Uncovering the Truth: Binance’s Connection to Hyperliquid
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has finally broken his silence regarding the speculation surrounding Binance’s potential ties to the rapidly growing decentralized exchange, Hyperliquid. In a recent post, CZ confirmed that while Hyperliquid’s founder, Jeff, was indeed part of the YZiLabs (then Binance Labs) Season 1 incubation cohort in 2018, there are currently no investment ties between the two platforms.
Hyperliquid’s Rise to Prominence
Hyperliquid, launched on its own Layer 1 blockchain, has become one of the most active perpetual trading platforms in the DeFi space. The platform’s trading volume reached $319 billion in July 2025 alone, with its native token, HYPE, recently hitting an all-time high of $59.29. This brings its market capitalization to nearly $16 billion. According to data from DeFiLlama, Hyperliquid now holds around 70% of the entire decentralized perpetual market.
A Deeper Look into Hyperliquid’s Technology
Hyperliquid operates through two closely connected components: HyperCore, which manages order books, margins, and liquidations, and HyperEVM, a smart contract layer that shares consensus and data with the exchange core. The platform’s HotStuff-based HyperBFT consensus enables trade execution in less than a second, achieving an average latency of just 0.2 seconds. This performance rivals that of centralized exchanges, making Hyperliquid a significant player in the DeFi space.
Decentralized Exchanges on the Rise
The rise of decentralized perpetual exchanges (Perp DEXs) has been rapid, with the combined trading volume of the entire sector reaching $1.22 trillion in September, up 48% from August. Much of this activity came from Hyperliquid and Aster, a new derivatives DEX launched by YZi Labs, a company affiliated with former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Despite Binance still dominating $83 billion in daily futures volume, the gap between centralized and decentralized platforms is narrowing.
Analysts say Hyperliquid’s consistent liquidity and Aster’s rapid rise signal a structural shift in derivatives trading, as traders increasingly prefer decentralized, transparent, and non-custodial trading venues. For more information on the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency exchanges and the growth of decentralized platforms, visit https://cryptonews.com/news/is-binance-backing-hyperliquid-cz-breaks-silence-reveals-founders-failed-binance-backed-project/