Jeff Yan, co-founder of Hyperliquid Labs, said Oct. 7 at DAS Asia 2026 that Hyperliquid should be understood as neutral public infrastructure—akin to the Internet or Linux—rather than a competitor to centralized or decentralized exchanges.
Yan clarified that the protocol transcends the typical competitive landscape of trading venues. Hyperliquid's mission is to empower existing platforms by providing underlying technology that helps them better serve users, not to replace them.
Hyperliquid operates as a Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for on-chain perpetual futures trading. Its native token, HYPE, has grown to rank among the largest crypto assets by market capitalization.
