Make Hype great and make Eth great again

“Hyperliquid”: The "Three" I’ve Finally Found After Years of Search Note: This article offers no investment advice or guidance, but pays tribute to the decentralized philosophy of Laozi and Satoshi Nakamoto. Three years ago, the crypto industry’s uncertainty was still validated by the high volatility of Bitcoin's price, and the DeFi summer driven by Ethereum had faded. When I opened the Tao Te Ching, the foundational scripture of the indigenous Chinese religion, Taoism. I found the power behind cryptocurrency, rooted in Eastern beliefs and philosophy, within the textual context from two thousand years ago.. The "decentralization" from Bitcoin's blockchain technology aligns perfectly with the Taoist ideas of "Wu Wei" and "Dao Fa Zi Ran" (governance through non-action) found in the Tao Te Ching. In 485 BCE, Laozi authored the Tao Te Ching, then left for the West, disappearing without a trace. In 2008 CE, Satoshi Nakamoto anonymously published the Bitcoin whitepaper, launching the first Bitcoin network the following year, eventually decentralizing its management to the community. Over two millennia, both figures disappeared after spreading their teachings, embodying the decentralization philosophy through their absence. The Tao Te Ching says: "By doing nothing, nothing is left undone." Satoshi Nakamoto says: "A truly peer-to-peer electronic cash system should allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without the need for a financial institution." This non-intervention aligns with the principles of Wu Wei, where Bitcoin’s market value has grown from zero to a $2 trillion asset over 15 years.The Bitcoin system operates through non-action, yet governs all without interference; it does what is uncontentious, yet nothing can challenge it. Subsequently, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) in smart contracts emerged, following the same 'non-intervention' approach as the Bitcoin system. Interestingly, their abbreviation, DAO, coincides with the pinyin of the Chinese word 'Dao,' embodying the brilliant essence of 'The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao.' The Tao Te Ching also says: "The Way (Dao) follows nature." Natural laws, including decentralization, cannot be altered by human will. Just like the running of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, Bitcoin's system operates autonomously through its code, neither good nor bad. The Tao Te Ching says: "Dao produces one, one produces two, two produces three, and three produces all things." In cryptocurrency, "one" is Bitcoin, the decentralized "Dao" producing peer-to-peer blockchain technology. "Two" is Ethereum,the peer-to-peer blockchain technology has evolved into a decentralized application system with smart contract functionality, which is expected to develop into a global decentralized computing system in the future. But what is "three"? I once thought that stablecoins, represented by USDT and DAI, were 'the third' because they made cryptocurrency pricing and transactions simple and efficient, allowing everything to flourish. However, I overlooked the exchanges that facilitate the transactions themselves. To this day, exchanges are