Kinetiq and kHYPE explained: the team behind Elysium
Kinetiq is a liquid-staking protocol on Hyperliquid. Its token kHYPE represents HYPE that has been staked with Hyperliquid validators: you deposit HYPE, receive kHYPE, keep earning staking rewards, and can still use kHYPE across DeFi.
Why liquid staking matters on Hyperliquid
Staked HYPE secures the chain and earns rewards, but plain staking locks the tokens. kHYPE makes that position liquid — it can be lent, used as collateral, or traded, while the underlying HYPE keeps staking. Kinetiq grew into one of the largest holders of staked HYPE this way.
From staking to a chain
In 2026 Kinetiq announced Elysium, a Layer-2 that settles to HyperEVM and uses HYPE for gas. The logic: Kinetiq already sits at the center of HYPE's capital flows; a fast, cheap execution layer where builders can ship without competing for HyperEVM blockspace keeps that activity inside the Hyperliquid economy — and routes fees back to it.
Elysium's testnet opened in October 2026 and filled with launchpads within weeks. Public mainnet is scheduled for November 9, 2026.
Kinetiq's own pieces on Elysium
- Ascend — the launchpad Kinetiq partners with, launching on mainnet day.
- Official RPC, explorer and bridge — arriving with the public launch.
- KNTQ — Kinetiq's token, already trading.
What this means if you trade on Elysium
Gas is HYPE, so you'll always want a little HYPE on the chain. Many Elysium apps also accept kHYPE or pair against USDC. And because the chain is young, most activity is launchpad coins — which is what ElyScreener tracks.
See also: Hyperliquid vs HyperEVM vs Elysium.
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