Hyperliquid

A high-performance Layer-1 blockchain and decentralized exchange (DEX) optimized for perpetual futures trading of digital assets with on-chain order books.

What is Hyperliquid?

Hyperliquid is a Layer-1 blockchain designed specifically for decentralized finance (DeFi), featuring a custom consensus mechanism called HyperBFT—a variant of HotStuff—that enables sub-second block times and throughput of up to 200,000 orders per second on its mainnet. Launched in late 2023, it supports fully on-chain order books for spot and perpetual trading, eliminating gas fees for trades while charging minimal maker (0.01%) and taker (0.035%) fees. Users can trade over 130 digital assets with leverage up to 50x, and the platform integrates HyperEVM for Ethereum-compatible smart contracts, allowing developers to build apps that leverage its native liquidity primitives. As of September 2025, Hyperliquid’s total value locked (TVL) stands at approximately $2.68 billion, representing 1.81% dominance in the DeFi ecosystem.

The platform’s native digital asset, HYPE, powers governance, staking for network security, and fee discounts, with a deflationary tokenomics model that includes buybacks and burns from trading fees. Hyperliquid was launched via an airdrop in 2024 to early users and contributors, and it currently operates with 16 validators for enhanced performance, though this has drawn criticism for relative centralization compared to chains like Ethereum. Recent integrations, such as with aggregators like VOOI for gasless cross-DEX trading, and community-driven features like 3x leverage on assets such as $STBL, highlight its focus on user-friendly, high-speed trading without sacrificing self-custody.

Hyperliquid differentiates itself by prioritizing financial primitives over general-purpose computing, achieving median end-to-end latency of 0.2 seconds (99th percentile at 0.9 seconds), making it suitable for high-frequency trading strategies in digital assets like SOL, BTC, and ETH perpetuals.