Hyperliquid Halts Withdrawals Amid $4.9M POPCAT Pump-and-Dump Scheme—DeFi ’Innovation’ Strikes Again
Another day, another crypto platform scrambling to plug the holes after a classic market manipulation play.
Hyperliquid froze withdrawals today following a suspicious $4.9 million price surge in the meme coin POPCAT—because nothing says 'decentralized finance' like emergency freezes when things get spicy.
The platform confirmed 'abnormal trading activity' (read: someone yanked the rug) and is 'working to restore normal operations'—standard protocol when the casino logic of crypto markets backfires.
Funny how these 'trustless' systems always seem to need a human panic button. Maybe next time, they'll add a 'meme coin hazard' warning label.
Roughly 13 hours before the event, an unknown trader withdrew $3M $USDC from OKX and split the funds across 19 wallets on Hyperliquid.
Then he started opening massive long positions on $POPCAT, pushing the total exposure to around $20–30M.… pic.twitter.com/FxnX7ap7Q8
— Hanzo
(@DeFi_Hanzo) November 12, 2025
The exchange, which operates on the, described the suspension as “maintenance” on its official website. However,revealed that the halt occurredrecorded alinked to the event.
How the POPCAT Price Manipulation Unfolded
According to blockchain investigators, the manipulation was.
The traderfrom the centralized exchangeand. Then, in a coordinated move, theytotaling aroundat.
Thiscaused the total open position value in POPCAT to swell to. But the trader, triggering aamong other Leveraged traders.
As liquidation cascades spread,absorbed aduring the settlement process.
POPCAT’s Price Surge and Crash
POPCAT, ain 2021, experienced extreme volatility during the event.
The token’s, and its, before falling back to aroundonce the manipulation was revealed.
In response, Hyperliquid, which is a rare intervention for a decentralized exchange that typically relies on automated, community-driven governance.
Following the event,fell by about.
Blockchain records confirm that anwas activated on Arbitrum, freezing. As of this writing,.
Recurring Challenges in DeFi Risk Management
This is not the first time Hyperliquid has faced a market manipulation issue. In, a similar incident involving thetoken resulted in.
Analystcommented:
“While Hyperliquid continues to grow rapidly, these events highlight how decentralized exchanges still face weaker risk controls compared to centralized platforms.”
The case underscores the, whereandcan magnify single-actor manipulation risks.
The post Hyperliquid Freezes Withdrawals After $4.9M POPCAT Market Manipulation appeared first on icobench.com.
