Hyperliquid’s lead in onchain perpetuals drew a fresh challenge from the Solana ecosystem after Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, known as Toly, argued that Solana needs its own atomically composable perp DEX inside the SVM. The debate comes as Hyperliquid is already trying to define its regulatory path in Washington during the advancement of the CLARITY Act.
That policy push quickly collided with a separate market-structure debate on X, where Toly publicly encouraged users who enjoy Hyperliquid to try a new Solana-based perp DEX. The comment drew pushback from users, who questioned whether the industry needs another perpetuals venue rather than further innovation.
Rune framed the issue directly: “I admire the Solana guys for pushing their apps publicly, genuine respect for the hustle, but maybe the energy should go towards innovation instead of replication.” He added that the central question was what a Solana-native perp DEX could do better than Hyperliquid, beyond competing on fees or copying the same product category.
Hyperliquid Vs. Solana“It’s like asking what can Hyperliquid do that Binance or Coinbase or CME can’t?” Toly wrote. “Solana’s SVM needs an atomically composable perp DEX in its runtime so innovation can flourish. Apps built inside the SVM can’t use HL because you have to bridge there.”
Toly did not argue that success is guaranteed. Instead, he framed the market as large enough to justify aggressive experimentation from Solana teams, especially if the base layer can support products that compete with centralized venues.
He added that Binance and other incumbents are unlikely to leave that market uncontested, and that Hyperliquid’s own growth has already validated demand for a DEX-style trading interface. “HL proved that people will trade with a DEX interface instead of a Binance/CME style one,” Toly said, while pointing to Solana ecosystem teams and hackathon winners as examples of broader experimentation.
At press time, HYPE traded at $45.968.
