Hyperliquid switched on permissionless HIP-4 deployments across its testnet on July 31, 2026, letting outside developers launch prediction markets without approval. Open interest across the exchange’s existing HIP-4 markets stands at $182,000.
Key Takeaways
- Hyperliquid has shipped the first implementation of permissionless HIP-4 deployment on testnet, with a mainnet rollout expected to follow.
- The team plans to add configurable fees and more testnet templates before the feature reaches wider use.
- Sports markets have driven most HIP-4 open interest, which has fallen since the 2026 FIFA World Cup ended this month.
- HIP-4 notional trading volume sits at $881,000, a fraction of the more than $10 billion Kalshi traded in February.
- HYPE trades near $54.70, down almost 2% over 24 hours, as whales unstake coins and move them to exchanges.
What Happened?
The Hyperliquid team confirmed that the initial implementation of HIP-4 permissionless deployments is live on testnet, in a post to its official API channel. The same post named configurable fees and additional testnet templates as the next items on the build list.
The change extends to prediction markets the model Hyperliquid already runs for perpetuals. Under HIP-3, outside builders list perpetual contracts on any asset without asking the exchange first. HIP-4 hands them the same key for outcome markets.
Hyperliquid first rolled out HIP-4 earlier this year as a direct answer to Polymarket and Kalshi, but deployment stayed in the exchange’s hands. A mainnet release of permissionless deployment is expected soon after the testnet stage.
HIP-4 permissionless deployments are live on testnet.
— Yaugourt.hl (@Yaugourt) July 31, 2026
Anyone can deploy an outcome market now. No auction, no gas cost. Stake 100 HYPE as outcome deployer, pick a template validators voted on, fill the values.
Templates fix the wording, the side names, the keywords. You only… pic.twitter.com/BFpok35pwD
Sports Bets Carried HIP-4, Then the World Cup Ended
Sports prediction markets have accounted for most open interest on HIP-4, according to Blockworks data. That interest has slid since the 2026 FIFA World Cup finished earlier this month, a pattern that points to event-driven demand rather than a standing base of traders.
Notional trading volume across the HIP-4 market currently sits at $881,000. Thin books matter more in prediction markets than in perpetuals, because an outcome contract nobody quotes settles at a wide spread, and size migrates to whichever venue already holds the flow.
Traders already carrying HIP-4 positions can check the open interest and settlement terms on each market they hold, since permissionless listing will spread the same liquidity across a larger set of contracts.
Competitors Locked In Capital While HIP-4 Stayed Closed
Kalshi raised over $1 billion at a $22 billion valuation in March 2026, after clearing more than $10 billion in monthly volume in February. Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, put $600 million into Polymarket as the final tranche of a program running up to $2 billion.
Those figures and Hyperliquid’s do not measure the same thing. Kalshi’s number covers platform-wide monthly volume and Polymarket’s covers funding, while the HIP-4 figures cover one feature that has been open to a narrow set of deployers. The testnet release proves the deployment mechanism runs in a test environment. It says nothing about mainnet timing or trader uptake.
Hyperliquid has not disclosed:
- a mainnet date for permissionless HIP-4 deployment
- the fee levels deployers will set or pay once configurable fees ship
- collateral or eligibility requirements for outside deployers
- how many market templates the testnet currently offers
HYPE Slips Below $55 as Whales Unstake
HYPE trades at around $54.70, down almost 2% over the last 24 hours. The token fell alongside Bitcoin, which dropped below $64,000 as the United States and Israel discussed a land blockade on Iran.
Selling pressure also came from inside the network. Lookonchain flagged a whale that accumulated HYPE at an average price of $18 months ago, unstaked the position, and moved the coins to FalconX and Coinbase Prime, which the analytics firm read as a likely prelude to a sale.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
This release addresses a supply problem, not a demand problem. The HIP-4 book has been capped by how few markets exist, and permissionless deployment lets anyone with a view on an outcome list it. The mechanism mirrors HIP-3, which produced contracts the exchange would never have listed itself, including a synthetic perpetual on Chinese chipmaker CXMT ahead of its Shanghai IPO and a licensed S&P 500 perpetual.
Scale is the harder question. Hyperliquid’s protocol has generated real revenue, with cumulative fees since launch above $256.2 million as of late 2025, so the exchange is not short of overall activity. Prediction markets run on different mechanics, where liquidity follows scheduled events and the two largest venues have spent the past year buying distribution. Permissionless listing gives Hyperliquid more shots at the events that matter. Whether traders follow is a question the testnet cannot answer.
