Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange, has rapidly risen to become one of the biggest crypto projects in the world. With trillions of dollars in volume processed, it now ranks as the third-largest decentralized exchange, following only PancakeSwap and Uniswap in the industry.
In 2025, Hyperliquid has been a hot topic of discussion, but what exactly is it and why do people care so much about it? How did it grow to such prominence in the crypto space?
### What is Hyperliquid?
Hyperliquid is a decentralized exchange that specializes in perpetual futures trading, operating on its dedicated layer-1 network. Its native token, HYPE, has seen significant success, climbing to a top 20 cryptocurrency by market capitalization within a year of its launch.
### Why do people care about Hyperliquid?
Hyperliquid simplifies the process for traders to speculate on the price movements of cryptocurrencies through low fees, a wide range of available assets, and high leverage options. The platform offers competitive fees ranging from 0.07% for low-volume taker spot trades to 0% for high-volume perp maker fees. This fee structure makes it appealing to traders looking to maximize their profits.
Traders on Hyperliquid can access major coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and TRUMP, all tradable in one place. The platform allows leverage of up to 40x, creating a battleground for intense trading battles between whales and the crypto community.
One notable event in March 2025 saw a whale open a 40x leveraged short position worth $521 million against Bitcoin, sparking a frenzy among everyday traders attempting to liquidate the whale. Despite the efforts, the whale ultimately emerged victorious, walking away with a $3.9 million profit.
### Hyperliquid’s Origin Story
Hyperliquid was self-funded and developed by a team of 11 individuals, led by founder Jeff Yan. The project initially started as a market-making company before transitioning into the decentralized exchange that it is today.
The pivotal moment for Hyperliquid came when Sam Bankman-Fried’s centralized exchange FTX faced a crisis due to using customer funds to cover losses at his trading firm Alameda Research. This incident highlighted the risks associated with centralized exchanges, leading to a surge in interest in decentralized finance.
In response to this shift in sentiment, Hyperliquid doubled down on building a decentralized exchange. The platform launched its mainnet closed alpha in February 2023, attracting thousands of users and offering a variety of assets for trading. By August of the same year, Hyperliquid had fully launched its mainnet, marking a significant milestone in its growth.
With explosive growth following a $1.6 billion airdrop in November 2024, Hyperliquid solidified its position as a leading player in the crypto space. Despite facing challenges, such as unwanted attention from North Korean hackers in December 2024, Hyperliquid has continued to thrive, attracting over 700,000 users and processing $2.7 trillion in volume.
As Hyperliquid continues to innovate and expand its offerings, it remains a key player in the decentralized finance ecosystem, reshaping the landscape of crypto trading for years to come. Hyperliquid, a prominent player in the crypto space, recently faced a liquidation crisis that forced it to delist a Solana meme coin due to a trader’s risky bet. This incident raised concerns about how the exchange handled heavily leveraged positions, with some comparing it to “FTX 2.0.”
Despite these early challenges, Hyperliquid has emerged relatively unscathed and has solidified its position in the crypto market. Currently, it boasts the eighth largest DeFi total value locked of any layer-1 network, surpassing chains like Aptos, Avalanche, and Linea. Additionally, it processes the third-highest monthly trading volume of any decentralized exchange.
As stablecoins continue to dominate the narrative in 2025, speculation has been rife about whether Hyperliquid would introduce its own stablecoin. Founder Yan clarified in an interview with WuBlockchain that the Hyperliquid Foundation would not issue its own stablecoin. However, in September 2025, the foundation opened submissions for teams to issue a “Hyperliquid-aligned” stablecoin, USDH. The proposal attracted interest from major players like Ethena, Paxos, and Sky, but ultimately, it was awarded to Native Markets. USDH is now live and trading, with half of its revenues dedicated to a protocol-driven buyback scheme.
Despite its success, Hyperliquid now faces competition from the emerging Aster decentralized exchange, which offers higher leverage levels and has the support of Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. While Hyperliquid currently leads in terms of token valuation and trading volume, the landscape could shift in the future.
In conclusion, Hyperliquid’s journey has been marked by challenges and triumphs, positioning it as a key player in the crypto space. With the introduction of USDH and the looming competition from Aster, the future of Hyperliquid remains uncertain but promising. Stay tuned for more updates on this dynamic and evolving ecosystem.
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