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Is Hyperliquid safe?

Hyperliquid is a large, self-custodial exchange. We found no report of its bridge or HyperCore being hacked. Its weak points are a small validator set that can step in when markets go wrong, and large positions that have cost the HLP vault money at liquidation. Use it with money you can afford to lose.

Custody
Self-custody
Active validators
27, by stake
Arbitrum bridge withdrawals
2/3 of validator stake signs
Bridge audit
Zellic (legacy bridge)
Incidents since 2025
4 that cost HLP money
KYC
None in the app

How it works

Hyperliquid runs its own blockchain. The order book, matching and liquidations all happen on-chain, and every trade is public. There is no company holding your balance: you sign orders with your wallet, or with the wallet created for you when you log in with email.

The chain is secured by validators that stake HYPE. The 27 with the most stake form the active set. Most USDC on Hyperliquid is now native USDC minted through Circle's CCTP, so Circle is a dependency too. The older Arbitrum bridge, which holds under 10% of it, releases a withdrawal once validators with two thirds of the stake sign, followed by a dispute period in which the bridge can be locked.

What has gone wrong

Every major loss so far has the same shape: a trader builds a position too large for the order book to absorb at liquidation, and the protocol vault, HLP, ends up holding the loss. In some cases the market was then halted or settled early.

ETH whale

March 12, 2025

A trader opened a long of about 160,000 ETH, withdrew profit to cut margin, and let the position be liquidated into HLP.

HLP lost about $4M. Hyperliquid said it was not an exploit and cut maximum leverage to 40x on BTC and 25x on ETH.

JELLY

March 26, 2025

A large short on the small JELLY market was pushed onto HLP while the price was pumped.

Validators voted to delist the market and settled it at $0.0095. The Foundation said affected users other than flagged addresses would be made whole.

POPCAT

November 12, 2025

A large POPCAT long was liquidated after its buy wall was pulled, and HLP took over the position.

An analyst cited by The Block put the HLP loss at about $4.9M. Deposits and withdrawals were paused for a time.

FARTCOIN

April 9, 2026

Several wallets built about $15M of longs in a thin market and triggered their own liquidation.

PeckShield reported HLP down about $1.5M over 24 hours.

In the JELLY case validators voted to close a market, which showed that the validator set can intervene when the protocol is at risk.

Strengths

  • Low fees: 0.045% taker and 0.015% maker at the base tier, and no gas to trade.
  • Deep markets on BTC, ETH and HYPE, and perps on shares, indices and commodities.
  • Self-custody, with every trade and liquidation visible on-chain.
  • Email login, so you don't need a wallet to start.

Weaknesses

  • 27 active validators is a small set compared with major blockchains.
  • The older Arbitrum bridge depends on those validators, and native USDC depends on Circle.
  • Thin markets invite manipulation, and the response has often been to change rules after the fact.
  • No customer support that can reverse a mistake.
  • Not available in the US or Ontario, and referral codes can't be used from the UK.

Who it suits

Traders who already use leverage, understand liquidation and want low fees and self-custody. It is a poor fit if you need a regulated broker, account insurance or someone to call when something goes wrong. Read the risk warning before you deposit.

Questions

Is Hyperliquid a scam?
No. It is one of the largest on-chain derivatives exchanges, with billions of dollars traded daily. It does carry real risks: its own blockchain, a bridge controlled by validators, and a history of market manipulation that hit its HLP vault.
Has Hyperliquid been hacked?
We found no report, as of October 2026, of the bridge or HyperCore being hacked. The losses so far came from positions too large for the order book to absorb at liquidation, which cost the HLP vault money. Individual users have lost funds to phishing sites that imitate Hyperliquid.
Who holds my money on Hyperliquid?
You do, through your wallet's keys. Your balance sits in your account on Hyperliquid's chain. Most USDC there is native USDC minted through Circle's CCTP. The older Arbitrum bridge, which holds under 10% of it, releases withdrawals once validators with two thirds of the stake sign.

Sources

Page updated October 29, 2026. Referral and fee terms checked automatically against Hyperliquid's docs on October 29, 2026. Written by the Hyperliquid Discount team. How we check facts.

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