thin, participation is low, and the market hasn’t fully caught on yet. This is your chance to get in early and farm rewards before the crowd rushes in. The Castle Labs post highlights 10 farming strategies across HyperEVM protocols, focusing on activities like lending, liquidity provision, and NFT holding that could qualify you for $HYPE rewards and native protocol tokens.

Top Farming Opportunities in the Hyperliquid Ecosystem

Let’s dive into the 10 farming strategies outlined in the guide. These protocols are live, have active reward campaigns, and are showing strong traction. Whether you’re a seasoned DeFi farmer or just starting out, there’s something here for everyone.

1. KittenSwap: The ve(3,3) DEX Powerhouse

KittenSwap is the leading decentralized exchange (DEX) on HyperEVM, using a ve(3,3) model—a mechanism that rewards long-term liquidity providers with fees, points, and governance power. It supports both stable and volatile token pairs and has the highest trading volume and total value locked (TVL) on HyperEVM. Recently, KittenSwap introduced concentrated liquidity pools, where you can choose specific price ranges to provide liquidity and earn boosted rewards—some pools offer up to 20x point multipliers!

Farming Strategy:

• Add liquidity to high-reward pools like PURR/HYPE or LHYPE/HYPE.
• Stake your liquidity provider (LP) tokens to earn points, which update weekly and determine your share of KittenSwap’s upcoming token launch.
• Boost your earnings by holding MechaCats NFTs: 1–9 NFTs give a 1.25x multiplier, while 500+ NFTs bump it to 1.5x. MechaCats holders also get 3% of the veKITTEN token supply at launch.

2. HypurrFi: Leveraged Lending with USDXL

HypurrFi is a leveraged lending platform where you can deposit assets like $HYPE and borrow USDXL, an overcollateralized stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. What’s cool about HypurrFi is that it routes its revenue into a reserve of tokenized U.S. Treasuries, making USDXL more stable over time. You can use USDXL to farm additional yield while keeping your $HYPE exposure.

Farming Strategy:

• Deposit $HYPE and borrow USDXL to unlock liquidity.
• Pair your borrowed USDXL with assets like HYPE or LHYPE on KittenSwap for high point multipliers.
• Simply holding or lending USDXL might also qualify you for future rewards—HypurrFi tracks activity in the background.

3. HyperLend: Lending with Active Points

HyperLend is the go-to lending protocol on HyperEVM, supporting assets like HYPE, stHYPE, and USDXL. It launched its public points program on April 7, 2025, rewarding users for lending, borrowing, and daily activity. HyperLend also powers other protocols like Harmonix and Felix, making it a key piece of the ecosystem’s liquidity infrastructure.

Farming Strategy:

• Supply assets like HYPE or USDXL right after a new epoch begins to maximize points (TVL caps apply).
• Borrow stables against your HYPE to boost your reward weight.
• Claim daily XP if you hold ≥100 points and have ≥$50 deposited—it compounds weekly into more points.
• Stack rewards by LPing borrowed assets on KittenSwap or HypurrFi.

4. Felix Protocol: Stablecoin Yield and Liquidations

Felix Protocol lets you mint feUSD, an overcollateralized stablecoin, by depositing HYPE. You can stake feUSD in stability pools to earn liquidation rewards or use it in LP positions for extra points. Felix’s points program goes live on April 13, 2025, at 12:00 PM UTC.

Farming Strategy:

• Deposit HYPE to mint feUSD.
• Stake feUSD in stability pools to earn discounted HYPE from liquidations.
• LP feUSD with pairs like feUSD/HYPE on KittenSwap for boosted multipliers.
• Use Felix across integrated protocols like HyperLend to stack rewards.

5. Mizu Labs: Auto-Farming Made Easy

Mizu Labs is a yield aggregator that automates farming across HyperEVM. It offers vaults for hypeETH and hypeBTC (liquid wrappers for ETH and BTC) and deploys your assets into high-yield protocols like HyperLend and HypurrFi. It’s perfect if you want exposure without constantly managing your positions.

