Hyperliquid’s general purpose Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) layer HyperEVM is live on the mainnet.
The HyperEVM platform is not a separate chain. Instead, it’s built as part of the Hyperliquid layer 1 blockchain, which means direct transfers between the EVM and the L1.
It also means the EVM interacts directly with the L1 components, including spot and perp order books.
The Hyper Foundation announced the launch of the EVM-compatible protocol on Feb. 18.
In its announcement, Hyper Foundation noted HyperEVM going live on mainnet is a major milestone.
This step means general-purpose programmability has come to the decentralized finance ecosystem via Hyperliquid.
“The HyperEVM is live. This is a major step toward the vision of housing all finance by bringing general-purpose programmability to Hyperliquid’s performant financial system,” Hyper Foundation wrote.
What comes with HyperEVM’s initial release?
HyperEVM’s initial mainnet release includes EVM blocks as part of the layer 1 execution platform and will benefit from the security of Hyperliquid’s HyperBFT consensus mechanism.
Another feature is spot transfers, with support for the native token HYPE and HyperEVM’s HYPE. Notably, HYPE functions as the chain’s native gas token.
Also going live is a canonical WHYPE system designed to support DeFi applications in the Hyperliquid ecosystem. The contract for this is deployed at 0x555…5.
“Tooling and analytics around mainnet HyperEVM may not be polished on day one. However, there are many talented builders working to solve these developer pain points,” Hyper Foundation added.
In order to help, the platform allows for real-time streaming of “raw HyperEVM block data” to S3.
This means it doesn’t require running a node to index the general-purpose EVM.
Future upgrades to add general ERC20 tokens
Hyperliquid supports staking and offers native multi-sig transactions. This allows users to configure several wallets for collective transaction signing.
Notably, HyperEVM integrates this multi-sig smart contracts functionality, with its security benefits applicable to staking, order book trading, and asset custody on Hyperliquid mainnet.
Future network upgrades will enable native transfers for general ERC20 tokens and pre-compiles.
These are however currently available on testnet, with developers taking note of feedback.
Staggering their implementation in future rollouts is to avoid network disruption.
HYPE token price
The Hyperliquid team launched the native token HYPE via an airdrop in November 2024. Its traction across the market was swift, with HYPE price surging to an all-time high of $35.02 in December 2024.
While declines across the market have HYPE price hovering near $25.80, the long-term outlook for the L1 chain is bullish.
That suggests an upward flip if market conditions support bulls in the coming months.
The coin currently trades at $24.23, down over 6% in the past 24 hours. It is down around 30% from its December peak.
The post Hyperliquid launches HyperEVM on mainnet to bolster DeFi appeared first on Invezz
