Hyperliquid Expands DeFi's 'Money LEGO' Ecosystem with Crypto Perps

The concept that liquidity generates more liquidity is being put into practice by Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange that has become a top choice for traders of perpetual futures, also known as 'perps' or blockchain-based derivatives contracts. Launched in 2023 by Harvard classmates Jeff Yan and iliensinc, Hyperliquid is leveraging its substantial order book volume and depth by providing firms with the ability to compose with its shared liquidity, much like permissionless smart contracts in decentralized finance (DeFi) that can be combined like LEGO blocks to create new financial products. The platform's Ethereum-compatible HyperEVM is directly connected to its high-speed HyperCore blockchain, allowing other applications to utilize Hyperliquid's shared liquidity as a backend for offering perps trading and other services, rather than having to create their own. As a result, hundreds of developers, including prominent names such as MetaMask, Phantom wallet, and VALR, are now using Hyperliquid's system, with some $90 million in revenue generated so far. According to Hyunsu Jung, CEO of Hyperion DeFi, 'Hyperliquid is more than just a perpetuals exchange; it's akin to AWS for finance, providing a layer-one blockchain infrastructure that enables builders to create on top of it.' Similar to AWS, builders using Hyperliquid maintain control over their users and the user interface, while Hyperliquid handles the underlying liquidity and execution, allowing integrators to charge fees on their users' trades without having to develop and maintain their own backend infrastructure. For example, MetaMask, a popular Ethereum-based wallet, has integrated Hyperliquid's EVM module, enabling its users to access perps directly from their wallets since October 2025. Other large exchanges, such as VALR, have also opted to utilize Hyperliquid's perps order book for their liquidity requirements, citing the benefits of increased volume and liquidity. As the market for perps continues to grow, with major players like Robinhood and Coinbase expected to enter the scene, opportunities for cross-venue arbitrage are likely to emerge, according to Jung. The future of perps trading looks promising, with Hyperliquid at the forefront of this emerging market, providing a robust and scalable infrastructure for builders and traders alike.