Hyperliquid Faces Declines Amidst DPRK Hacker Concerns
Hyperliquid, a Layer 1 blockchain and decentralized exchange, experienced a significant drop in token value and total value locked (TVL) over the weekend following reports of potential involvement by North Korean hackers.
Security expert Taylor Monahan raised concerns about suspicious wallet activity linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Dec. 22, leading to a 20% decline in the HYPE token price and TVL.
Monahan, known for her work with MetaMask, disclosed that DPRK-associated addresses had liquidated $458,000 on the Hyperliquid platform.
In her analysis, Monahan suggested that the DPRK’s actions indicated reconnaissance rather than trading, stating, “DPRK doesn’t trade. DPRK tests,” hinting at potential future attacks.
Following the revelations, Hyperliquid’s TVL dropped to $2.05 billion from $2.56 billion, while the HYPE token price fell from $34 to $27 before showing signs of recovery.
Despite the alarming reports, the Hyperliquid Labs team refuted claims of any breach in an official statement on Discord, asserting, “There has been no DPRK exploit — or any exploit for that matter — of Hyperliquid.”
The team explained that while a security researcher had reached out, they chose not to engage due to concerns over the researcher’s conduct, opting instead to seek guidance from trusted third parties.
Cygaar, a developer and contributor to the Abstract chain, reassured the community that precautionary measures such as freezing USDC or implementing chain rollbacks could be enacted if necessary.
“I wouldn’t be full-on panicking over this right now — there are guard rails in place should the worst possible outcome happen.”
This incident underscores the persistent threats of cyberattacks in the DeFi sector, with DPRK-affiliated hackers increasingly exploiting vulnerabilities to fund state operations.
At the time of writing, Hyperliquid’s HYPE token had mostly recovered from the recent downturn, trading at around $313 after a 15% increase.