TL;DR:
- HyENA processed over $4 billion in cumulative volume and served more than 12,000 traders since launch.
- The protocol will delist one market per hour between August 31 and September 2, 2026, automatically settling positions.
- The platform distributed nearly 2.5 million USDe in margin rewards and confirmed it will not issue a native token.
Between August 31 and September 2, HyENA will shut down all of its markets after managing more than $4 billion in trading volume for 12,000 users.
— HyENA (@hyenatrade) August 28, 2026
The decision to cease operations comes in response to a structural reconfiguration within its operating ecosystem. HyENA’s official announcement on Friday, August 28, indicates that Hyperliquid’s strategic deepening with the USDC stablecoin significantly reduced the growth margin and viability for USDe-collateralized products.
Developed by the Based team, HyENA utilized Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 technical standard. This design allowed traders to use Ethena’s USDe synthetic dollar as collateral margin in perpetual contracts, generating passive yields on collateral while holding open derivatives positions.
During its initial deployment phase, various dollar-pegged assets such as USDT, USDe, and USDH competed for market share within the Hyperliquid network. Official documentation indicates that the mainnet’s subsequent alignment toward USDC altered the conditions underpinning HyENA’s business model, limiting demand for alternative collateral.
Liquidation and Fund Withdrawal Schedule
The shutdown will not occur simultaneously, but in a phased manner. The platform will delist one contract per hour over a three-day period, beginning August 31 and concluding September 2, 2026.
Traders will not need to close their orders manually prior to each delisting. Data from the technical report indicates that the final mark price for each contract will converge with the one-hour time-weighted average oracle price before final settlement.
Once the automatic settlement is executed, margin funds will be released directly into each wallet’s spot balance. The development team stated that user funds are completely secure and risk-free during the transition.
The HIP-3 architecture grants market deployers control over oracles, open interest caps, and liquidation parameters. This technical framework allows the market operator to execute contract sunsetting autonomously without direct intervention from the core protocol.
Regarding deposits in the HLPe pool, users will be able to redeem their principal and accumulated rewards via the Upshift platform at a 1:1 ratio, with no withdrawal fees imposed by HyENA and a one-day processing window. The final regular rewards distribution was executed on August 27, 2026.
Regarding its incentive program, Ethena concluded its exchange rewards campaign in June 2026. Consequently, HyENA Points remain frozen in their final recorded state and will not be subject to conversions, additional snapshots, or distributions, carrying no monetary value. The team reiterated that there are no plans to issue a token in the future.
The operational timeline will conclude permanently on September 9, 2026, the date set for the final settlement of the affiliate rewards program.