still dominated by centralized exchanges (CEX), led by Binance. Even during the DeFi summer, where various smart contracts surged with decentralized protocols, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Uniswap, driven by AMM (Automated Market Makers) liquidity, emerged. However, due to fragmented liquidity, high latency, slippage, and risks like Permit authorization, they have been limited in widespread adoption, and can only serve as supplements to centralized exchanges—providing liquidity and acting as hubs for some long-tail assets. Even with the V3 iteration moving towards concentrated liquidity, similar to an automated market-making strategy, it has improved liquidity and reduced slippage, but is still mainly used by DeFi enthusiasts, professional market makers, and traders. As of today, Uniswap's TVL (Total Value Locked) is only $6.37 billion, down over 30% from its peak of $10 billion in November 2021. Meanwhile, Binance’s TVL, as shown in the December 2023 Merkle proof of assets, exceeds $100 billion. In terms of volume, Uniswap’s daily volume is $3 billion, while Binance exceeds $100 billion. Whether in terms of TVL or volume, DEXs cannot compete with CEXs. The stagnation of DEX development has directly impacted the growth of decentralized protocols’ TVL, which is an inevitable result. As the development of DEXs falters, assets reliant on CEX trading are not being withdrawn to the blockchain, causing on-chain assets to stagnate (where asset prices rise but TVL declines). Fortunately, the situation is gradually reversing. Over four years of DeFi development, on-chain oracles have become increasingly stable, cross-chain interoperability is becoming more secure, and TPS (transactions per second) on Layer 1 and Layer 2 chains are rising, while ensuring security and decentralization. POS (Proof of Stake) validation is becoming more decentralized, with more native and mapped assets on-chain. Hardware wallets, such as AA wallets, have improved in usability and risk resilience, while infrastructure is becoming more robust. Decentralized protocols and applications are thriving, and the four-year development of smart contracts has cultivated a large user base for decentralized applications. As assets, applications, and users all move towards decentralization, yet the most important liquidity exchange scenarios remain centralized, this is far from truly decentralized. Then came HYPE (Hyperliquid), and it seemed that the 'third' I had been searching for all these years was confirmed and validated the moment I discovered it. The weight I had once placed on stablecoins has also shattered. The 'third' I had been pursuing, the one that could enable large-scale adoption, was always the DEX capable of achieving this—before HYPE appeared, DEXs were merely optional supplements. But after HYPE emerged, it introduced a high-performance EVM chain designed for financial transactions, a Layer 1 product component with low latency and high throughput, creating a DEX with an on-chain order book that rivals CEXs. It has been running smoothly for over a year and a half, even during peak trading periods, ensuring a low-latency, high-performance trading experience. Large-scale adoption has