Hyperliquid HLP Vault
DeFi market-making / liquidity-provision vault
Clears the descriptive hurdle: Sharpe 1.72, PF 9.96, −5.8% max drawdown — roughly 2× BTC's return at half the volatility and an eighth of the drawdown. Qualifies as a benchmark and satellite allocation, with explicit directional and smart-contract risk caveats.
- Category
- DeFi
- Window
- 2023–2026 (~3.1y, 91 biweekly obs)
- Instruments
- Hyperliquid HLP vault
- Timeframe
- Biweekly NAV
- Tested
- 2026-06-21
The first validated instrument
Hyperliquid’s HLP (Hyperliquidity Provider) vault is the first instrument in the program to clear the validation hurdle. Measured flow-neutral from the protocol’s own vaultDetails over its full available history (2023-05 → 2026-06, 91 biweekly observations), HLP delivered:
| Asset | Ann. Return | Ann. Vol | Sharpe (rf=5%) | Max DD | PF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HLP | 58.8% | 24.2% | 1.72 | −5.8% | 9.96 |
| BTC buy-and-hold | 31.3% | 42.9% | 0.66 | −48.7% | 1.52 |
| USDC 5% APY | 5.6% | 0.0% | — | 0.0% | ∞ |
| 50/50 BTC+USDC | 20.7% | 21.3% | 0.66 | −25.6% | 1.62 |
Against the hurdle (PF > 1.20 and Sharpe > 0.6), HLP clears — roughly twice BTC’s return at half the volatility and an eighth of the drawdown. And it is not a small-NAV mirage: excluding the first eight small-NAV periods, CAGR is still 59.8%, and mature periods at $500M+ NAV sustain it.
Why “clears the hurdle” ≠ “deposit naively”
This is a validated benchmark and satellite allocation, not a risk-free yield. The honest caveats travel with the number:
- Directional book. HLP is a market-making / liquidity-provision vault, not delta-neutral. It can take large hits (the JELLY episode, March 2025) and is backstopped by the protocol, not by you.
- Regime. The window is a high-volume, high-funding bull market; forward returns will mean-revert toward the lower currently-reported APR.
- Smart-contract & venue risk. A young L1 + on-chain perp DEX: bridge/contract exploit, oracle manipulation, and the HLP backstop socializing losses are real tail risks. A 4-day withdrawal lockup applies.
HLP is the benchmark the delta-neutral funding-rate harvest is judged against — the harvest aims to capture a related premium without HLP’s directional and backstop exposure.
Verdict: VALIDATED as a satellite allocation. HLP clears the Sharpe-and-PF hurdle with a strong, robust record — but it is a directional DeFi book with real smart-contract and regime risk, sized accordingly, not a naive deposit.
Charts & evidence
Frequently asked
What are the historical returns of the Hyperliquid HLP vault?
Over its full available history (2023-05 to 2026-06, ~3.1 years, 91 biweekly observations) the Hyperliquid HLP vault returned about 58.8% annualized at 24.2% volatility — a Sharpe of 1.72 (rf=5%), a profit factor of 9.96, and a −5.8% max drawdown. That is roughly twice BTC buy-and-hold's return at about half the volatility and an eighth of the drawdown. It is not an early small-NAV artifact: excluding the first eight small-NAV periods, the CAGR is still 59.8%.
Is depositing into Hyperliquid HLP risk-free?
No. HLP clears the validation hurdle as a benchmark and satellite allocation, but it is a directional liquidity-provision and market-making book, not a delta-neutral deposit. It can take large hits (for example the JELLY incident in March 2025) and is backstopped by the protocol rather than by you. The measured window is also a high-volume, high-funding bull regime, so forward returns should mean-revert toward the lower currently-reported APR. Smart-contract, bridge and 4-day withdrawal-lockup risks apply to every dollar.
Methodology: The Validation Gauntlet — pre-registered spec, 11-gate battery, real market data.
Full reproducible report: research/hyperliquid_funding/REPORT.md in the source repository.
Author: Brent Akamine (Founder, Vinovest). Backtests are not investment advice.