Hyperliquid founder rejects a $100 million funding proposal

Gate News message, on April 13, a source said that Hyperliquid founder Jeffrey Yan, within less than a year of the project going live, had received an investment intention based on an approximately $1 billion valuation and on the order of a $100 million ticket size, but ultimately chose to reject the investment terms. During the period when the investor was in contact, the team had already been operating in a continuous “out-of-pocket” mode, with the monthly burn covered by the founder’s personal funds to cover project costs. Jeffrey Yan had spoken with multiple entrepreneurs and VCs about the nature and significance of external capital, but he was never persuaded that “outside capital can enhance its intrinsic value.” His reason for refusal is that Hyperliquid is an on-chain protocol that needs to remain neutral; introducing external equity capital could undermine the protocol’s “permissionless, neutral” positioning, which conflicts with its long-term design goals.