Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid is under the spotlight after a surge in its HYPE token coincided with whale-driven price manipulation claims.
On Aug. 27, analytics firm SpotOnChain reported that coordinated wallet activity spiked XPL’s price by 200% to $1.80 before it rapidly reversed. The orchestrated move allegedly netted one trader more than $15 million, while three others collected profits between $9 million and $13 million. Traders caught on the wrong side of the swing reportedly lost over $6.5 million.
Lookonchain added that the volatility forced whales shorting XPL to inject liquidity, including one trader who deposited $44 million USDC and another who moved $29 million USDC to avoid liquidation.
HYPE Token Reaches All-Time High
Despite the controversy, Hyperliquid’s native HYPE token climbed to a record $51.05 on Aug. 27, surpassing its July peak of $48.55. The price has since cooled to around $48.8, but the token still held a 7.5% daily gain at press time.
Rapid Growth in Trading Activity
The surge comes as Hyperliquid continues to post striking growth in volumes. In July, the platform processed $330.8 billion in combined spot and perpetual trades, outpacing Robinhood’s $237.8 billion across all asset classes, according to DeFiLlama. It marked the third consecutive month Hyperliquid beat the U.S. trading app.
Research from Blockworks shows Hyperliquid generated nearly $100 million in revenue over the past 30 days—outperforming several major Layer 1 networks. Spot volumes for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana even rivaled those on Bitstamp and Kraken, while derivatives activity rose to nearly 14% of Binance’s futures market, up from just 2% a year ago.
Industry watchers suggest that if the growth continues, Hyperliquid could keep eating into the market share of centralized exchanges.
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Source: https://coindoo.com/hyperliquid-under-fire-amid-whale-manipulation-claims/