- •Hyperliquid’s HIP upgrades transform it from a simple perps DEX into a modular DeFi ecosystem where anyone can launch tokens or markets.
- •HIP-1 to HIP-4 expand Hyperliquid from token issuance to prediction markets, enabling open innovation through seamless, no-hard-fork upgrades.
- •From fixed-supply tokens to permissionless perps, HIP upgrades make Hyperliquid the “financial LEGO” of on-chain trading and innovation.
Imagine this: in DeFi, you don’t need to beg anyone for permission. You can snap together your own perpetuals market like LEGO—leverage, price feeds, and fee sharing are all up to you. That’s the magic of Hyperliquid, the “speed monster” whose perp trading is fast and rock-solid, powered by upgrades called HIPs (Hyperliquid Improvement Proposals).
In short, it can add new core features without a big community vote and without a heavy “restart.” By October 16, 2025, three HIPs had gone live: HIP-1, HIP-2, and HIP-3. Step by step, they turned Hyperliquid from a perps “specialty shop” into a modular “financial LEGO set.” The result? Total value locked (TVL) hit $5.5B, and daily volume held steady around $800M.
HIP-1: THE “STARTER BRICK” THAT LETS ANYONE LAUNCH A TOKEN
Let’s go in time order and keep it simple. HIP-1 was the first foundation stone. It was proposed in November 2023, reached testnet on March 29, 2024, and launched on mainnet on May 24, 2024.
Its focus was a native token standard. In plain terms, it enabled “limited-edition” tokens—fixed supply, no endless minting. Anyone could launch a new coin via USDC auctions, like the platform’s HYPE token or the hot memecoin PURR.
Then those coins could trade on-chain in spot, be staked for yield, and plug into other tools. Unlike older spot DEXs like Uniswap, where liquidity can fragment, HIP-1 used a seamless order book to solve that problem.
By late 2024, over 100 tokens had launched, and volumes were climbing fast. This upgrade set the token economy’s skeleton and caught the memecoin wave, pulling in many newcomers. Spot trading fully opened in April 2024.
HIP-2: THE “AUTO GAS STATION” THAT FEEDS NEW MARKETS
With HIP-1 in place, HIP-2 landed right after. It was proposed in March 2024 and launched together with HIP-1 on May 24, 2024. It’s called Hyperliquidity. Think of it as a smart liquidity design made for HIP-1 tokens.
Picture an automatic system baked into every block. Validators jointly keep the order book deep (spreads around 0.3%). You don’t rely on old-school AMMs or off-chain bots. The market adapts to flows by itself. The idea takes inspiration from Uniswap but is more on-chain and doesn’t need extra incentives.
The PURR/USDC pair is a live example. Liquidity ramped up, and execution became fast. This upgrade fixed the cold-start problem—no users means no liquidity, and vice versa. It became the glue between perps and spot, and spot TVL surged after launch.
HIP-3: THE “OPEN FACTORY” WHERE ANYONE CAN BUILD A PERPS MARKET
With spot stabilized by the first two HIPs, HIP-3 put Hyperliquid on a higher stage of open innovation. It was proposed in May 2025 and went live on October 13, 2025, at 09:15 UTC, with the mainnet announcement posted in the official Discord.
Its killer feature is “permissionless perps.” Developers can stake 500,000 HYPE (worth over $20M at the time) as an anti‑spam bond, then use a 31‑hour Dutch auction (price falls over time until filled) to win the right to launch a market.
Each market can set its own leverage (up to 20x), choose a price source (like Pyth), and take 50% of trading fees (0.09% taker, 0.03% maker). Markets are isolated from each other and integrate with HyperEVM, so builders can create index perps (like an XYZ100 tracking the top 100 U.S. stocks) or equity‑style derivatives. The first three markets have free auctions, and slashing helps stop price manipulation and other abuse.
After launch, HYPE rose 13.4% in a day. Hyperliquid became a “financial LEGO,” opening trillion‑dollar new frontiers and directly challenging centralized exchange dominance.
HIP-4: THE “FUTURE BETS” PROPOSAL FOR EVENT WAGERS
HIP-4 is a sequel to HIP-3. It was submitted on September 16, 2025, by four authors, including the crypto head from Kalshi, a big name in prediction markets. The idea is “Event Perpetuals,” a binary prediction market model for developers that fixes creation and settlement pain seen on older platforms like Polymarket.
Unlike normal perps, it does not rely on external oracles. It settles fast through the order book, supports high‑odds bets (like a 49% probability event), and adds UX features such as OutcomeMarketX.
Developers must stake at least 1,000,000 HYPE (worth over $42M) to ensure high quality. It moves forward via community voting and technical reviews. It is still at the proposal stage and is expected to hit testnet by year‑end. The community calls it “killer.” It could unlock 15‑minute short‑horizon event markets and team up with TradFi prediction giants, pushing DeFi toward a trillion‑dollar prediction economy.
PUTTING THESE UPGRADES TOGETHER: FROM “SMALL WORKSHOP” TO “FINANCIAL HUB”
These HIPs stack like bricks:
- •HIP-1 laid the base. The platform moved beyond perps and supported spot token issuance and trading, riding the memecoin wave.
- •HIP-2 boosted liquidity. It acted like an “auto gas station” for new markets, kept the spot side lively, and removed the cold‑start pain.
- •HIP-3 brought permissionless design to perps. Builders can spin up customized exchanges, opening the door to instant innovation.
- •HIP-4 extends into prediction. It points to a full pipeline from derivatives to “bet‑style” finance.
Thanks to these upgrades, Hyperliquid shifted from a “small workshop” DEX to a modular “ecosystem city,” all through smart, no‑hard‑fork upgrades. Looking ahead, HIP‑3.1 may tweak price sources to bring in more TradFi assets. Once HIP‑4 lands, prediction markets could explode.
Builders, your moment is here! Hyperliquid is no longer a solo DEX. It is the on‑chain financial brain.
Do your own research (DYOR) and try these upgrades for yourself!