11-Person Team Achieves 46 Billion FDV! Hyperliquid Founder Jeff Yan: Self-Funded Without Relying on Venture Capital
Ensuring Fair Treatment for Valuable Projects
Ultimately, it should be the job of venture capitalists to ensure that all truly valuable projects receive fair treatment and to decide how to allocate resources. Venture capital firms are investing in the Hyperliquid ecosystem project, which I think is great because it allows different people and capital to autonomously determine where the funding goes.
The Development Blueprint of Hyperliquid
Colin: What is Hyperliquid’s blueprint for the future?
Jeff: We don’t focus too much on specific milestones. We usually have some important items actively being pushed forward, and I believe these things should be released as soon as possible, even though they will ultimately become very complex. The system itself is complex, so we need to be very careful about how we release these features. Apart from some long-term visions we are advancing, we don’t do much milestone planning. So, we won’t be making specific predictions like “we will do this in a certain quarter.” The current focus is on the implementation of HIP-3 and making spot and perpetual contract trading more widespread. At the same time, we are also enhancing the system’s performance to handle the increasing load. These things have kept us very busy. I think knowing what we are doing next is not particularly helpful. More importantly, it’s crucial to remain flexible in response, as this field is changing very rapidly, and finance is evolving quickly. Being able to quickly understand what is happening and adapt is essential. If we had a very detailed blueprint, it might be harder to do the right thing at the right time.
The Role of Hyperliquid in the Future of Decentralized Finance
Colin: Will Hyperliquid issue stablecoins in the future? Will Hyperliquid enter the tokenized stock market?
Jeff: Hyperliquid will likely not be doing these things because, so far, it has transformed from an initial application-type project into more of a protocol. What people consider applications are actually just a front end that anyone can create, essentially interacting with the blockchain via APIs. The current focus is on making the blockchain as efficient and scalable as possible while ensuring it has all the functionalities needed to support all financial operations. Then, others can build things like stablecoins, tokenization, or any other projects on top of it. I think there are many benefits to this approach because what one team can accomplish is limited. We don’t want to establish a very large, centralized team with many departments and top-down management. This is somewhat inconsistent with my view of cryptocurrency, or rather, it doesn’t align with the vision of Satoshi Nakamoto or others in the crypto community regarding technology. Having one company build everything would lead to a lack of resilience and strength in the technology. Instead, if the core is a decentralized protocol that anyone can interact with, self-operate, and remain objective and neutral, then others can build, collaborate, compete, and combine on top of it. This is a very powerful system, and I think this is how finance should operate.
Success of Hyperliquid Compared to Large Teams
Colin: You mentioned that Hyperliquid’s core team consists of only 11 people. Companies like Binance or OKX may have three or four thousand. Why is Hyperliquid so successful while many other decentralized exchanges are struggling? What do you think the reason is?
Jeff: Well, I don’t actually know much about the situations of other teams, so it’s hard to make a comparison. However, I think an important reason is that Hyperliquid is very focused. If you look at centralized exchanges, they are actually operating multiple businesses. It seems they have a core team, but there may also be a staking team, a marketing team, and even an institutional team. In my opinion, each of these teams functions like a separate company. Each of these companies (teams) may have, well, ten times more people than Hyperliquid. But the key is that they are also trying to do more internal work. I think this is just a different perspective. If you look at Hyperliquid more broadly, as something that anyone can do on the blockchain, then more people are involved. Any team working on Hyperliquid may actually be larger than the team responsible for the core protocol. So, perhaps that comparison would be more appropriate.
Jeff’s Management Style and Leadership
Colin: What is your management style like? How do you lead your team in the crypto industry?
Jeff: I’m not quite sure what my management style is; you might want to ask those who work with me. However, I believe I have high expectations of people. Our team is very small, and the workload is heavy. So yes, I might push people to do more than they are comfortable with, but that may be the case for every CEO or CTO. I also tend to be hands-on. I try not to micromanage—just give people challenging tasks, and the stronger the person, the better they can handle it. I like to let them take full responsibility. On the other hand, I believe that completely letting go is not quite right. I’ve always been actively involved in the technical aspects, keeping up with everything happening on that front. Although it’s becoming increasingly difficult, I think it’s important to maintain that involvement because what Hyperliquid is doing is very significant. Everything is interconnected—it’s a blockchain, a node software that ensures the security of the entire system. If that part becomes chaotic, or if different people work from different angles and come into conflict, it can be very dangerous. Correctness and efficiency are crucial for the system’s scalability.
Leadership Philosophy and the Importance of Team Collaboration
Colin: Nowadays, many young people or startups choose to enter the AI field. Do you still believe there are many entrepreneurial opportunities in the crypto industry? What advice would you give to these startups?
