Arthur Hayes and Hanson Birringer on Hyperliquid’s Success (And What Could Stop It) - Ep. 852
Hyperliquid is one of the most talked-about platforms in crypto right now.
It’s an onchain perpetuals exchange that sidestepped VCs, built a deeply loyal user base, and launched with transparency most rivals avoid. But it’s also staring down some massive challenges—from incoming competitors like Coinbase and Robinhood, to the technical hurdles of decentralizing its core exchange engine.
Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom and one of crypto’s most iconic traders, and Hanson Birringer of Flowdesk discuss:
What actually drove Hyperliquid’s success
How a user-first approach is outpacing venture-backed models
Whether the James Wynn saga was legit
Why the HIP-3 proposal could be the “holy grail” for DEXes
And whether Hyperliquid can survive its next big test: the entrance of giants
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Thank you to our sponsors!
Xapo Bank
Bitwise
Guests:
Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom
Hanson Birringer, Head of US Sales at Flowdesk
Links
Stats:
CoinGlass: Total BTC Futures Open Interest
Hyperliquid Stats
James Wynn
Unchained: Hyperliquid Trader Makes $87M in 70 Days, Loses It In Five
James Wynn’s address
Transparency
Hyperliquid’s founder’s post on X saying that he felt like transparency results in better execution for whales compared to on private venues.
Hyperliquid vs Binance:
Unchained: Hyperliquid Saved Itself a $15 Million Loss, but Sparked Criticism
Arthur Hayes’ tweet on whether $HYPE perp volumes will flip Binance’s this cycle.
CZ’s tweet on dark pool DEXs
Cointelegraph: Binance co-founder CZ proposes dark pool DEXs to tackle manipulation
Tokenomics:
DL News: Hyperliquid’s token buyback machine just hit $1b — is it sustainable?
HIP-3:
Hyperliquid Docs: HIP-3: Builder-Deployed Perpetuals
Timestamps:
🎬 0:00 Intro
🔥 3:25 Why Arthur says the future of perps is onchain—and what that changes
🚀 6:58 How Hyperliquid managed to climb the ranks without VCs
🧱 9:45 Whether being its own L1 gives Hyperliquid an edge
🔍 12:44 How Hanson adapts market making in a fully transparent environment
🕵️♂️ 16:40 Why Arthur doesn’t buy the James Wynn story
💸 20:56 Whether the types of traders on Hyperliquid are different than on other venues
⚔️ 22:14 How Hyperliquid could defend itself when Coinbase and Robinhood enter the arena
🔐 26:18 What Arthur and Hanson think about Jeff Yan’s post saying transparency benefits users
🐙 32:59 Did Binance and OKX try to sabotage Hyperliquid during the $JELLY event?
📊 38:24 Arthur answers his own question of whether Hyperliquid takes on Binance’s trading volume
🌘 42:20 Whether dark pool DEXes can fix transparency without killing decentralization
🔧 47:15 Why Hanson thinks the security FUD around Hyperliquid is overblown
🌏 50:20 Whether Asia’s crypto communities care less about decentralization
🧠 52:34 How Hyperliquid’s ecosystem play with HyperEVM could reshape its future
🏆 55:52 Why Arthur calls HIP-3 the “holy grail” for DEXes
🪙 1:00:01 Whether the HYPE buyback program is a good idea
📈 1:02:49 What Hyperliquid must get right as Coinbase and Robinhood show up
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Tariffs, tokenization and institutional adoption with Flowdesk CEO Guilhem Chaumont
Guilhem Chaumont is the Co-Founder and CEO of Flowdesk.
The Scoop's host, Frank Chaparro, joined Chaumont at the Flowdesk office in Paris to discuss market volatility driven by tariffs, crypto’s convergence with traditional finance, and the evolving role of digital assets in institutional portfolios.
