One of the biggest players that provides trading of private-company stocks on Hyperliquid is closing down, signaling that this hot new market is beginning to consolidate.
Ventuals, the project behind perpetual futures tied to OpenAI and Anthropic valuations, said Monday it is winding down and that its team will join another project building within the Hyperliquid ecosystem.
The move has halted trading in the OPENAI and ANTHROPIC markets, with all positions settled automatically. Other markets will be shutting down in the coming days. The team said it generated more than $650 million in trading volume and attracted over 500,000 HYPE in community support during its run.
The shutdown comes as crypto-native trading venues increasingly push beyond digital assets into markets traditionally associated with Wall Street. Traders can now use perpetual futures to speculate on commodities, equities and private-company valuations through blockchain-based markets.
Hyperliquid has become one of the leading venues for that trend. The exchange processed roughly $234 billion in perpetual futures volume over the past month, according to DefiLlama data.
Ventuals' OpenAI and Anthropic contracts were launched through Hyperliquid's HIP-3 framework, which allows third-party teams to create and manage their own perpetual futures markets on the exchange. The model has helped expand Hyperliquid's offerings beyond cryptocurrencies into niche markets that would be difficult to list on traditional exchanges.
The OpenAI and Anthropic contracts gave traders exposure to two of the world's most closely watched AI companies despite neither being publicly traded. Rather than owning shares, users could speculate on how their valuations might change over time.
The closure also highlights growing consolidation among HIP-3 market operators.
TradeXYZ, another Hyperliquid-native project, has emerged as the dominant player in the category, accounting for nearly 97% of HIP-3 trading volume. Its markets include contracts tied to companies such as SpaceX (SPCX) before its public debut.
Notably, TradeXYZ's SpaceX market correctly anticipated the company's blockbuster debut and the stock's opening surge above the $135 IPO price tag.
In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
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