Crypto news

On June 26, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officially added the website of the perpetual decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, as well as the portal of the Hyper Foundation organization, to its "Investor Alert List" (IAL). This regulatory action is not a direct ban, but signals to the market potential risks associated with these platforms.

The key point here is not so much legal prosecution as an informational warning. MAS aims to alert investors that these services might be mistakenly perceived as licensed and regulated entities. In effect, the regulator questions the legitimacy of Hyperliquid's operations within Singapore's jurisdiction, even if no formal violations have been identified.

The Hyperliquid team responded promptly, emphasizing that inclusion in the IAL is neither a ban nor an enforcement measure. They rightly noted that many major centralized exchanges and DeFi protocols are already on the list. Their argument: Hyperliquid is public infrastructure that has never claimed a MAS license. Users self-custody their assets, and transactions are processed transparently on-chain.

Since the beginning of summer, giants such as KuCoin and Bitget have also been added to a similar list, confirming the systemic nature of MAS's actions. In June 2025, the regulator tightened requirements, mandating that all crypto companies obtain a digital token service provider license or else cease servicing foreign clients.

My professional perspective: The inclusion of Hyperliquid on the IAL is not so much a blow to the protocol itself, but a precedent for the entire DeFi sector. Regulators are beginning to view decentralized platforms as a "gray area," where the absence of a license is equated with risk. For Hyperliquid, this could mean losing Singaporean traffic, but on a global scale, it is just another stage in the struggle between innovation and traditional regulation. Investors should pay closer attention to jurisdictional risks, even if the technology seems flawless.