already been proven by time, and its zero-incident reputation has attracted a large number of real users. Even without token rewards or incentives, users, TVL, and volume have all continued to grow steadily. Before the mainnet launch, the TVL, based solely on USDC deposits, reached $1.2 billion. The project team is low-key, humble, and not greedy, focusing solely on the product itself, with no VC investment or promotional campaigns. Word-of-mouth and user referrals have been the only drivers. The token distribution (TGE) is entirely oriented towards benefiting real users. This style, almost akin to the original ethos of Bitcoin, is even more focused on user-centricity than Ethereum or Bitcoin itself. It can be foreseen that when HYPE's mainnet goes live, with native and mapped assets executing simultaneously, mainstream asset spot trading and perpetual futures with joint margin trading will be launched. TVL will quickly surpass $10 billion, triggering a positive flywheel effect. Both TVL and volume will surge, outpacing all others. A large number of market makers, professional investors, and users will bring their capital on-chain for long-term involvement. Centralized exchanges (CEXs), for strategic reasons, will be forced to inject liquidity and invest in their tokens to secure some degree of pricing power. A variety of decentralized protocols will flourish after the HYPE mainnet launch, including decentralized lending, stablecoins, staking, restaking, and RWA (Real World Assets) protocols. The entire DeFi market will benefit from the irreversible shift towards decentralized on-chain trading that HYPE will drive, particularly decentralized lending platforms like AAVE and stablecoin DEXs like CRV. As on-chain assets and transactions grow, lending derivatives and more frequent stablecoin swaps will follow. For other DEXs of similar types, such as DYDX, unless they find a differentiated path to evolve their products, their TVL and volume will be continually suppressed until they collapse. Uniswap, as an AMM-based market maker for spot trading, will initially benefit, but as HYPE's spot trading area improves, its growth will be hindered. However, AMM liquidity will still have a long-term market position as supplementary liquidity for order books and a venue for long-tail asset trading. The biggest beneficiaries will be AI. The number of trading strategy AI models will rapidly increase alongside HYPE's growth. Various types of AI will be able to freely trade with different strategies on HYPE without worrying about CEX asset freezes or withdrawal issues. At present, some users may mock the idea of HYPE becoming the Binance of the blockchain as a joke. However, years from now, they will only remember that Binance was the off-chain HYPE. The deconstruction of CEXs and the reconstruction of DEXs is quietly taking place in this winter. There is no longer the brilliance of DeFi's Summer, only the quiet beauty of CEXs, which are now being stared down by death. If my judgment is wrong, it will only be because HYPE has failed to fulfill its mission as a DEX. However, in the future, there will be one or even multiple 'HYPEs' that will carry on this vision and complete the irreversible revolution in the cryptocurrency era. And I, too, will eventually find the missing 'third' in the crypto faith that has been absent for so many years—the 'three' that gives birth to all things. @HyperliquidX @HyperFND @chameleon_jeff

