Why did derivatives traders withdraw from HyperLiquid?

Hyperliquid has recorded impressive growth over the past few months as the derivatives market has exploded along with the recent wave of excitement in the crypto market.

The decentralized exchange (DEX) has become one of the key names in the derivatives segment, and is also seen as a reliable measure to assess the overall market situation.

Speaking of the market situation, data from Lookonchain recently revealed that a whale on Hyperliquid has realized profits of up to 13.6 million dollars.

According to this data, whales have taken positions in perpetual contracts, then purchased over $12.8 million worth of ETH in the spot market.

Although this is just a single case, it is significant because it shows a shift towards a more cautious direction. This is also clearly reflected in the trading behavior of most of the top coins today.

Most of the top coins have recently recorded a hot increase in open contracts (OI). This also indicates the risk of strong fluctuations, often accompanied by large-scale liquidations. Therefore, the risk appetite in the derivatives segment has started to cool down.

Trading perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid cools down after a strong surge in July

The trading volume in the perpetual contract sector has clearly reflected the level of market participation in the Hyperliquid platform.

For example, the trading volume of perpetual contracts increased sharply from a low of about $2 billion on June 28 to $18.14 billion on July 22.

The trading volume of perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid | Source: DeFiLlamaAfterwards, the trading volume of perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid has decreased back to the $10 billion range but remains relatively high. However, this indicates that investors are starting to reduce their demand for leverage.

The trading volume on this DEX reflects a similar trend, as it surged from a low of about 180 million dollars in June to a peak of 829 million dollars in July. However, by the end of July, this figure had retreated to around 600 million dollars.

Although the data above reflects a cautious perspective, it also shows that the market is waiting for clearer signals about the upcoming trend.

Whether the trend goes up or down in August, Hyperliquid can still benefit from the bidirectional nature (Long/Short) of the derivatives segment.

Meanwhile, data from the whale tracking tool Hyperliquid on Coinglass reveals that the value of Short orders in the past 24 hours is higher at $5.35 billion, compared to $4.88 billion in Long orders.

The data also shows a significant decrease in the Long/Short ratio in the last week of July, along with the number of active traders.

Long/Short ratio of Hyperliquid | Source: CoinGlass## HYPE price continues to drop

The native coin of Hyperliquid is HYPE, which tends to fluctuate similarly to the broader market. The strong upward momentum previously seen by the bulls has stalled, creating an opportunity for the bears to take control.

The price of HYPE peaked at $49.8 in mid-July, after increasing by 431% from the bottom in 2025. The recent price peak also set a new all-time high.

However, since then, HYPE has turned to a downward trend. At the time of writing, the price has decreased by 19% to $37.5.

HYPE price chart | Source: TradingViewOne of the main reasons creating selling pressure is the concern about safety as the U.S. restarts the trade war, just as promised by President Donald Trump in August.

This result signals the possibility that risk assets may continue to decline as investors seek to preserve recent profits.

The Fibonacci analysis of HYPE indicates that a strong correction could pull the price back to the range of 24 to 29 dollars. The spot cash flow data also reveals that selling pressure is increasing rapidly.

Although the short-term outlook is quite negative with the potential for further declines, the long-term picture largely depends on the increasing dominance of Hyperliquid.

Overall, this DEX has rapidly increased in popularity over the past 12 months. Therefore, the long-term prospects of HYPE may heavily depend on Hyperliquid's ability to maintain this growth momentum.

Minh Anh