SK Hynix Perpetual Futures Flash Crash 19% on Hyperliquid Before Rebounding

Perpetual futures tied to SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts briefly crashed 19% on the Hyperliquid exchange, dropping to $900 before quickly recovering above $1,000, just ahead of a sharp selloff in the chipmaker’s home market.

Rapid Price Swing on Hyperliquid

The perpetual contract, denominated in the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, fell to $900 within a single minute before rebounding to over $1,000, recently trading around $1,092. The sudden move preceded a broader decline in South Korea’s stock market roughly an hour later.

Korean Market Tumbles

When Seoul trading opened, chipmakers led losses across the board. SK Hynix shares dropped 15% to 1,550,000 won, while Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor also declined. The benchmark Kospi index fell 11% for the day. SK Hynix ADRs slipped 4.5% in pre-market trading.

Thin Liquidity Behind the Crash

Flash crashes are common on crypto exchanges during the gap between U.S. market close and Asian market open, when liquidity tends to be thinner. Hyperliquid has become a popular venue for traders speculating on traditional assets since tensions escalated in the Iran conflict earlier this year.

Broader AI Stock Weakness

SK Hynix, a major supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips used in Nvidia’s AI processors, has fallen nearly 48% from its June peak. The decline comes amid wider weakness in AI-related stocks, including a recent drop in Nvidia shares following reports of a massive financial commitment tied to an OpenAI data center project.