“Hyperliquid”，缺失多年的“三”我终寻得 ——by MetaOne 说明：本篇文章无任何投资建议及引导，仅致敬老子和中本聪的去中心化思想 三年以前，加密货币行业的确定性还在随着比特币价格高波动性来回验证，以太坊造就的DEFI之夏热度也如昙花一现般开始沉寂，当我打开国内本土宗教“道教”起源之书《道德经》之时，我从两千年前的文字脉络里找到了加密货币来自东方信仰和哲学层面的力量，比特币中的区块链技术衍生出的“去中心化”竟然与东方古国传承下来的《道德经》中阐述的“无为而治”、“道法自然”的思想高度吻合。公元前485年，老子立言著书《道德经》，之后西出函谷关，了无音信；公元后2008年，中本聪匿名发布《比特币：一种点对点式的电子现金系统》论文，次年上线首个比特币系统，之后将管理全权下放给比特币其他社区成员后淡出网络，隐匿至今。跨越两千多年的历史长河，同样的两个创始人在“传道”之后，以肉身消失的方式来践行这去中心化式的道法自然，实现了传道的终极闭合。 《道德经》说：为无为，而无不治。中本聪说：一种完全的点对点电子货币应当允许在线支付从一方直接发送到另一方，而不需要通过一个金融机构。端对端而无需任何中间层的干预就是行无为之事，于是15年过去了，比特币市值从零成长为2万亿美金的庞然大物，比特币系统行无为之事，而无所不治，做天下不争之物，而天下莫能与之争。随后智能合约中的治理层去中心化自治组织延续着比特币系统无为而治的风格也孕育而生，其英文缩写DAO竟然与中文道的拼音一致，充满着“道可道，非常道”的神来之笔。 《道德经》说：道法自然。道是自然规律，自然规律不以人的意志为转移，自然规律就是去中心化，风、雨、雷、电的运行法则不会因为人的干预而转变，比特币系统的运行也是如此，它无恶无善，完全通过代码的形式自主运行。 《道德经》说：道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。加密货币中的“一”是比特币，去中心化的道生出了点对点的区块链技术的比特币，未来发展成为全球价值储藏工具；加密货币的“二”是以太坊，点对点的区块链技术演化出了具有智能合约功能的去中心化应用系统，未来发展成为全球去中心化计算机系统；加密货币的三是什么？曾经我一度认为是USDT，DAI为代表的一系列稳定币，因为有了稳定币加密货币计价和交易才变得简单快捷，才能生出万物，却忽略了承载交易本身的去中心交易所才是容纳万物之所载体。 因为，时至今日，交易所还是以币安为首的CEX（中心化交易所）所主导，即使在DEFI之夏，各种智能合约以去中心协议的方式席卷，以Uniswap主导的AMM自动流动性的DEX（去中心化交易所）顺应而生，终因流动性分散，交易高延时高滑点，Permit授权风险等缺点受限而无法被大规模采用，只能成为中心化交易所附属，作为中心化交易所流动性补充和一些链上长尾资产交易的集中地，即使V3迭代至集中流动性，类似于一个网格交易策略的自动做市商，虽然提升了流动性和降低了滑点损耗，但适用人群还只是一些DEFI爱好者和专业做市商及交易者。截止至今日，Uniswap的TVL（总锁仓价值）也不过6.37B（十亿美金），比2021年11月峰值的10B还下降了超30%以上，而2023年12月币安发布的默克尔数资产储备证明显示TVL已超过100B；VOLUME（交易量）方面，Uniswap单日VOLUME达到3B，币安则超过100B，无论是TVL还是VOLUME，DEX都无法与CEX相庭抗礼，DEX的发展停滞连带着整个去中心化协议的TVL增长都受阻，这是必然的结果，因为DEX发展受阻，依赖交易所交易的用户资产不会从CEX提现带资上链，链上资产必然呈现滞胀局面（资产价格高涨链上TVL却下降）。而好在局面正在悄然发生逆转，DEFI之夏的四年发展，链上预言机迭代的越来越稳定，跨链的互操作性越来越安全，各种一层链二层链的TPS在保证安全和去中心化前提下越来越高，POS质押提供的网络验证越来越分散，链上的原生资产和映射资产越来越多样，硬件钱包AA钱包可操作性和抗风险能力越来越全面，各种基础建设越来越完备，去中心化协议和应用也得以百花齐放，智能合约的四年发展已经培养出足够多的去中心化应用用户。 当资产、应用和用户都朝着去中心化的脚步前行，而最重要的流动性交换场景却还止步于中心化，这很不去中心化。于是HYPE（Hyperliquid）出现了，我苦寻多年的“三”似乎也在发现它的那一刻得到了确认和验证，稳定币在我心中承载的分量也分崩离析，原来我心中所追寻的三生万物的“三”一直是能够实现大规模采用的DEX，只是在HYPE出现之前，DEX还只是可有可无的附属，而HYPE出现之后，一条为金融交易而生的高性能EVM链，一个低延时高吞吐量的L1产品组件，打造出了一款媲美CEX的链上订单簿的DEX，平稳运行超过一年半的时间，即使在交易峰值却还能保证低延时高性能的交易体验，大规模采用已经得到时间的检验，零事故率的口碑吸引大量真实用户，没有代币积分激励期间，用户，TVL和VOLUME还能保持稳步增长，在未上线主网前，纯靠USDC存款，TVL还能达到1.2B的高度。而项目团队低调谦逊不贪婪只投身于产品本身，无VC投资无宣发推广口碑全靠用户口口宣传，代币发行TGE分配全都以真实用户获利为导向，这种近乎比特币原旨教义的行事风格甚至比以太坊还比特币。 可以预见的是，当HYPE主网上线之时，随着原生资产和映射资产同步执行，主流资产的现货交易同步上线，永续期货的联合保证金同步运行，TVL将很快达到10B以上，正向飞轮效应启动，无论TVL还是VOLUME都将一骑绝尘，大量的做市商，专业投资者和用户将携资上链长期入驻，CEX出于战略考虑也将被迫注入流动性和投资其代币以期分获一定的定价权，而各种去中心化协议也将在HYPE主网上线后百花齐放，去中心化借贷、去中心化稳定币、Stake、Restake、RWA等协议都将如约而至。整个DEFI市场也将受益于HYPE所带来的这场不可逆的去中心化交易上链的运动中，特别是去中心化借贷AAVE和稳定币去中心化交易所CRV，因为链上资产和交易的增长必然催生借贷的衍生和更频繁的稳定币换手。而作为同类型的DEX，DYDX除非另辟蹊径迭代出更具有差异化的产品，不然其TVL和VULUME只会被无限制压制直至解体，作为AMM自动做市商现货交易的UNISWAP初期也将得到一定的收益，但随着HYPE现货交易区的完善，其增长将受阻，当然AMM流动性作为订单簿流动性补充和长尾资产交易的场所将长期有其市场定位；而受益最大的莫过于AI，交易策略型的AI数量将伴随HYPE的成长过程中快速增长，各种类型的AI可以在HYPE上运用各种交易策略自由无阻的交易而无需担心出现CEX资产冻结和提现困难。 凛冬已至，解构CEX和重构DEX正在这个寒冬悄然进行，没有生如DEFI之夏的绚烂，只有死亡凝视CEX的静美。 以上如果我的判断错误，那也只是HYPE未能如约完成其DEX的使命，未来也将会有一个甚至多个“HYPE”继承其意志完成这场加密货币无法逆转的时代革命。 而我也终将寻得加密货币信仰中缺失多年的那一个三生万物的“三”。

我愿称之为近两年地表最强项目，没有之一。