Hyperliquid's HIP-4 proposal would let non-validators launch prediction markets
Regulation & Gov ·
The upgrade introduces a staked, template-based system for anyone to create outcome markets on the exchange, arriving as HYPE trades lower despite a 34% annual gain.
Hyperliquid disclosed on July 20 that its planned HIP-4 network upgrade would expand who is able to spin up outcome markets on the platform, moving past the current setup where only validators can do so, according to CryptoPotato. The change will first roll out on a testnet ahead of any mainnet release, and is also described in reporting from The Block.
Under the design, validators would vote to approve a set of standardized templates for outcome markets, which would then be written into the protocol and made available to qualifying deployers. Those templates are meant to apply to events that draw meaningful liquidity and interest while remaining clearly specified, and deployers would be responsible for setting up and settling their own markets according to the template they pick — with room for several deployers to build the same market independently if they choose.
To participate, a deployer would need to lock 500,000 HYPE for six months, and validators could slash that stake if a market is defined poorly or settled incorrectly. A market left unsettled for more than a week would also trigger a slash, and deployers must settle everything before they can withdraw their stake. Each deployer would initially be capped at 100 outcomes, or 200 outcome tokens, with a future auction system planned to expand that allowance, and deployers could eventually claim fee sharing of as much as 50% on markets they run, though adjustable fee settings are slated for a separate later update. Only AQAv2 quote tokens would be supported under the plan, which Hyperliquid has flagged as preliminary and open to change based on feedback before testnet details and documentation updates are shared.
The proposal lands as prediction markets more broadly are seeing heavy activity, with notional volume across such platforms reaching $50.7B in June. HYPE itself has not reacted much to the announcement: it remains up 34% over the past year even as it has slipped in shorter-term trading.
Still unclear is when HIP-4 will move from testnet to mainnet, how the auction mechanism for added deployer capacity will be structured, and what the eventual configurable fee update will look like once it is introduced.