Singapore's regulator has added Hyperliquid to its "red list": what this means for the DeFi sector
On June 26, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officially added the website of the decentralized perpetual DEX Hyperliquid, as well as the portal of the Hyper Foundation organization, to its Investor Alert List (IAL). This action, as MAS explains, is aimed at informing investors about platforms that may be mistakenly perceived as licensed by the regulator.
Not a Ban, But a Warning
The Hyperliquid team promptly responded to this event, emphasizing that inclusion in the IAL is not a ban, an enforcement measure, or an indication of a legal violation. In their statement, the developers indicated that the IAL is merely a list of services that, based on information available to MAS, may mislead users regarding their regulatory status.
"The regulator's list includes many major exchanges and DeFi protocols. Hyperliquid is a public infrastructure. It does not have, and has never claimed to have, a license or authorization from MAS, and no one should consider it as such. Nothing has changed on the network. As with other open-access blockchains, users self-custody their assets, and transactions are processed transparently," the platform's representatives stated.
Context of Regulatory Policy
Notably, since the beginning of summer 2026, centralized exchanges such as KuCoin and Bitget have also been added to this same list. This indicates a systematic approach by MAS to monitoring the cryptocurrency space, where both centralized and decentralized platforms are subject to equally close scrutiny.
Recall that back in June 2025, the Singapore regulator tightened rules, requiring all crypto companies serving foreign clients to obtain a digital token service provider license. Otherwise, they face cessation of operations.
Analytical Conclusion
From my perspective, the inclusion of Hyperliquid in the IAL is not so much a blow to the project as a signal to the market: Singapore continues to build a strict but transparent regulatory system. For DeFi protocols operating without jurisdictional ties, such warning lists are becoming the new norm. However, as the team itself rightly noted, for users who self-custody their assets, this changes absolutely nothing — the technical infrastructure continues to function as before. The market will likely perceive this news as another stage of "regulatory exercises" with no fatal consequences for the protocol's operation.