Layer-1 blockchain HyperLiquid, known for its decentralized derivatives exchange, opened up native staking for holders of its HYPE token, according to a Monday post on X.

Stakers can select which validator to stake tokens with and will accrue rewards in return for securing the network. At launch, HyperLiquid staked 300 million tokens ($8.4 billion), and another 7 million tokens were added by users in the first hour. The tokens are staked across 16 validators.

Locked tokens bound by a vesting schedule can be staked, but rewards that accrue will remain locked.

Introduction of staking comes one month after the HYPE token was issued. It debuted at $3.57 and has since risen to $27.89, CoinMarketCap shows.

HYPE now has a market cap of $9.2 billion, pushing it into the top 20 largest tokens after overtaking bitcoin cash (BCH), pepe (PEPE) and litecoin (LTC).

The exchange has racked up $2.64 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours, with DefiLlama reporting that it is making more than $1 million per day in revenue.