Pros & Cons

Hyperliquid pros and cons

Not a marketing puff piece — this page weighs the strengths and the trade-offs of self-custody and decentralization equally.

Start with 4% fee discount

CodeEVENTCODE

· No sign-up · One wallet connection · Applied before your first trade

Pros listed

Cons listed

JELLY

Key incident

Direct fiat

Pros

Seven structural advantages

No sign-up, no KYC

Connect a wallet and go. No withdrawal review process.

Self-custody

Funds remain in your own wallet — no exposure to CEX-specific failure modes.

CEX-grade speed

Dedicated L1 + on-chain order book, ~0.2s blocks, 100k+ TPS. Zero trading gas.

Stackable discounts

4% site × HYPE staking 5–40% × 14-day volume tier — multiplicative.

Deep liquidity

50%+ perp DEX market share; $3T+ cumulative volume.

Fees return to community

Fees flow to HLP and HYPE buyback-and-burn, not the team.

Stock and index perps

Beyond crypto — US and global stocks, indices, commodities, pre-IPO.

Cons & risks

Seven things to know upfront

① No in-app language switcher

The app UI is English-only. See Language settings for browser translation and a glossary.

② No direct fiat deposits

A centralized exchange must be used as an on-ramp — the biggest friction point.

③ Self-custody responsibility

Losing your seed phrase means losing access. There is no support channel to recover funds.

④ JELLY incident (Mar 2025)

A memecoin short-squeeze exposed HLP to ~$230M loss. A validator vote resolved it via delisting and reimbursement — and drew criticism about decentralization.

⑤ Security-report claims (Dec 2024)

Reports raised concerns about DPRK-linked activity. The team stated there was no breach and no user funds were lost.

⑥ Leverage is high-risk

Perpetual futures with leverage can be liquidated. Learning at low leverage first is prudent.

⑦ Regulatory uncertainty

A DEX operates outside centralized-exchange licensing regimes, so consumer protections are limited.

Bottom line

Consider starting small

Given the clear strengths and equally clear trade-offs, first-time users may prefer to start with a small test — after locking in the fee discount — and adjust sizing only once the interface is familiar.

Discount only counts before your first trade

Route through the referral link before testing so the 4% discount is applied.

Lock in 4% before starting

Referral codeEVENTCODE

The 4% discount only applies if the code is entered before your first trade.