When Shift Happens Podcast

E159: Jeff Yan, Hyperliquid CEO: Why Crypto Must Fix Finance Before AI Takes Over

22 snips
Feb 19, 2026
Jeff Yan, founder and CEO of Hyperliquid Labs, builds a Layer 1 with on-chain order books and permissionless finance. He recounts the surprise $1B-to-$10B token moment and why staying focused mattered. He explains Hyper-EVM, HIP3 permissionless perps, on-chain liquid staking, fee burn rules, and why fixing finance now is crucial before AI reshapes value flows.
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INSIGHT

Fee Burns Are Protocol Logic

  • Hyperliquid's fee-to-burn mechanism is on-chain and non-discretionary, not a manual buyback program.
  • Treat protocol fee rules like Ethereum's priority-fee burn: automated and rule-based.
INSIGHT

Hyper-EVM Is A Primitive Portal

  • Hyper-EVM is a portal letting EVM contracts access native Hyperliquid primitives.
  • Its value is tapping into on-chain primitives, not merely being EVM-compatible.
ADVICE

Open Perps To Permissionless Builders

  • Enable permissionless deployers to launch perps to expand price discovery across asset classes.
  • Accept complexity and edge cases and let builders integrate and iterate on the primitive.
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