Highlights:
- HyperVault is under scrutiny as a drain raises rug-pull concerns in the DeFi community.
- The ETH transfers to Tornado Cash sparked alarm among Hypervault investors and users.
- HyperVault members ignored community warnings from DeFi users and now face potential losses.
Hypervault Finance lost $3.6 million in cryptocurrency within hours, a move that sounded alarm bells in the DeFi community. On-chain data shows the funds moved from Hyperliquid to Ethereum before being converted into ETH. Approximately 752 ETH were transferred to Tornado Cash, a privacy service that is often employed to hide the trail of transactions. Analysts observed that this activity resembles the habits of rug pulls, in which developers suck liquidity and disappear.
A project on Hyperliquid, Hypervault, just rugged $3.6m in users’ assets pic.twitter.com/38AF1Wddjv
— Anon Vee (@AnonVee_) September 26, 2025
Investors who still have assets tied to Hypervault are now in a state of uncertainty. The social media accounts, such as the official X profile, went dead shortly after the withdrawals. Its official site was also shut down, and the users do not have a contact point. These moves have stoked speculation that the platform operators might have committed an exit scam.
Security company PeckShield raised a red flag over the abnormal outflows and reported that the transactions were taking a very distinct path via Tornado Cash. Although the exact wallets behind the withdrawals remain unidentified, the sequence resembles prior DeFi rug pull incidents.
Project Background and Warning Signs Ignored
Hypervault Finance positioned itself as a decentralized vault protocol with cross-chain liquidity and customizable yield. The project attracted passive income investors and emphasized its relation to Hyperliquid, an emerging perpetual exchange. According to developers, Hypervault offered secure methods of managing assets over networks and offered competitive returns.
The drain of the funds had been preceded by concerns among the community members. On September 4, user HypingBull informed people of suspicious audit reports. Hypervault claimed they were being audited by Spearbit, Pashov, and Code4rena, but it was found that none participated. Despite these warnings, a significant number of users kept putting in money, enticed by the promoted 90% APR returns on HYPE tokens.
MAX REPOST 🚨: HYPERVAULT PROJECT IS DOING SHADY STUFF
Friends, withdraw your funds from the protocol ASAP until further updates! When I asked Hypervault developers about audits, they answered that: "Audits are pending via Spearbit, Pashov, and Code4rena; expected turnaround for… https://t.co/SMKLP9S1tR pic.twitter.com/NBwrsbwRT6
— HypingBull (@hypingbull) September 4, 2025
The risks are evident through similar incidents in the sector. MetaYield Farm emptied $290 million before vanishing, with Mantra (OM) losing $227 million through insider wallet transfers earlier this year. Hyperliquid itself has had its share of misadventures, such as the JELLY token incident that cost them $13.5 million in losses in the vaults. Such incidents indicate that promising returns and the lack of transparency tend to be preludes to severe financial losses in DeFi.
HyperVault Under Scrutiny After Suspicious Outflows Shake Market
The anomalous outflows have put Hypervault on the radar of analysts and investors who are keenly looking at the market. PeckShield verified the transfer of 752 ETH to Tornado Cash and emphasized that no other movements could be traced. The loss of the official site and social media accounts adds more questions to the intentions of the team.
The rug pull has brought pressure to the ecosystem of Hyperliquid, particularly when other competitors such as ASTER DEX are picking up. The Trust Wallet integration of ASTER offers more than 100 million users direct access to perpetual contracts, which is a threat to the market share of Hyperliquid.
Investors are waiting to get a statement of clarity from the Hypervault team. Meanwhile, the team has not issued any communication as of press time. Market observers have noted that the performance of HYPE tokens could experience volatility in the near future owing to uncertainty regarding the remaining assets. The event demonstrates how decentralized finance remains risky, especially when projects offer high returns and no audits can be conducted.
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