Farming Strategy:

• Deposit ETH or BTC to receive hypeETH or hypeBTC.
• Deposit into Mizu vaults to earn rewards from up to eight protocols, including HyperLend and HypurrFi.
• Royco Markets has allocated 1–2% of each token’s supply to Mizu users—stacked rewards with minimal effort.

6. Drip.Trade: NFT Marketplace with Airdrop Potential

Drip.Trade is HyperEVM’s main NFT marketplace, hosting collections like HypioHL and MechaCats, which often come with point boosts or airdrop eligibility. While the post notes a "Rewards" tab hinting at future airdrops, a reply clarifies that Drip’s token, $JPEG, has already launched.

Farming Strategy:

• Buy and hold key NFT collections like Hypios (used by HyperLend) or MechaCats (KittenSwap multipliers).
• Stay active by trading, listing, and delisting NFTs—marketplace activity might count toward future rewards.

7. Hyperbeat: Passive Staking and Vaults

Hyperbeat is a validator and ecosystem fund that lets you stake HYPE and earn Hearts (points) while accessing vaults for ETH, BTC, and stables. It’s a hands-off way to farm across multiple protocols.

Farming Strategy:

• Stake HYPE with Hyperbeat’s validator to earn Hearts.
• Deposit into vaults via Royco Markets (e.g., HyperETH or HyperUSD with $11M TVL) to earn stacked rewards from partners like HyperLend.
• Rewards track automatically as new protocols join—no active management needed.

8. HyperSwap: Low-Slippage DEX

HyperSwap is a minimal-slippage DEX with an active points program (2.5M points over 5 weeks). It’s integrated with 20+ partner protocols, making it great for cross-protocol farming.

Farming Strategy:

• Provide liquidity and stake LP tokens to earn points based on pool size and volume.
• Swap regularly to earn activity-based points.
• LP in ecosystem pools like USDXL/feUSD for bonus emissions.
• Boost points by holding Hypio NFTs or using the referral system.

9. Looped HYPE: Passive Leverage with LHYPE

Looped HYPE wraps $HYPE into LHYPE, a rebasing token for passive leverage with no liquidations. It’s running an early adopter program, distributing 7% of its token supply to users who mint and hold LHYPE.

Farming Strategy:

• Mint LHYPE directly on the official site (don’t swap for it).
• Hold LHYPE for ≥8 weeks in a wallet, AMM pool (like KittenSwap’s 20x multiplier pools), or lending protocol.
• LP LHYPE across the ecosystem to stack rewards—no active management needed.

10. $HYPE Staking: The Low-Effort Option

Staking $HYPE on Hyperliquid is a simple way to earn yield and potentially qualify for airdrops. Validators like HypurrCollective x Nansen have already secured airdrops like $SENT and $TIME for stakers.

Farming Strategy:

• Move $HYPE to your staking account on Hyperliquid.
• Delegate to a validator like HypurrCollective x Nansen.
• Earn staking rewards and unlock airdrop eligibility based on your stake size.

Why You Should Care About HyperEVM Farming

The Hyperliquid ecosystem is still in its early stages, and the opportunities are massive. The first airdrop showed how rewarding early participation can be, and with $4 billion in $HYPE still up for grabs, the second wave could be just as lucrative. Protocols like KittenSwap, HypurrFi, and HyperLend are building the core infrastructure for what could become a major DeFi hub. Plus, the dual-incentive structure—earning both $HYPE and native protocol tokens—makes farming here especially attractive.

As the Castle Labs post points out, early activity on HyperEVM is “significantly mispriced” compared to its potential future value. If you missed the first Hyperliquid airdrop, this is your chance to get in on the ground floor. Start with one or two strategies that match your risk tolerance, whether it’s staking $HYPE for a low-effort approach or diving into leveraged lending with HypurrFi for higher rewards.

Final Thoughts

Hyperliquid and HyperEVM are proving to be a game-changer in DeFi, and the farming meta is just getting started. By jumping in now, you can position yourself for potential $HYPE rewards, native protocol tokens, and long-term gains as the ecosystem grows. Pick a strategy, start farming, and keep an eye on new protocols—there’s a lot more to come! What’s your favorite HyperEVM farming strategy? Let me know in the comments!