Ventuals’ Sudden Shutdown Shakes Hyperliquid’s AI Markets

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Ventuals Exit Costs Hyperliquid Two High-Profile AI Markets

Ventuals, the group that created the markets for OpenAI and Anthropic on Hyperliquid, is closing down. This means trading in those markets will stop, and any existing trades will be automatically closed using the average price from the last 24 hours.

The team said on Monday they’re partnering with a project already working within the Hyperliquid system. Over the next few days, they will close out all current trades and stop offering those markets.

What the Ventuals Shutdown Means for Hyperliquid

Ventuals operated on a straightforward concept: providing 24/7 private marketplaces where investors could access leading tech companies before they went public.

This project used Hyperliquid’s flexible system – called HIP-3 – that allows others to build and run their own unique financial markets for perpetual futures contracts. This capability expanded Hyperliquid’s reach far beyond just crypto trading.

Ventuals saw over $650 million worth of trading activity and received more than 500,000 HYPE tokens – the currency used on Hyperliquid – from its community. Notably, it didn’t charge any fees for deposits, withdrawals, or account management.

OpenAI and Anthropic Markets Settle at Frozen Prices

As a crypto investor, I was really intrigued by these contracts linked to OpenAI and Anthropic. They let me get some exposure to these potentially huge AI companies *before* they even had IPOs. Since neither company is publicly traded yet, we weren’t actually buying stock – we were essentially speculating on what their value *might* be when they eventually go public.

Ventuals determined the cost of its contracts based on the company’s overall value. A valuation of $1,300 meant the company was worth $1.3 trillion. To stabilize things, it locked in those prices using the average from the previous 24 hours and eliminated interest rates.

OPENAI closed trading at $1,341.80 and ANTHROPIC at $1,618.90, giving them estimated values of around $1.34 trillion and $1.62 trillion respectively. Trading stopped on Monday morning, and all transactions were finalized automatically.

Once the settlement process is complete, vHYPE holders will be able to withdraw their original HYPE tokens, along with any rewards they’ve earned through staking.

TradeXYZ Tightens Its Grip on Pre-IPO Markets

The recent shutdown shows that companies offering services similar to HIP-3 are quickly merging or being acquired. Currently, TradeXYZ is the leading platform for pre-launch token trading on Hyperliquid.

According to a Talos report from June 9th, this accounts for roughly 95% of the $1.46 billion in trading volume for this type of asset. Current open interest in these markets is around $106 million.

TradeXYZ successfully capitalized on a lead thanks to precise pricing data. Their agreement for Cerebras (CBRS) shares traded at just 1.3% away from the company’s opening price of $350 on the Nasdaq in May – significantly higher than its initial public offering price of $185.

Similar positive signs appeared with SpaceX’s trading before it officially went public. Shares began trading on May 18th and remained above the initial $135 price for several weeks. When SpaceX officially debuted on the Nasdaq exchange on June 12th, it opened at $150 and closed with a roughly 19% increase.

The price of Hyperliquid’s HYPE token was around $68, a nearly 12% increase for the day. This gain happened despite the departure of one of the platform’s key developers.

The wind-down leaves TradeXYZ with little competition in a young market.

Whether new competitors appear or the current leader maintains dominance will be key to how Hyperliquid trades before its initial public offering in the months ahead.

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2026-06-15 23:46