SK Hynix perps took a 20% nosedive to $900 on Hyperliquid, then hit the eject handle 🚀

Perpetual futures tracking SK Hynix's American depositary receipts plunged roughly 20% in a single minute on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange before snapping back above $1,000. The USDC-denominated contract, which trades around the clock, dropped to $900 between 23:00 UTC and 23:01 UTC on Hyperliquid, rebounded above $1,000 the next minute, and was recently priced at $1,092, according to Hyperliquid data. Hyperliquid, the leading perpetuals-focused decentralized exchange, had not responded to a request for comment by publication time.

The flash crash preceded a sharp selloff in South Korea's equity market. By the end of trading, SK Hynix shares had fallen 15% to 1,550,000 won ($1,762), with Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor also declining. The benchmark Kospi index dropped 11%. SK Hynix ADRs, where 10 ADRs equal one share, fell 4.5% in pre-market trading to $136.51.

The episode unfolded amid thin overnight crypto liquidity, which has historically amplified price swings between the close of U.S. markets and the opening of Asian markets. Broader weakness in AI-related equities added to the pressure, including a 5% decline in Nvidia following a report on a potential $250 billion financial backstop tied to an OpenAI-linked data-center project.

Hyperliquid has become a popular venue for traders seeking exposure to traditional assets, particularly since the onset of the Iran war in late February. SK Hynix, one of the world's largest suppliers of high-bandwidth memory chips used in Nvidia's AI processors, has fallen nearly 48% from its peak of 1,947 won reached on June 26. The company began trading its ADRs on Nasdaq earlier this month, according to the original report.