Hyperliquid Loses $4.9M in Alleged POPCAT Manipulation – 13/11/2025
Decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid reportedly suffered a $4.9 million loss Wednesday after an alleged market manipulation of the POPCAT token, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain.
The attacker withdrew $3 million USDC from OKX, splitting it across 19 wallets to create a leveraged long position worth $20–30 million. A $20 million buy order near $0.21 inflated POPCAT’s price before being pulled, triggering a crash and cascading liquidations—including the attacker’s own collateral, wiped out in seconds.
Hyperliquid’s community liquidity vault (HLP) absorbed the remaining losses.
A market participant called it “peak degen warfare,” highlighting the exploitation of thin liquidity and automated LP absorption.
CoinDesk reached out to Hyperliquid for comment via X.