OUTLINE
00:00 – Introduction
00:43 – Sponsor break
01:43 – Flowdesk
03:14 – Tariffs and Market Turbulence
04:58 – Market Uncertainty and Institutional Hesitation
08:20 – Volatility and Weekend Selloffs
12:02 – Amplified Declines in Altcoins
16:28 – Why This Crash Is Different from FTX
21:12 – Bridging Traditional Finance and Tokenization
26:07 – The Effect of AI
30:05 – Looking ahead and Conclusion
GUEST LINKS
Guilhem Chaumont: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guilhem-chaumont-215091a5/
Flowdesk on X: https://x.com/flowdesk_co
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How Crypto Tokens Get Launched and How That's Evolved Over Time - Ep. 691
In this episode, Reed Werbitt, US CEO of Flowdesk, and Hanson Birringer, Head of US OTC Sales, delve into the intricacies of launching a token and the evolving landscape of over-the-counter markets. They discuss what factors teams should consider when choosing market makers and exchanges, how the launch of bitcoin and ether ETFs has impacted the markets, and the role of points systems in attracting users to tokens. The conversation also covers the challenges faced by Bitcoin miners amid recent market developments and the opportunities presented by solving fragmentation.
Show highlights:
00:00 Intro
01:53 Reed’s and Hanson’s backgrounds and what Flowdesk aims to do
05:52 How market makers work with token issuers
11:55 How a token issuer decides where to launch their tokens and what market maker to choose
17:53 Why Binance and OKX are the most desirable exchanges on which to list a token
18:38 Whether the crypto markets have changed with the launch of spot ETFs
19:36 The ideal ways to launch a token, and why it’s important to analyze the type of token
21:55 How points systems have affected the go-to-market strategies
25:38 How the low float/high FDV coins have affected whether Flowdesk engages with a new project
30:29 The benefits of OTC trading and how crypto OTC differs from TradFi OTC
41:54 The challenge of having multiple banking relationships
43:21 How this year’s developments, such as the ETFs and Trump’s promises, have changed the landscape for Flowdesk
46:00 Why solving fragmentation is the next big opportunity, according to Hanson
47:46 Whether the result of the U.S. elections will affect Flowdesk’s business
54:04 How the halving and bitcoin ETFs have affected miners
55:56 The significant differences between the prices of locked tokens vs. their market price
Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com
Thank you to our sponsors!
Polkadot
Guests:
Reed Werbitt, US CEO of Flowdesk and
Hanson Birringer, Head of OTC Sales of Flowdesk
Links
Bloomberg: Crypto Token Listings on Major Exchanges Top Last Year’s Total Already,
Bitget Research & Nansen Research: Discovering Token Potential for Trading & Exchange Listing
Hack VC: 10 Things to Consider When Preparing for your Token Generation Event (TGE),
FlowDesk: How Projects Can Select the Right Market-Making Model
a16zcrypto:
Operational guidelines for token launches, from creation to custody
5 rules for token launches
Keyrock: Crypto Market Making: Basics, Benchmarks, and More,
Openware: Strategies for Effective Crypto Market Making
Token listing issues
Unchained: Who’s to Blame for the Underperformance of Low Float, High FDV Tokens?
New launches (part 1) - private capture, phantom pricing, by Cobie
Why are all these low float / high FDV coins down bad?, by Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi
Chainalysis: 54% of ERC-20 Tokens Listed on DEXes in 2023 Display Patterns That May Be Suggestive of Pump and Dump Schemes, but Represent just 1.3% of DEX Trading Volume
Market making
DL News: Crypto market makers rake in cash shorting their customers’ tokens. One firm is calling for more transparency
Archeron Trading: Case Study: Chainflip, Demystifying Effective Pre-Market Orderbook Structuring
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Bitcoin ETFs are ushering in a 'multi-decade TWAP of buy only,' according to trading execs
Reed Werbitt is the CEO of the crypto market-making firm Flowdesk, and Greg Guttas is Flowdesk's Head of OTC.
In this episode, Werbitt and Guttas share their insider perspectives on how the new spot bitcoin ETFs are altering market structures across different facets of the global bitcoin market, and why they believe these products will continue to see inflows for many years to come.
Earlier this year, Flowdesk raised a $50 million Series B round at a valuation of $250 million.