Kinetiq, a liquid staking protocol built on Hyperliquid, has ended its kPoints rewards program and opened a 10-day window allowing points holders to purchase a combined 50 million KNTQ tokens at a fixed price of $0.26 apiece, with no lockup or vesting attached.

The claim window opened on October 1, 2026 — the same day KNTQ reached an all-time high of roughly $0.448. The token has since shed more than 20% of that peak and now trades near $0.33, narrowing the discount that the claim price offered when the program was announced.

Over 46 weeks, Kinetiq distributed a total of 36.8 million kPoints, with later phases releasing 800,000 points per week. Rather than granting a free airdrop, the protocol converted those points into purchase rights. The 50 million KNTQ allocation represents 5% of the token's 1 billion maximum supply. If fully claimed, the sale would generate approximately $13 million in gross proceeds. Any tokens left unclaimed when the window closes revert to the Kinetiq Foundation, which plans to deploy them toward ecosystem development.

Supply pressure and market structure

KNTQ's circulating supply sits between 280 million and 335 million tokens, making the 50 million newly unlocked tokens a substantial block relative to current float. Tokens acquired through the claim are immediately usable, with no vesting schedule to stagger their release into the market.

The structure turns the distribution into a funding event rather than a giveaway. It filters for participants willing to commit capital, but it also breaks with the expectations of some points farmers who spent 46 weeks accumulating rewards and may have anticipated a free allocation. For points holders, the claim is only economically rational while KNTQ trades above $0.26, and the 10-day window limits how long they can wait before committing.

For existing KNTQ holders, the central variable is claim participation and subsequent on-chain selling. Heavy claims followed by rapid distribution could pressure the market. Low participation would route tokens back to the foundation instead of the open market.

Buybacks under KIP-5

The conversion coincides with broader changes to KNTQ's token economics. Governance proposal KIP-5 directs revenue-funded KNTQ buybacks to the Hyperliquid Assistance Fund with the stated goal of permanently reducing supply. Kinetiq has executed buybacks before: earlier revenue-funded purchases acquired more than 5.39 million KNTQ at an average price of $0.15.

The mechanism deliberately mirrors Hyperliquid's own model, in which the Assistance Fund buys back HYPE using exchange revenue. Kinetiq has adapted that framework for its native token, creating a countervailing force against new supply — provided protocol revenue holds up.

Kinetiq's core product lets users stake HYPE and receive kHYPE, a liquid staking token that remains deployable across DeFi while the underlying stake earns rewards. The protocol has since expanded into perpetual futures trading through Markets.xyz and tooling for launching new projects.

The interplay between claim-driven supply and Assistance Fund buybacks will define KNTQ's near-term market structure. Investors will be watching claim participation rates, on-chain selling from claim wallets, and the scale of subsequent buyback tranches before the 10-day window closes and the foundation's residual allocation is determined.