Jeff: Yes, I believe there are many opportunities. If you are very smart, young, and ambitious, AI and crypto are definitely the two most obvious fields. But I do agree with you that some people may not be entirely suited for it. AI has indeed taken the spotlight, and there is probably a reason for that. There are many things in the crypto industry that are not so popular, and a lot of irregularities have happened in the past, and similar phenomena still exist today, so I don’t blame others for being cautious about it. Nevertheless, I still think there is a lot worth building in the crypto space. The key lies in perspective. So far, the money made successfully in the crypto industry has mostly been ‘extractive’ rather than ‘generative.’ Many of these things are akin to scams, like creating demand for a token and then easily selling it. I find that very unfortunate. It gives certain people a lot of power but also attracts those who want to abuse the system. If you look at it from that perspective, then indeed there isn’t much worth building. But if you look at it from another angle, that finance is outdated, and the infrastructure supporting finance is outdated as well, and the only sustainable and effective way to upgrade is to completely rewrite it from scratch, adopting decentralized ownership and control, then there is much to do. The financial industry itself is very large, and the fintech industry is also quite substantial. They are currently larger and more valuable than the crypto industry. Moreover, I believe that crypto can indeed provide the best solutions to these problems. So, I hope that in the coming years, there will be more practical use cases. It seems like a golden opportunity, accompanied by policy changes and a general optimism in the tech sector. I believe this industry has a second chance to make a good impression and build something valuable. Once that happens, it will create a self-reinforcing cycle, inspiring more people to build and create more examples. I think that is what this industry truly needs.
Jeff’s Cultural Background and Its Impact on Hyperliquid
Colin: The next question might be a bit more personal. If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine. Are your parents Chinese immigrants? Do you speak Chinese?
Jeff: Yes, both of my parents immigrated from China. So, I consider myself a first-generation American, born and raised in the United States. I am a blend of Eastern and Western cultures. I believe many values from both East and West are complementary. Looking back now, this might be an important reason for Hyperliquid’s success. We combine the strengths of both. I think the values of the U.S. and the West are crucial for the success of startups, which is why most of the largest startups are in the U.S. I feel that as long as the world remains in its current state, this will continue to hold true. These values include believing that a small team can achieve great things, daring to dream big, but also thinking independently, not taking the status quo for granted, and believing that one can change the world. This is a very typical American mindset, and as someone who grew up in the U.S., I strongly identify with this idea. I don’t care much about politics; I just want to get things done, but I think these entrepreneurial values resonate strongly with me. As for the Eastern part, I don’t know much about Chinese history and such. I think one downside for my generation might be that after immigrating to a new country, one can lose some connection to their roots. So, I feel a bit guilty about that, but I do have some understanding of these principles. Traditionally, Chinese values emphasize humility, doing more than speaking, and a strong work ethic. These have influenced the way I work and build. Both Eastern and Western worldviews are very valuable and complementary, and that’s how I see myself. Well, I can speak some Chinese, but I have indeed regressed because I don’t use it much anymore.
Jeff’s Gratitude Towards the Chinese Community and Thoughts on the Crypto Market
Colin: My last question is, could you say a few words to the Chinese community or Chinese fans? They have always been very supportive of Hyperliquid. And a more interesting question—do you think we are still in a bull market? What is your prediction for Bitcoin in this cycle?
Jeff: Thank you for your support; I really appreciate it. I haven’t been to China for a while, and I feel both close and distant. It’s really great to see them become such a large community and support us. After all, Hyperliquid should not be constrained by any borders, whether political, national, or otherwise. I sincerely believe in free markets and capitalism; I think they are the best ways to promote prosperity and drive human progress. Yes, ‘prosperity’ is the most fitting word. I believe Hyperliquid is an extension of this idea. It’s really cool to see people around the world supporting it and achieving success through building it, and I also hope to continue supporting everyone in this process. As for the bull market, I’m actually not an expert in that area, and I have no idea. I have always focused on automated trading, and my emphasis is on understanding the detailed timeframes of the market. My mental model is that it’s hard to make confident predictions over a long timeframe. If you think you know, you might be wrong. I believe the smartest people who can make long-term predictions must carry a lot of uncertainty while doing so. For example, if you were to ask Warren Buffett about Coca-Cola’s stock five years from now, he wouldn’t confidently say it will be huge. He might just give some vague answers about fundamentals or something like that. So, this isn’t my area of expertise, but I think it actually isn’t that important. If your main focus is buying and selling tokens, then bull and bear markets are indeed very important. But if you focus on building, then their impact is not that significant. In some sense, building during calmer market times is better because there are fewer distractions. That has always been my approach.
Risk Warning
Investing in cryptocurrencies carries a high risk, and prices can be extremely volatile, which may result in the loss of your entire principal. Please assess the risks carefully.
