Hyperliquid has been placed on the "alert list" by Singapore's regulator: what this means for DeFi
On June 26, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) added the Hyperliquid platform — a popular perp-DEX based on its own blockchain — to its so-called "Investor Alert List." The website of the Hyper Foundation, the organization behind the project, was also included in this list.
Officially, the MAS list is intended for services that may be mistakenly perceived as licensed or authorized by the regulator. Inclusion in it is not a ban on activity or the application of enforcement measures, but rather a formal warning to investors: the platform has not undergone the licensing procedure in Singapore.
The Hyperliquid team quickly responded to the event, emphasizing that "listing on the IAL is not a ban, enforcement action, or a finding of a violation." They also noted that many major centralized exchanges and DeFi protocols are already on the regulator's list. "Hyperliquid is public infrastructure. It does not have, and has never claimed to have, a license or authorization from MAS, and no one should treat it as such. Nothing has changed on the network," the platform's representatives stated.
Notably, since the beginning of summer, centralized exchanges KuCoin and Bitget have also been added to this same list. This indicates that MAS is consistently tightening control over all segments of the crypto market, making no exceptions even for decentralized protocols.
Let me remind you that back in June 2025, the Singaporean regulator required all crypto companies serving clients from abroad to obtain a digital token service provider license. Otherwise, they face the termination of their activities in the jurisdiction.
My comment: The inclusion of Hyperliquid in the MAS warning list is not a sanction, but a clear signal to the market. Singapore aims to become a global hub for legitimate crypto business, and any platform operating "in the shadows" without a local license now risks losing access to this market. This is particularly sensitive for DeFi protocols, as their architecture initially does not imply centralized compliance with national regulations. In the coming years, we will likely see an increase in "hybrid" solutions, where DeFi functionality is wrapped in a regulated shell.