Perpetual futures tied to South Korean semiconductor giant SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts (ADRs) experienced a sudden flash crash on Hyperliquid, dropping 20% within a minute before rapidly recovering above $1,000.
The sharp decline occurred shortly before SK Hynix shares faced selling pressure in South Korea. The perpetual contract, which tracks the company’s Seoul-listed stock, is based on the ADRs that recently began trading on Nasdaq.
Hyperliquid data showed the contract falling between 23:00 UTC and 23:01 UTC, briefly hitting $900 before rebounding above $1,000 in the following minute. The dollar-denominated perpetual, which uses USDC as collateral and settlement currency, was last trading around $1,092.
Roughly an hour later, South Korea’s equity market opened lower, with semiconductor stocks leading the decline. SK Hynix shares ended the session down 15% at 1,550,000 won ($1,762). Other major companies, including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, also recorded losses, while the benchmark Kospi index plunged 11%.
SK Hynix ADRs, where 10 units represent one underlying share, declined 4.5% in pre-market trading to $136.51.
Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange focused on perpetual futures, has become a popular venue for traders looking to gain exposure to traditional markets through crypto-based instruments. The platform has attracted increased attention since the escalation of the Iran conflict in late February. Hyperliquid had not issued a comment on the flash crash at the time of reporting.
Sudden price crashes are not unusual on crypto exchanges, particularly during the transition period between the U.S. trading session and the opening of Asian markets. Lower liquidity during these hours can make assets more vulnerable to extreme price swings because exchanges have less capacity to absorb large buy or sell orders.
SK Hynix, a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in Nvidia’s AI systems, has faced heavy selling pressure recently. The company’s shares have dropped nearly 48% from their June 26 record high of 1,947 won.
The weakness has not been limited to SK Hynix. Investor enthusiasm for AI-related stocks has also cooled on Wall Street. Nvidia shares fell 5% on Monday after reports suggested the company could provide a financial backstop of around $250 billion for an OpenAI-backed data center initiative.
The decline highlights the growing volatility in AI-related assets and the risks of trading traditional market exposure through crypto-based perpetual contracts during periods of reduced liquidity.
