Unchained

Hyperliquid Saved Itself a $15 Million Loss, but Sparked Criticism - Ep. 807

Listen Later

Perpetual swap DEX Hyperliquid suffered a whale attack and was on the brink of losing $15 million. It promptly responded in a way that generated a fair amount of controversy.

The founder and CEO of Ambient Finance Doug Colkitt joined the show to explain:

  • How perp swaps work
  • How a whale used the low-liquidity memecoin $JELLY to attack Hyperliquid’s vault
  • How Hyperliquid’s response broke DeFi taboos around decentralization, oracles, etc.
  • Criticisms of and justifications for the team’s decisions
  • What can be done to prevent similar attacks in the future

    • Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

    Thank you to our sponsors!
    • BitKey: Use code UNCHAINED for 20% off
    • FalconX
    • Mantle
      • Guest
      Doug Colkitt, Founder and CEO of Ambient FinanceLinks
      •  Accounts of the $JELLY whale attack on Hyperliquid and its response 
      • X: The story
      • X: Nuking the vault
      • X: How Hyperliquid responded


        • Arguments for and against Hyperliquid’s solution:
        • ZachXBT: ZachXBT calls out alleged hypocrisy
        • Jordi Alexander: Shorting on a perp is not robust
        • Jose Maria Macedo: How do they override the oracle price? 
        • Doug: Closing positions at an arbitrary price
        • Gracy Chen: Casting doubts on integrity
        • Steven.hl: In defense of HL
        • Kam: Of course quorum was reached easily


          • What precedent Hyperliquid’s actions set
          • Kevin Zhou: Binance and OKX set a precedent


            • Timestamps:


            👋 0:00 Intro

            🤔 02:59 What is Hyperliquid?

            🐳 05:16 How a whale used $JELLY to attack

            ⛔ 09:19 How Hyperliquid responded

            📈 11:59 Why did Binance and OKX suddenly list the memecoin?

            🤔 16:32 How did Hyperliquid ‘change the rules’ to protect themselves?

            ⚖️ 19:25 ‘Losses for thee, but not for me’: Hyperliquid’s hypocrisy?

            💡 24:39 Doug’s ‘cleaner’ solution

            👀 28:35 Will this have positive or negative knock-on effects?

            🧹 31:20 Tidying up illiquid markets

            📰 32:46 Crypto News Recap

            Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

            ...more
            View all episodesView all episodes
            Download on the App Store
            UnchainedBy Laura Shin
            • 4.6
            • 4.6
            • 4.6
            • 4.6
            • 4.6

            4.6

            1,181 ratings

            More shows like Unchained

            View all
            Real Vision: Finance & Investing by Real Vision Podcast Network

            Real Vision: Finance & Investing

            914 Listeners

            CoinDesk Podcast Network by CoinDesk

            CoinDesk Podcast Network

            638 Listeners

            The Pomp Podcast by Anthony Pompliano

            The Pomp Podcast

            1,837 Listeners

            The Breakdown by Blockworks

            The Breakdown

            742 Listeners

            On The Brink with Castle Island by Castle Island Ventures

            On The Brink with Castle Island

            287 Listeners

            What Bitcoin Did by Danny Knowles

            What Bitcoin Did

            247 Listeners

            Markets Daily Crypto Roundup by CoinDesk

            Markets Daily Crypto Roundup

            132 Listeners

            Bankless by Bankless

            Bankless

            1,025 Listeners

            The Wolf Of All Streets by Scott Melker

            The Wolf Of All Streets

            228 Listeners

            Empire by Blockworks

            Empire

            165 Listeners

            Supply Shock by Blockworks

            Supply Shock

            111 Listeners

            Coin Stories by Natalie Brunell

            Coin Stories

            408 Listeners

            Raoul Pal: The Journey Man by Real Vision Podcast Network

            Raoul Pal: The Journey Man

            136 Listeners

            web3 with a16z crypto by a16z crypto, Sonal Chokshi, Chris Dixon

            web3 with a16z crypto

            60 Listeners

            Bell Curve by Blockworks

            Bell Curve

            37 Listeners