A sudden withdrawal from Hyperliquid’s HLP pool right at a competitive price $XPL crash has sent shockwaves through the DeFi markets. Arkham reported that a single Ethereum wallet was raising funds while seven other accounts were conducting coordinated price manipulation.
Arkham highlighted the timing in a message, questioning whether the wallet reacted too early to activity on the chain. While no coordination has been confirmed, the sequence of events has fueled speculation about how quickly traders can respond to changes in liquidity.
Wallet activity signals strategic positioning
Data from the chain shows that the wallet remained active on multiple DeFi platforms before the move. 42,217 was deposited $USDC in Aave on Arbitrum and minted 42,217 AARBUS tokens. The address also performed multiple swaps involving $USDC And $ETH on Uniswap V3.
The wallet sent 16.9 $ETH and moved more than 60,000 $USDCwhile he received 17 $ETH and more than 107,000 $USDC via bridging. These trades suggest active liquidity positioning rather than passive holding.
Currently, the wallet holds approximately $111,806, with wrapped Ethereum accounting for more than 60% of the wallet, while stablecoins make up the rest for flexible trading.
Coordinated $XPL Trading exploits reduce liquidity
At the same time, seven portfolios opened long leveraged positions $XPL by approximately $1.85 million. Due to the low liquidity, aggressive buying pushed prices sharply higher, creating an almost vertical pump.
The quick move forced short sellers to liquidate, accelerating the rally. The traders then exited during the peak, withdrawing about $4.63 million and holding on to the gains.
In total, the maneuver generated about $2.78 million in profits, while Hyperliquid’s HLP pool absorbed about $600,000 in losses. Additional trades targeting Aster also netted approximately $323,000 in profits.
Hyperliquid liquidity model under scrutiny
The incident highlights the risks associated with perpetual markets with low liquidity. While Hyperliquid offers full on-chain transparency, decentralized platforms cannot easily prevent coordinated trading strategies.
The event reignited the debate over the depth of liquidity, risk management and whether withdrawals from large pools could signal upcoming volatility in the DeFi derivatives markets.
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