Hyperliquid's pre-IPO SpaceX contracts suffers 45% flash crash, liquidating $1.5 million

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Hyperliquid's pre-IPO SpaceX contracts suffers 45% flash crash, liquidating $1.5 million A massive selloff in a SpaceX crypto token wiped out hundreds of retail traders in 30 minutes because the market lacked enough cash to absorb the shock. By Oliver Knight | Edited by Nikhilesh De May 28, 2026, 5:28 p.m. 1 min read Make preferred on Hyperliquid SpaceX flash crash (Hyperliquid) What to know : A violent 45% flash crash wiped out hundreds of retail traders when a SpaceX-linked crypto contract plummeted in just 30 minutes, wiping out $1.51 million in value and catching small-time investors completely off guard. The market was too thin to handle one massive trade because the token lacked deep financial backing, meaning a single giant sell order absorbed the market's available cash and sent the price into a temporary freefall. High risks face everyday investors ahead of a potential IPO as the crash heavily burned retail traders using leverage on a highly speculative token that has no official public price benchmark. Hyperliquid's SPACEX-USDH perpetual contract suffered a violent flash crash on Thursday afternoon, plunging from an open of $2,277 to a low of $1,254, a near-45% collapse, within a single 30-minute window before partially recovering to around $2,169. The move liquidated 405 users across 1,393 positions, wiping $1.51 million in notional value, Hyperliquid data shows . What makes the episode particularly striking is the volume concentration. Over the past 24 hours the contract had drifted quietly, generating just $4.87 million in total trading volume across an open interest base of under $2.9 million. Then one candle absorbed what was likely the bulk of that entire figure and the market had no depth or liquidity to absorb it. The median liquidated position held just $31 in margin, pointing to a retail-heavy user base taking on 3x leverage with minimal cushion. Unlike perpetual futures on Bitcoin or Ethereum, which anchor to deep, liquid spot markets, the SPACEX contract has no public price benchmark, with SpaceX shares trading only through private secondary markets gated to accredited investors. At settlement, the mark price of $2,132 still sat more than $220 above the oracle price of $1,908, implying the contract remained at a premium even after the carnage. SpaceX is targeting an IPO in June. SpaceX More For You Bitcoin pinned below $73,000 despite potential U.S.-Iran deal news By Krisztian Sandor , Helene Braun | Edited by Stephen Alpher 2 hours ago U.S. stocks and bonds, and the oil market are reacting positively to yet another purported peace agreement, but crypto markets remain under heavy pressure. What to know : Markets reacted to a reported draft deal and recent U.S. airstrikes near the Strait of Hormuz by pushing stocks and bonds higher and oil lower, while bitcoin continued to slide. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the PCE index, rose to 3.8 percent in April, its highest level since 2023, intensifying... Read full story Latest Crypto News UniCredit warns Europe may struggle to contain crypto-bank crisis under MiCA rules 39 minutes ago Toddlers learn by falling: Why DeFi's $20 billion TVL drop is just a market stress-test 55 minutes ago Sui blockchain suffers another network outage as transactions grind to a halt 1 hour ago Bitcoin pinned below $73,000 despite potential U.S.-Iran deal news 2 hours ago A blockchain lottery plans to turn crypto gambling fees into Ethereum developer funding 2 hours ago Crypto Long & Short: Asia’s regulated crypto future 2 hours ago Top Stories Asset manager Grayscale delays IPO plans as crypto listing boom loses steam 3 hours ago What's next as hot money cycle has gone from crypto to gold to AI to memory 4 hours ago 'Debasement trade’ falls out of favor as inflation fears cool, JPMorgan says 3 hours ago Bitcoin drops below $73,000 as U.S. strikes on Iran spark $1 billion liquidations 13 hours ago White House reviews CFTC prediction-market rule as Trump backs federal control 8 hours ago Samsung units to buy $408 million stake in South Korea’s biggest crypto exchange 6 hours ago