- Hyperliquid witnessed record USDC outflows.
- The outflow coincides with reports of possible attacks by North Korean hackers.
Hyperfluid[HYPE] has made headlines again, although perhaps not in a way that token holders would prefer. Concerns have been raised about a possible security attack on the network, which coincided with a significant USDC outflow on December 23.
While these events may not be directly related, they have sparked significant debate within the crypto community.
Is Hyperliquid under attack?
According to TaylorMontanaa security researcher, suspicious transactions were detected linked to wallets linked to North Korea on the Hyperliquid network.
Montana suggested that these transactions could have been test transactions, potentially laying the groundwork for a more extensive attack. Her analysis found that the wallets suffered a loss of $701,000 on perpetual Ethereum holdings.
While this loss seems small compared to the group’s previous exploits, the possibility of an attack has raised concerns. Montana, who works with MetaMask, highlighted vulnerabilities in Hyperliquid’s validator setup.
She noted that the network only operates with four validators running identical code, making it more susceptible to coordinated attacks.
A USDC outflow coincidence?
In addition to security concerns, Hyperliquid experienced massive USDC outflows on December 23.
Data from Dune Analytics revealed an outflow of $249 million during the last trading session, which is the largest outflow recorded on the network to date.
While the outflow itself is not necessarily suspicious, its timing has fueled speculation about its connection to the alleged hacker activity.
Source: DuneAnalytics
Hyperliquid’s Total Value Locked (TVL) remains substantial despite the outflows and amounts to DeFiLlama.
However, this figure reflects a significant decline from the December 17 TVL of $3 billion, largely due to the decline in HYPE’s value.
Source: DefiLlama
HYPE’s price action and the team’s reaction
At the time of writing, HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token, is trading at around $29.80, reflecting a recovery of over 4.5% after the dip to $25. On December 22, HYPE’s value plummeted by more than 11%, contributing to TVL’s decline.
News of a possible attack partially fueled this decline, but has since shown signs of stabilization.
In response to the reports, the Hyperliquid team has denied the assault claimsstating that no vulnerabilities have been identified.
Although the team refrained from naming individuals, their statement suggested that the researcher’s approach lacked professionalism, implying that her findings were exaggerated or unfounded.
– Realistic or not, here is the HYPE market cap in terms of BTC
While Hyperliquid has denied any active vulnerabilities, the combination of security concerns and significant USDC outflows has put the community on edge.
As HYPE shows resilience, it remains to be seen how the network will address these challenges and rebuild trust.
