A massive selloff in Hyperliquid's SPACEX-USDH perpetual contract caused a flash crash on Thursday afternoon, with the price plummeting from $2,277 to $1,254 (a near-45% drop) within 30 minutes before partially recovering to $2,169. The crash liquidated 405 users across 1,393 positions, wiping $1.51 million in notional value. The incident highlights the fragility of synthetic perpetual contracts tied to private companies with no public price benchmarks. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum futures, which anchor to deep spot markets, the SPACEX contract lacks liquidity and depth, making it vulnerable to abrupt price swings. The median liquidated position held only $31 in margin, indicating a retail-heavy user base using high leverage. Despite the crash, the contract remained at a premium over its oracle price, suggesting ongoing speculative interest. SpaceX is targeting an IPO in June, which may bring more transparency to its valuation.

Key facts

• Price crashed 45% from $2,277 to $1,254 in 30 minutes.
• 405 users liquidated across 1,393 positions, losing $1.51 million.
• Median liquidated margin was only $31, showing retail traders using 3x leverage.
• Contract has no public price benchmark as SpaceX is private.
• Despite crash, contract traded at $220 premium over oracle price.

KeyAudit data perspective