Singapore regulator has added Hyperliquid to its investor alert list.
On June 26, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) added the website of the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid and the portal of the Hyper Foundation organization to its Investor Alert List (IAL). This is a list of platforms that may be mistakenly perceived by users as licensed by the regulator.
What does this mean for Hyperliquid?
Inclusion in the IAL is a preventive measure, not a direct ban or sanction. MAS does not accuse the platform of violating the law, but warns investors: this service does not have a license from the regulator, and it should not be confused with authorized financial institutions.
The Hyperliquid team responded promptly, emphasizing that being on the IAL does not mean a cessation of operations or enforcement actions. In their statement, the developers noted: "Hyperliquid is a public infrastructure. We have never claimed to have an MAS license, and no one should consider us as such. Nothing has changed on the network. Users hold their own assets, and transactions are processed transparently, just like in other open-access blockchains."
It is worth noting that since the beginning of summer, centralized exchanges KuCoin and Bitget have also been added to this same list. Thus, MAS is consistently expanding the "gray zone" for platforms operating without a local license.
Regulatory Context
Recall that in June 2025, Singapore tightened the rules: now all crypto companies serving clients from this jurisdiction are required to obtain a license as a digital token service provider. Otherwise, they face termination of operations with foreign users.
My analysis: The inclusion of Hyperliquid in the MAS list is not so much an attack on DeFi as a signal to the market. The regulator is making it clear: even decentralized protocols cannot ignore local requirements. For Hyperliquid, as well as for other perpetual DEXs, this means either adapting to the rules or completely abandoning Singaporean users. In the long term, such measures will contribute to market consolidation and increased trust in licensed platforms, but may slow down innovation in the field of non-custodial services.