How Hyperliquid hit $330B in monthly trading volume with just 11 employees

Key takeaways:

• Hyperliquid processed astir $330 cardinal successful trading measurement successful July 2025, concisely surpassing Robinhood.

• A split-chain plan enabled CEX-like velocity portion keeping custody and execution onchain.

• The HLP vault and Assistance Fund buybacks aligned traders, marketplace makers and token holders successful a reinforcing loop.

• A ample airdrop, Phantom Wallet integration and self-funded operations helped pull users and prolong adoption.

A twelvemonth aft launching its ain furniture 1 (L1), Hyperliquid has go 1 of decentralized finance’s (DeFi) apical perpetuals venues, logging astir $319 cardinal successful trading volume successful July 2025. Remarkably, the halfway squad down it is believed to dwell of lone 11 people. 

This usher looks astatine the method plan and operational choices that enabled specified scale.

What is Hyperliquid? 

Hyperliquid is simply a decentralized perpetuals speech built connected a customized furniture 1. 

Its concatenation is divided into 2 tightly connected components: HyperCore, which manages the onchain bid book, margining, liquidations and clearing; and HyperEVM, a general-purpose astute declaration furniture that interacts straight with speech state. 

Both are secured by HyperBFT, a HotStuff-style proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus that enforces a azygous transaction bid without relying connected offchain systems. HyperEVM launched connected mainnet connected Feb. 18, 2025, adding programmability astir the speech core.

Did you know? Hyperliquid achieves a median commercialized latency of conscionable 0.2 seconds (with adjacent 99th‑percentile delays nether 0.9 seconds) and tin grip up to 200,000 transactions per second, rivaling centralized exchanges connected speed.

The $330-billion month: What the information shows

July was Hyperliquid’s strongest period yet. Data from DefiLlama shows the level processed astir $319 cardinal successful perpetuals trading volume. That pushed DeFi-wide perpetuals to a grounds $487 cardinal — a 34% leap from June.

At the aforesaid time, manufacture trackers highlighted a combined $330.8 cardinal figure, which included spot trading arsenic well. Headlines noted this meant Hyperliquid concisely surpassed Robinhood.

Robinhood’s July metrics supply the ground for comparison: $209.1 cardinal successful equities notional positive $16.8 cardinal successful crypto trading, on with $11.9 cardinal astatine Bitstamp (a Robinhood subsidiary), totaling astir $237.8 billion.

Several outlets noted that July marked the 3rd consecutive period Hyperliquid’s volumes topped Robinhood’s, which is simply a striking result for a squad of lone 11. And these are monthly figures, not cumulative totals. That means the level is showing sustained high-frequency enactment alternatively than a one-off spike.

Engineering for throughput

Hyperliquid’s standard comes from a cautiously divided authorities instrumentality operating nether 1 consensus.

HyperCore acts arsenic the speech engine, with central-limit bid books, borderline accounting, matching and liquidations each kept afloat onchain. The documentation stresses that it avoids offchain bid books. Each asset’s publication exists onchain arsenic portion of the concatenation state, with price-time precedence matching.

HyperEVM is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible situation connected the aforesaid blockchain. Because it shares statement and information availability with HyperCore, applications tin physique astir the speech without leaving the L1.

Both components trust connected HyperBFT, a HotStuff-inspired PoS statement that delivers a accordant transaction bid crossed the full system. The plan aims for low-latency finality portion keeping custody and execution onchain.

This operation differs from emblematic decentralized speech (DEX) models: automated marketplace makers (AMMs) that rely connected liquidity pools oregon hybrid order-book DEXs that support orders onchain but lucifer them offchain. 

Hyperliquid alternatively runs its halfway speech logic (order books, matching, borderline and liquidations) wholly onchain portion inactive enabling EVM-based apps to integrate natively.

The operating model: How 11 radical attained CEX speed

Hyperliquid’s organizational plan is deliberately lean. 

Founder Jeff Yan has said the halfway squad consists of astir 11 people, with hiring intentionally selective to support velocity and taste cohesion. The accent is connected a small, coordinated radical alternatively than accelerated headcount expansion.

The task is wholly self-funded and has declined venture capital. Yan frames this arsenic aligning ownership with users and keeping priorities autarkic of capitalist timelines. This attack besides explains the lack of major centralized-exchange listings — the absorption remains connected exertion and assemblage adoption.

Execution follows a choky feedback loop. When an API outage connected July 29 disrupted bid execution for 37 minutes, the squad reimbursed affected traders $1.99 cardinal the adjacent concern day. For a DeFi venue, that velocity of effect stood retired arsenic an illustration of its “ship, fix, ain it” mindset.

“Hiring the incorrect idiosyncratic is worse than not hiring astatine all,” said Yan connected staying lean.

Together, selective hiring, independency from task superior and accelerated incidental absorption assistance explicate however a tiny squad tin run astatine a centralized-exchange cadence portion keeping custody and execution afloat onchain.

The HLP + Assistance Fund flywheel

Protocol mechanisms align trader enactment with liquidity provisioning.

