Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest in crypto. This week, we’re joined by Hyperliquid founder Jeff Yan, the quiet powerhouse behind DeFi’s fastest-growing exchange. With 75% of onchain perp volume, no VC money, and a $1B airdrop, Hyperliquid is rewriting what crypto protocols can be. We dive into Jeff’s minimalist strategy, the cancel wars with toxic flow, and the JellyJelly controversy that sparked a feud with CZ. Plus: HIP-3 and the future of permissionless perps, SPAC-style hype vehicles taking over Wall Street, and why stablecoin regulation just triggered a 40% rally in Circle stock. Is crypto evolving—or just getting financialized to death?
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights
🔹 Jeff’s $1B Airdrop Playbook – How Hyperliquid bootstrapped dominance with no VC, no marketing, and the most beloved founder in crypto
🔹 75% of Onchain Perps? – Hyperliquid now controls 3/4 of all perp volume across chains—Jeff explains how they did it
🔹 Cancel Wars & Toxic Flow – The inside logic behind prioritizing cancels over taker orders—and why HFTs are mad about it
🔹 CZ vs. Jeff – JellyJelly drama, transparency debates, and a subtle protocol war with Binance
🔹 HIP-3 and the Future of Markets – Perps on anything? Jeff breaks down why HIP-3 is the biggest unlock yet for Hyperliquid
🔹 “We Don’t Track KPIs” – Jeff’s radical philosophy on metrics, token price, and building products without back-propping for growth
🔹 Real Users vs. Predators – Who Jeff thinks actually matters onchain—and why some flow shouldn’t be welcome
🔹 Crypto SPAC Mania Begins – Tron, Tether, and Trump-adjacent vehicles bring public market chaos to token land
🔹 Genius Act Passes, Stocks Explode – Coinbase +20%, Circle +40%—but crypto tokens barely move: Why is Wall Street frothier than DeFi?
🔹 Are Perps the New Casino? – The crew debates why people love zero-DTE options, and if perps can replicate the lottery thrill
⭐️Haseeb Qureshi, Managing Partner at Dragonfly ⭐️Tarun Chitra, Managing Partner at Robot Ventures⭐️Tom Schmidt, General Partner at Dragonfly
Guest
⭐️ Jeff Yan, CEO and co-founder of Hyperliquid
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
02:51 Hyperliquid's Market Dominance
05:14 The Philosophy Behind Hyperliquid's Success
07:44 Challenges with Decentralized Exchanges
09:34 Metrics and Success in Hyperliquid
12:59 Addressing Market Dynamics and User Types
22:50 Competitive Pressures and System Resilience
25:28 Exploring Hyperliquid's Future and HIP 3
36:08 Complexity in Zero-Day Options
38:40 Perpetual Contracts vs. Options
41:24 The Role of User Interfaces in Trading
45:08 Crypto SPACs and Market Trends
57:21 The Genius Act and Market Reactions
Hosts
Disclosures
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