The Aster attack on Hyperliquid failed: the organizer lost 4 times more than the victim
Competition between the two leading decentralized derivatives exchanges has entered an open phase. A trading address, allegedly funded through the Aster platform, attempted to artificially crash the liquidity of its direct competitor, Hyperliquid. Aster is publicly backed by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), adding particular intensity to this confrontation. However, the classic manipulation scheme backfired: the attacker incurred losses four times greater than those of the targeted platform. Let's break down the details of this incident.
Chronicle of a Failed Manipulation
The attempted attack was recorded on June 16 by analysts from the Markets Alpha channel. According to blockchain data analysis, the address belonged to a group of wallets that had withdrawn $2.3 million from Aster a week earlier. Approximately 20 hours before the incident, this wallet transferred $635,000 to Hyperliquid. Immediately after, the trader began aggressively opening a long position on the Fartcoin token.
| Operation Stage | Position Size | Result for Participant |
|---|---|---|
| Position Building | $7.1 million | Reached 20% of open interest |
| Forced Closure | $0 | Full liquidation and loss of $540,000 |
| Outcome for HLP Pool | Loss of approximately $130,000 | Successfully absorbed and closed the position |
The plan completely failed. The identity of the wallet owner has not yet been disclosed, but the attack scheme was classic: accumulating a position, artificially inflating the price, triggering a protective liquidation, and transferring losses to the HLP liquidity pool. However, this time the strategy failed from the very start. After four hours of continuous buying, the wallet liquidated itself, not even managing to begin inflating the price. As a result, the organizer suffered far greater financial damage than the targeted platform itself. Later, on June 18, well-known trader MartyParty confirmed that Aster is openly attacking Hyperliquid.
Context: The Aster vs. Hyperliquid Standoff
Aster is a multi-chain DEX without mandatory user verification, created through the merger of the Astherus and APX Finance platforms with support from YZi Labs. The exchange offers clients massive leverage of up to 1000x. CZ openly calls this project Hyperliquid's main competitor, and the businessmen have been repeatedly accused of attacking the platform via Aster.
Expert Commentary: This incident clearly demonstrates the vulnerability of aggressive manipulation strategies in modern DeFi protocols. Hyperliquid, thanks to its HLP liquidity pool architecture, not only withstood the blow but also profited from the aggressor's liquidation. For Aster and its backers, this is a serious reputational blow: the attempt to "kill" a competitor backfired spectacularly. The market will remember that attacking Hyperliquid is playing with fire, where you can get burned yourself.