HypervaultFi Drains $3.6M in Suspected Rug Pull via Tornado Cash
On-chain data reveals HypervaultFi, a high-yield vault on Hyperliquid, withdrew $3.6M from its own vault before wiping its website and social media. The funds were bridged from HyperEVM to Ethereum, swapped into 752 ETH, and sent through Tornado Cash. At the time, HypervaultFi held $5.86M TVL across 1,100 depositors, lured by promises of up to 95% annual yields on HYPE liquidity and 76% on stablecoins. The broader Hyperliquid ecosystem and its HYPE token (trading around $42.53) remain unaffected, but the incident highlights significant DeFi vault risks. Promised audits and a token launch never materialized as the team, including founder 0xnick, vanished amid red flags about unknown auditors.
Bearish
This suspected rug pull by HypervaultFi undermines trust in DeFi yield vaults. The swift drainage of $3.6M and mixing of 752 ETH via Tornado Cash mirrors past exploits (e.g., Wonderland’s OHM fork attacks) that triggered immediate sell-offs and heightened risk scrutiny. Short-term, traders may withdraw from high-yield pools, driving down liquidity and exacerbating market volatility. In the long run, DeFi protocols will face tighter audits and due diligence from users and regulators, potentially stabilizing security but reducing rapid yield-chasing and associated capital flows.