Aster, backed by CZ, attacked Hyperliquid and suffered a crushing defeat: losses 4 times higher
Competition between the two largest decentralized derivatives exchanges has escalated into open conflict. A trading address, allegedly funded through the Aster platform, attempted to artificially crash the liquidity of its direct competitor, Hyperliquid. However, the plan backfired spectacularly: the attacker lost four times more than its victim. Let's break down the details of this failed manipulation.
Timeline of the Failed Attack
On June 16, analysts from the Markets Alpha channel detected suspicious activity. According to blockchain analysis data, the attacker's wallet belonged to a group of addresses that had withdrawn $2.3 million from the Aster platform a week earlier. Approximately 20 hours before the incident, this wallet transferred $635,000 to Hyperliquid. Immediately after, the trader began aggressively building a long position in the Fartcoin token.
The scheme was classic for attacks on Hyperliquid: accumulating about 20% of open interest in a low-liquidity asset, artificially inflating the price through spot purchases, triggering forced liquidation of large positions and transferring them to the HLP liquidity pool, followed by a massive token dump, leaving the pool with huge losses.
However, this time the strategy failed from the very start. After four hours of continuous buying, the attacker's wallet was completely liquidated, without even managing to start the price pump. As a result, the attacker suffered financial damage significantly exceeding the losses of the targeted platform itself. The HLP pool lost about $130,000, while the attack organizer's losses amounted to $540,000 — four times more.
Context of the Confrontation
The Aster platform, created through the merger of Astherus and APX Finance with support from YZi Labs, positions itself as Hyperliquid's main competitor. Changpeng Zhao (CZ) openly calls this project Hyperliquid's primary rival. The exchange offers clients leverage of up to 1000x, making it attractive for aggressive strategies.
Later, on June 18, well-known trader MartyParty confirmed that Aster is openly attacking Hyperliquid. The identity of the attacking wallet owner remains undisclosed, but it is clear that this was a coordinated attempt to undermine a competitor's reputation.
Analyst's comment: This failed attack is a vivid example of how aggressive market competition can backfire on the initiator. Hyperliquid demonstrated the resilience of its risk management system, while Aster, on the contrary, showed the vulnerability of its strategy. In the long term, such incidents undermine trust in platforms that resort to unfair competitive practices.