Hyperliquidity Provider (HLP) vault

HLP is simply a protocol-managed vault that handles market-making and liquidations connected HyperCore. Anyone tin deposit capital, with contributors sharing successful the vault’s nett and nonaccomplishment (PnL) and a information of trading fees. By making market-making infrastructure unfastened and rules-based, HLP reduces reliance connected the bilateral market-maker deals communal elsewhere.

Assistance Fund (fee buybacks)

According to DefiLlama dashboards, 93% of protocol fees travel to the Assistance Fund, which buys backmost and burns HYPE tokens, portion 7% spell to HLP. This creates a feedback loop: Higher integrated measurement funds larger buybacks, reducing token supply, portion inactive allocating a information to enactment the vault.

Funding mechanics

Perpetual backing connected Hyperliquid is purely peer-to-peer, with nary protocol take, paid hourly and capped astatine 4% per hour. 

Rates harvester a fixed involvement (0.01% per 8 hours, prorated hourly) with a adaptable premium derived from an oracle that aggregates centralized speech spot prices. 

This operation helps support perpetual prices aligned with spot. Payments are made by some sides of the book, reinforcing hazard sharing without embedding output promises.

Distribution and community

Hyperliquid’s token organisation leaned heavy toward users. 

On Nov. 29, 2024, the task launched the HYPE genesis airdrop, distributing astir 310 cardinal tokens to aboriginal participants. The lawsuit coincided with the token’s trading debut, reinforcing a community-first approach. Hyperliquid (HYPE) is utilized for staking successful HyperBFT and for state payments onchain.

Momentum accelerated successful mid-2025 erstwhile Phantom Wallet integrated Hyperliquid perpetuals straight in-app. Analysts and media noted a wide boost successful travel and adoption. 

VanEck’s July study attributed $2.66 cardinal successful trading volume, $1.3 cardinal successful fees and astir 20,900 caller users to the Phantom rollout. Separate reporting tracked $1.8 cardinal successful routed measurement wrong the archetypal 16 days.

On the merchandise side, HyperEVM went unrecorded connected Feb. 18, 2025, enabling general-purpose astute contracts and creating pathways for wallets, vaults and listing processes to integrate astir the exchange. That flexibility encouraged extracurricular developers to plug into the ecosystem and supported a dependable pipeline of caller markets.

Did you know? Hyperliquid’s genesis airdrop distributed astir $1.6 cardinal worthy of HYPE crossed 90,000 users, adjacent to 31% of the full supply. At highest prices, the mean airdrop worth exceeded $100,000 per user.

Critiques and hazard factors

Decentralization and validator set

In aboriginal 2025, researchers and validators raised concerns implicit validator transparency and centralization. The squad acknowledged the contented and said it would marque the codification open-source aft strengthening its security. The squad besides outlined plans to grow validator participation.

Concentration risk

Hyperliquid’s marketplace stock (often estimated astatine 75%-80% of decentralized perpetuals trading) poses attraction challenges. Commentators highlighted the benefits of web effects but besides noted the systemic risks if liquidity shifts oregon shocks hap astatine a azygous venue.

Operational incidents

A 37-minute API outage connected July 29 temporarily halted trading. Hyperliquid reimbursed astir $2 cardinal to users the adjacent day. While the swift refund reinforced its estimation for responsiveness, the lawsuit besides highlighted the vulnerability leveraged traders look during outages.

Governance and treasury execution

Observers sometimes scrutinize however protocol-managed vaults allocate superior offchain oregon crossed chains, arsenic good arsenic the plan of buyback mechanisms. These stay areas of operational hazard to ticker arsenic Hyperliquid scales.

Did you know? Hyperliquid depends connected validator-maintained terms oracles. If these oracles are manipulated, it whitethorn trigger premature oregon inaccurate liquidations. To antagonistic this, Hyperliquid limits unfastened involvement levels and blocks orders much than 1% distant from the oracle price, though the HLP vault is exempt from those restrictions.

Final thoughts: Why Hyperliquid scaled erstwhile others stalled

Four factors assistance explicate Hyperliquid’s outsized growth. 

First, its execution-first concatenation design: HyperCore handles onchain matching and margin, portion HyperEVM provides composability, some ordered nether HyperBFT. Together, this setup delivers adjacent CEX-level latency portion keeping custody and authorities afloat onchain.

Second, inducement alignment done fee-funded buybacks (via the Assistance Fund) and the unfastened HLP vault created a reflexive liquidity loop arsenic trading volumes expanded.

Third, maintaining a thin halfway squad of astir 11 contributors minimized managerial overhead and kept merchandise cycles fast.

Fourth, organisation advantages (most notably Phantom Wallet’s integration) reduced onboarding friction and expanded scope during a favorable rhythm for onchain derivatives.

For those evaluating semipermanent durability, respective watchpoints basal out: 

• Whether validator decentralization and codification open-sourcing advancement arsenic promised

• How rapidly spot markets, central bounds bid publication activity and third-party apps physique astir HyperEVM

• Whether gross and measurement stay resilient arsenic competitors statesman adopting akin models.

This nonfiction does not incorporate concern proposal oregon recommendations. Every concern and trading determination involves risk, and readers should behaviour their ain probe erstwhile making a decision.