Robinhood Engineers Face Charges Over Hyperliquid Insider Trading

Two former Robinhood engineers have been charged by the US government for allegedly using confidential information to trade perpetual futures on Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives exchange. Hefu Chai and Huaisong Xiang made over $50,000 each in 2025 and 2026 by trading with inside knowledge of upcoming cryptocurrency listings on Robinhood.

The US attorney's office alleges that the engineers breached their duty to use confidential information for personal gain. The case is the latest in a string of insider trading cases involving cryptocurrency platforms and derivatives exchanges.

Astra Trades, a pseudonymous researcher, uncovered suspicious activity in 2025 that showed a user buying tokens minutes before they were listed on Robinhood.