Former Head of PR at Chainlink Labs Joins Hyperliquid's Lobbying Group as Chief Communications Officer

Latest data from prediction market platform Predict.fun shows that in the "Next NVIDIA CEO" prediction market, Arm CEO Rene Haas has risen to first place with a 36% probability, overtaking NVIDIA Vice President of High-Performance Computing Ian Buck, who holds the second spot with 26%. NVIDIA’s interim CEO and CFO Colette Kress ranks third with 13%. Earlier, the Financial Times cited people familiar with the matter reporting that NVIDIA’s board has approached Rene Haas, CEO of SoftBank-owned British chip design firm Arm, while searching for a permanent successor to Jensen Huang. Haas is one of several potential candidates, and it remains unclear whether NVIDIA will formally extend an offer, or whether Haas will accept it. Arm declined to comment, while NVIDIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Haas spent roughly seven years at NVIDIA, serving as Vice President and General Manager of Computing Products. According to sources familiar with the matter, more than a decade after leaving NVIDIA, he still maintains good relations with Jensen Huang and some NVIDIA board members. Haas joined Arm in 2013, initially leading global sales and marketing, later becoming President of the IP Products Group, and has served as Arm CEO and Director since February 2022. Per the platform’s rules, the interim CEO appointment is not factored into the settlement; if NVIDIA does not announce a permanent successor by 23:59 ET on December 31, 2028, the "No Change" option will win, and this does not mean Jensen Huang will remain in or return to his role.

According to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, Nvidia’s board of directors has approached Rene Haas, CEO of SoftBank-owned UK chip design firm Arm, as it seeks a formal successor to Jensen Huang. Haas is one of multiple potential candidates. It remains unclear whether Nvidia will extend a formal offer, or whether Haas will accept. Arm declined to comment, while Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Haas worked at Nvidia for around seven years, serving as vice president and general manager of its computing products business. More than a decade after leaving Nvidia, he still maintains good relations with Jensen Huang and some Nvidia directors, per the insiders. Haas joined Arm in 2013, initially overseeing global sales and marketing before becoming president of its IP Products Group. He has served as Arm’s CEO and a director since February 2022. On November 12, Nvidia announced that Jensen Huang had resigned as president, CEO, and director, effective immediately. Colette Kress is currently acting as interim CEO while retaining her role as chief financial officer, until a formal successor is appointed. Nvidia’s board stated it will consider both internal and external candidates.

Hyperliquid Research Collective’s third-quarter report shows that as of the end of September, Hyperliquid’s derivatives open interest hit a record $16.8 billion, nearly 80% higher than the end of June, surpassing Bybit, Kraken, and OKX. Among Hyperliquid and the eight other major exchanges tracked in the report, its open interest share rose from 9.6% to 11.7%. Trading activity is also rebounding: Hyperliquid’s native perpetual contracts monthly trading volume climbed from $109.5 billion in July to over $188 billion in September, with a record quarterly average daily number of traders of 65,161. Stock-linked perpetual contracts saw 161% growth in the third quarter to $153.8 billion, outperforming commodity contracts. These contracts are deployed by third parties via the HIP-3 mechanism. Hyperliquid’s third-quarter protocol revenue was approximately $191 million, up 21.7% quarter-over-quarter but down 36.5% year-over-year. USDC reserve revenue sharing from its partnership with Coinbase contributed $17.3 million, accounting for roughly half of the quarterly revenue increment; priority fee revenue stood at $9.6 million. Separately, Bloomberg cited analysis from Loris Tools noting that a wallet linked to market maker Wintermute won around 76% of the highest-priority data seat auctions last month. Winners can access order information before it is processed, enabling them to adjust quotes or hedge. Critics argue this gives large trading firms an unfair advantage; Wintermute defends that public bidding is a transparent way to secure speed advantages.

According to CoinGlass data, Coinbase’s Bitcoin Premium Index has recorded negative values for 51 consecutive days, with the latest reading at -0.1%, pointing to continued sluggish purchasing power in the U.S. market. Earlier, on August 24, the index turned positive for the first time since May 19, hitting 0.0052%, briefly ending its historical longest negative premium streak of 97 days. The Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index tracks the Bitcoin price spread between Coinbase Pro and Binance. A sustained negative index usually means Coinbase’s quoted price is relatively lower, reflecting weak buying demand or heavy selling pressure in the U.S. market, though the metric alone should not be used to directly conclude that institutional funds are flowing out.

Bitcoin is on track to log its sixth consecutive weekly decline, a losing streak similar to the first quarter of this year, when the cryptocurrency bottomed near $60,000. The longest weekly losing streak in Bitcoin’s history was nine straight weeks in 2022. Since November, Bitcoin has fallen 11%, 17% since the start of the fourth quarter, and 21% year-to-date in 2026. Next week, the market will host Anthropic’s IPO, with subscription orders roughly six times the number of shares available for sale. Anthropic plans to raise up to $64.4 billion via the IPO, plus an additional $26 billion in concurrent private placements, targeting a fully diluted valuation of around $1.4 trillion. Nvidia has committed to investing roughly $10 billion in the private placement. Some investors may be freeing up capital to participate in the Anthropic IPO, which offers one explanation for Bitcoin’s recent sell-off. Taking price action around SpaceX’s IPO as a reference: between June 1 and 5 this year, Bitcoin dropped from around $75,000 to $60,000, a roughly 20% decline; after SpaceX listed on June 12, Bitcoin rebounded to nearly $68,000. Beyond potential capital diversion, Jensen Huang’s resignation as Nvidia’s CEO, and rising market expectations of a 25 basis point interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve at its December 9 meeting, have also weighed on Bitcoin.

Bitcoin has pulled back to around $68,500. Matt Mena, senior crypto research strategist at 21Shares, stated that if Bitcoin breaks below $69,000, it could retest $65,000 again. For Bitcoin to stage a sustained rally, it must first reclaim $70,000, followed by $74,000. Mena added that Bitcoin still has the potential to rally to $87,000 and climb further above $90,000. He pointed out that historical data shows Bitcoin’s average return in the fourth quarter exceeds 61%.