IOSG Sees Crypto Attention Shift Toward Trading and Stablecoins

IOSG Ventures says crypto industry attention is moving from new-token narratives toward trading and stablecoin infrastructure, with Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 markets posting $64.7 billion in 30-day volume through Oct. 20.

HIP-3 markets recorded about $665 billion in cumulative trading volume since launching Oct. 13, 2025. The 30-day total amounted to about 27% of Hyperliquid’s trading volume. Stocks and pre-IPO contracts accounted for about 62% of HIP-3 volume in July 2026.

HIP-3 lets outside operators launch perpetual futures markets on Hyperliquid and set their oracles and contract specifications. The markets provide derivatives exposure to referenced assets, so their trading volume does not mean participants bought the underlying stocks or commodities. It measures trading turnover, not how much new capital entered the market.

IOSG described traditional financial firms at Korea Blockchain Week in Seoul and TOKEN2049 in Singapore as focused on stablecoins, custody and tokenization. It said crypto-native participants were paying more attention to perpetual decentralized exchanges and prediction markets. Those observations reflect IOSG’s account of conference conversations, not a survey of investment flows.

IOSG also described AI agents as a conference theme, while characterizing their current onchain trading activity as small.

Grass’ reported revenue figures illustrate a measurement discrepancy. Its July recap listed $17 million in first-half 2026 revenue in a table and $18 million in its closing summary. Revenue for Jan. 1 through June 30 was $14.53 million, with $11.35 million substantiated by cash receipts. The remaining $3.176 million was associated with signed work orders and invoice or payment timing, or a noncash transaction; the calculation did not classify it as an overstatement. The engagement was due diligence, not an audit, review or other assurance engagement.

IOSG’s conference account points to areas of interest, while the HIP-3 figures measure derivatives activity. Neither establishes a marketwide shift in crypto capital flows.