Hyperliquid Trades at Lightning Speed with Custom-Built Blockchain

Hyperliquid is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that has made headlines for its custom-built layer 1 blockchain, designed specifically to run an on-chain order book exchange. Unlike most DEXs that rent infrastructure from existing blockchains like Ethereum or Solana, Hyperliquid chose to build its own chain from scratch.

The result is a high-performance trading platform that rivals centralized exchanges in execution speed, with no off-chain matching engine and no trusted intermediary in the critical path. The exchange's custom consensus protocol, HyperBFT, targets block latency under 1 second, allowing for 100,000 orders per second.

Hyperliquid's on-chain order book means every order state lives in the blockchain's own storage, eliminating trust assumptions inherent in most DEXs that use off-chain order books with on-chain settlement. This enables composability and real-time market access, making it an attractive option for professional traders.