Hyperliquid Revolutionizes Crypto Perpetuals in DeFi's Ecosystem

The concept that liquidity breeds liquidity is particularly relevant in the context of Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange that has gained popularity among traders, especially those interested in perpetual futures or 'perps.' These blockchain-based derivatives contracts enable users to speculate on asset prices with leverage and no expiration date. Founded by Harvard classmates Jeff Yan and the pseudonymous developer iliensinc, Hyperliquid launched in 2023 and has been capitalizing on its order book's volume and depth by offering a unique concept: composability. This DeFi concept allows permissionless smart contracts to interlock like 'money LEGOs,' creating the building blocks for new tokenized financial products. Hyperliquid's Ethereum-compatible HyperEVM is directly connected to its high-speed, homegrown HyperCore blockchain. This setup enables other applications to build upon the platform's shared liquidity, rather than fragmenting it. As a result, applications such as wallets or other exchanges can utilize Hyperliquid as a backend, providing perps trading and other services to their users. The more builders deploy and integrate with Hyperliquid, the deeper the liquidity, the more extensive the asset variety, and the greater the network effects. Currently, hundreds of developers, including notable names like MetaMask, Phantom wallet, and the South African exchange VALR, are utilizing Hyperliquid's 'builder codes' system, which has generated approximately $90 million in revenue, according to Flowscan. Hyunsu Jung, CEO of Hyperion DeFi, praises Hyperliquid, stating, 'It's not just a perpetuals exchange; it's more like the AWS for finance.' Jung views Hyperliquid as a layer-one blockchain infrastructure that provides liquidity and execution, allowing builders to focus on delivering a great user experience. Similar to AWS, builders using Hyperliquid's 'builder codes' own their users, control the user interface, and charge fees on the notional size of their users' trades without needing to develop the backend or maintain liquidity. For apps like MetaMask, integrating with Hyperliquid's EVM module makes sense, as it provides users with self-custodial access to perps directly from the wallet. MetaMask has been offering this service since October 2025 and has seen growth in areas beyond crypto, such as commodities and equities. When it comes to fees, MetaMask charges a flat 0.1% builder fee, ensuring transparency and avoiding hidden spreads. The company is exploring innovative pricing models to make its economics a reason for users to choose MetaMask. Even large centralized exchanges like VALR are handing over liquidity requirements to Hyperliquid's perps order book. Despite initially building their own infrastructure, including risk and liquidation engines, VALR found it challenging to achieve sufficient volume and liquidity for their perpetual futures. Looking ahead, as major players like Robinhood, Coinbase, and Intercontinental Exchange enter the perps market, opportunities for cross-venue arbitrage will arise, according to Jung. This will enable users to maintain positions on multiple platforms, creating organic mechanisms for funding rates.