Binance Futures recently added USD-margined perpetual contracts for Jelly (JELLYJELLY) amidst growing concerns surrounding alleged market manipulation associated with HyperLiquid. The decision to list jelly perpetuals comes at a time when the market is fraught with tension following reports implicating wallets linked to “Hyperliquid attacks” involving suspicious, highly leveraged trades on the Arbitrum network funded through Binance.
Wallets like 0xb8ebd8ec41 and 0x1072, active across Ethereum, Base, and Mantle networks, hint at potential coordinated manipulation strategies, as highlighted by RunnerXBT and ZachXBT. These manipulative practices have had a significant impact on Jelly’s price, with trades executed by manipulators like the prominent whale “Hyperliquid 50x” leading to inflated JELLY prices and resulting in nearly $12 million in cumulative losses for liquidity providers such as HyperLiquid’s vault (HLP).
The crypto community has been closely monitoring these developments, with crypto marketer Abhi noting, “its no secret centralized exchanges have been bleeding perp volume to hyperliquid, but the latest drama around $JELLY may shift narrative.”
Questions have been raised about Binance’s decision to introduce leveraged perpetual contracts amidst these allegations, with some analysts suggesting that the timing could exacerbate volatility rather than stabilize market sentiment. Given Binance’s historical impact on FTX, there is speculation about the strategic implications of major exchanges on smaller DeFi entities like HyperLiquid.
Previous exploits targeting HyperLiquid’s vaults have resulted in losses exceeding $4 million, prompting calls for stricter regulations and increased vigilance from centralized platforms offering derivative contracts. The listing of Jelly perpetual contracts during a period of heightened scrutiny underscores the ongoing tension between innovation in financial instruments and the need for transparency.
While Binance has defended the introduction of JELLYJELLYUSDT and related MAVIAUSDT perpetual contracts as a means to expand traders’ investment options, the current controversies have fueled speculation about the exchange’s motives. Allegations from investigative crypto analysts suggesting Binance’s indirect involvement in manipulative practices have further heightened concerns, with some users pointing to a reply from Binance Co-Founder Yi He as potential evidence of a strategy to eliminate a competitor.
In response to the suspicious market activity, HyperLiquid has decided to delist Jelly, stating, “After evidence of suspicious market activity, the validator set convened and voted to delist JELLY perps. Note that HLP’s 24-hour pnl as of writing is approximately 700k USDC. Technical improvements will be made, and the network will grow stronger as a result of lessons learned.”
The delisting of Jelly by HyperLiquid marks a significant development in the ongoing saga surrounding market manipulation and underscores the challenges faced by decentralized finance platforms in maintaining market integrity. As the crypto community continues to grapple with these issues, the need for transparency, accountability, and regulatory oversight remains paramount.