Hyperliquid: Ecosystem Summary

With trading volumes and active users on Hyperliquid steadily rising, an increasing number of projects are choosing to build within its ecosystem and leverage its infrastructure. This growth raises two important questions: what are the key components that make Hyperliquid unique, and which HyperEVM projects are worth watching as the ecosystem continues to expand? In this article, DWF Ventures uncovers these answers by exploring the core technology behind Hyperliquid and highlighting some of the most promising projects building on it.

Introducing Hyperliquid: Core Blockchain Design

Launched in 2023, Hyperliquid is a standalone Layer-1 blockchain built to support a fully on-chain financial system. It uses HyperBFT, a custom consensus mechanism based on the HotStuff protocol, to provide secure and reliable transaction processing. The network is structured around two main components: HyperCore, which manages its trading infrastructure, and HyperEVM, an Ethereum-compatible virtual machine that allows developers to deploy smart contracts using familiar tools. Examining these two components in detail helps explain how Hyperliquid combines high-performance trading with broad developer accessibility.

HyperCore

HyperCore is the foundation of Hyperliquid’s trading infrastructure, integrating core functions such as the on-chain order book for spot and perpetual markets, staking, and oracle support. Designed for scale and speed,It is capable of processing up to 200,000 orders per second with median end-to-end latency of 0.2 seconds. The HyperBFT consensus protocol, a HotStuff variant, provides deterministic finality, meaning transactions are finalized once included in a block. This performance allows trades to be executed with low slippage and fast confirmation times, designed to deliver execution speeds comparable to centralized exchanges (CEXs), while maintaining on-chain transparency.

HyperCore is also the layer where network upgrades are introduced through Hyperliquid Improvement Proposals (HIPs), including HIP-1, HIP-2, and the upcoming HIP-3. Each one introduces key functionality: HIP‑1 ensures token quality through bids and governance, HIP‑2 guarantees deep, reliable liquidity from day one, and HIP-3 enables permissionless deployment of perpetual markets, allowing builders to introduce new derivative products directly on the network.

HyperEVM

HyperEVM is the close analog of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) built directly into Hyperliquid’s Layer-1 blockchain. It runs on the same HyperBFT consensus layer as HyperCore yet enables developers to seamlessly deploy EVM-based smart contracts written in Solidity. 

HyperEVM features a dual-block architecture, processing fast, smaller blocks every second and larger blocks every minute, which ensures high transaction throughput and scalability. Developers familiar with Ethereum tooling can deploy their dApps without major changes and interact directly with Hyperliquid’s native order books via precompiles, accessing real-time liquidity and trading data via JSON‑RPC.

Currently in its early testing phase, projects deploying contracts can plug directly into Hyperliquid’s liquid on-chain order books and interact with both HyperEVM and HyperCore, giving builders access to deep liquidity while maintaining composability across the network.

Hyperliquid’s Ecosystem Overview

Started primarily as a crypto derivatives-focused platform, Hyperliquid has expanded into a much broader range of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and application layers. Notably, since the launch of HyperEVM in February 2025, the ecosystem has begun to attract a range of developers building decentralized exchanges, lending and staking platforms, launchpads, stablecoins, meme token projects, AI-driven tools, and more.

Notable Crypto Projects in the Hyperliquid Ecosystem

Several notable projects are already shaping Hyperliquid’s ecosystem. Valantis Labs is building a highly efficient decentralized exchange (DEX) that uses embedded liquidity to deliver improved pricing and risk-adjusted yields for both traders and liquidity providers (LPs). The team recently acquired stakedhype, a liquid staking protocol, with the aim of enabling seamless liquidity for stHYPE across both HyperEVM and HyperCore. Another initiative, Hyperpie, launched as a subDAO of MagpieDAO, combines a memecoin launchpad with a ve(3,3)-style DEX and an adaptable liquid staking layer, further diversifying the applications within Hyperliquid’s network.

Hyperliquid’s ecosystem has expanded into a wide range of sectors, as shown in the overview below.

Among the many categories shown above, a number of projects have already emerged as key builders driving adoption.

Sentiment

Sentiment is a decentralized lending protocol built on Hyperliquid that introduces flexible lending through isolated pools, each with custom parameters and risk controls. Notably, Sentiment has become the first DeFi protocol to accept perpetual futures positions as collateral, enabling advanced strategies like leveraged farming and spot–perpetual pair trades while containing risk within dedicated lending pools.

Liminal

Meanwhile, Liminal offers an automated delta‑neutral yield strategy on Hyperliquid. Users simply deposit USDC, and the protocol pairs a spot long position with an equal short on perpetuities, neutralizing exposure to market movement. Yield is generated from funding payments on the perpetuals market. This fully automated setup eliminates the need for manual rebalancing while maintaining capital stability. Additionally, Liminal has recently introduced xTokens, tokenized, leveraged versions of these delta‑neutral positions, which enhance composability within Hyperliquid’s DeFi ecosystem.

Other Projects on Hyperliquid

Several projects are extending Hyperliquid's capabilities by introducing new types of on-chain financial instruments.

ChainSight is building modular data pipelines capable of delivering complex analytics, such as price feeds, volatility indices, and risk metrics, with institutional-level reliability. Their system's sub-3-second data latency supports advanced derivative products, including volatility perpetuals, bringing new trading primitives to DeFi.

Ventuals is targeting access to private markets by offering perpetual futures on pre-IPO company valuations. Users can go long or short on startups, such as OpenAI and SpaceX, with up to 10× leverage, using Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 standard. The platform is live on testnet and prepares for a mainnet launch soon. 

The ecosystem also includes teams bridging real-world assets and novel liquidity models. Theo Network is working to bring high-quality Real World Assets (RWAs) on-chain and has already launched thBILL, a token representing a basket of institutional-grade tokenized U.S. Treasury bills. Rumpel Labs, on the other hand, addresses the growing points economy by enabling the tokenization and sale of points earned from protocols within Hyperliquid, giving users instant liquidity and additional ways to maximize returns.

What’s Next for Hyperliquid

Looking ahead, the next major milestone for Hyperliquid is the launch of the HIP-3 proposal on mainnet, which is currently live on testnet. This upgrade will enable permissionless creation of perpetual markets, opening the door for builders to design and launch new derivatives directly on the network. Several teams are already preparing products in anticipation of this release, signaling strong momentum for further ecosystem expansion. 

The DWF Ventures team sees this as a defining moment for Hyperliquid’s growth and is eager to support projects contributing to its development. Builders exploring opportunities within the ecosystem are encouraged to connect with DWF Ventures.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult with a professional advisor before making any investment decisions.