What happened? HyperVault devs pulled a rug and vanished after draining about $3.6M.
Developers of the HyperVault DeFi vault drained roughly $3.6 million in user funds, bridged the assets to Ethereum, swapped them into ETH, and routed 752 ETH through Tornado Cash to obscure the trail. They then deleted their Twitter and Discord accounts and disappeared after falsely claiming audits were pending from reputable firms. Community warnings earlier in September were ignored, allowing the scam to succeed before users could withdraw their funds.
Who does this affect? Depositors in HyperVault, HYPE token holders, and the wider Hyperliquid community.
Directly affected are users who had funds locked in HyperVault chasing high APRs and now face losses from the exit scam. Indirectly, HYPE token holders and other projects in the Hyperliquid ecosystem suffer reputational damage, potential price drops, and increased user flight. Influencers who promoted the vault and audit firms named fraudulently also face credibility and legal risks.
Why does this matter? It undermines market trust, risks pressuring HYPE price, and benefits competitors like ASTER.
The rug pull erodes confidence in DeFi yield products and the Hyperliquid platform, which can trigger withdrawals, reduce liquidity, and push HYPE and related assets lower in price. Greater risk aversion will likely lead to stricter due diligence, higher capital costs for similar projects, and possible regulatory scrutiny that can slow market growth. Meanwhile, competitors such as ASTER DEX may gain users and market share as traders move to platforms perceived as safer or more transparent.