Hyperliquid is Strongly Strangling HyperEVM
The article analyzes the apparent failure of HyperEVM, the application engine of the Hyperliquid blockchain, contrasting it with the success of its core trading engine, HyperCore.
Hyperliquid operates on a dual-engine architecture. HyperCore is a closed, high-performance order-book exchange for perpetuals and spot trading, which dominates on-chain volume and generates massive fees. HyperEVM, launched in February 2025, is an EVM-compatible layer meant for DeFi applications like lending and DEXs, which can access HyperCore's liquidity.
Despite Hyperliquid's overall strength in a bear market, a stark divergence exists:
* **HyperCore (Trading):** Captures over half of on-chain perpetual volume, generating ~$56M in fees over 30 days.
* **HyperEVM (Applications):** All DeFi protocols combined generate less than $60M in fees. TVL is shrinking, daily active addresses are low (~8k), and the ecosystem lacks diversity. The DEX sector is particularly anemic, with most volume concentrated in a single protocol.
The article identifies four key reasons for HyperEVM's struggles:
1. **Core Monopoly on Execution:** HyperCore exclusively handles order matching. This makes native DEXs on HyperEVM redundant and limits viable applications to those leveraging its order book (e.g., staking, lending).
2. **Architectural Concentration:** Shared liquidity across interfaces naturally leads to a "winner-takes-most" outcome, explaining the high concentration in both the trading (e.g., trade.xyz) and application layers.
3. **"No Insider" Philosophy:** Hyperliquid's commitment to fair launch means it provides no grants, business development, or marketing support to ecosystem projects, stunting growth.
4. **Complex Developer Experience:** The asynchronous design between HyperEVM and HyperCore (via the CoreWriter contract) creates non-standard development hurdles, as EVM transactions don't roll back if the core action fails.
The conclusion is that HyperEVM's weakness is a deliberate trade-off, not an accident. Hyperliquid prioritized building an unbeatable trading engine, sacrificing the development of a broad, independent application ecosystem. HyperEVM functions more as a tokenization layer for HyperCore's liquidity rather than a general-purpose chain. The debate isn't whether it's "dead"—it serves a niche—but whether Hyperliquid ever intended to build a thriving, diverse DeFi ecosystem beyond its core trading product.
marsbit08/11 14:56