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 incident began when an attacker withdrew $3 million in USDC from OKX, splitting it across 19 wallets to open a leveraged long position in POPCAT worth $20–30 million. By placing a $20 million buy order near $0.21, the attacker drew liquidity and inflated prices. Once the orders were removed, POPCAT prices crashed, triggering liquidations—including the attacker’s own collateral, which was wiped out in seconds.
Hyperliquid’s community-owned liquidity vault (HLP) absorbed the remaining losses, creating a $4.9 million bad debt.
A market participant described the episode as “peak degen warfare,” noting it exploited thin liquidity and automated LP absorption.
CoinDesk reached out to Hyperliquid for comment via X.
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