Hyperliquid Expands Into Prediction Markets With HIP-4

Hyperliquid is entering the booming world of prediction markets with the launch of its HIP-4 upgrade, bringing fully collateralized outcome trading to its users.

Key Takeaways

• HIP-4 introduces “Outcomes,” a new form of prediction-market-style contracts that are fully collateralized and settle within fixed ranges.
• Outcome trading is now live on testnet with a mainnet rollout planned once technical development is finalized.
• HYPE token surged more than 8% on the announcement, outperforming the broader crypto market.
• The move positions Hyperliquid as a safer, more versatile platform for trading speculative events and options-like contracts.

What Happened?

Hyperliquid has unveiled HIP-4, a major upgrade to its HyperCore engine, introducing “Outcomes” contracts designed for prediction markets and bounded risk trading. These contracts are being tested on testnet before their mainnet deployment. The news fueled a spike in HYPE’s token price, which jumped over 8% to a months-long high.

HIP-4 Brings Outcome Trading to the Hyperliquid Ecosystem

HIP-4 is the latest technical evolution for Hyperliquid, a Layer 1 blockchain and decentralized exchange built for crypto-native traders. Announced on February 2, HIP-4 adds support for Outcome contracts, which are fully collateralized instruments that settle within a defined price range, effectively minimizing trading risks.

According to Hyperliquid’s official post on X, Outcomes “are a general-purpose primitive” ideal for applications like prediction markets, bounded options, and insurance-style products. These contracts eliminate the need for oracles, remove liquidation risks, and provide a framework for safer event-driven speculation.

A Strategic Step Into Prediction Markets

The upgrade comes at a time when prediction markets are experiencing massive global growth. Major players like Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase, and even Truth Social are all pushing into the space. In fact, Kalshi recently partnered with Coinbase to make prediction markets accessible in all 50 US states.

HIP-4 could allow decentralized prediction market platforms to launch directly on Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM, giving the blockchain a strategic edge. Popular prediction services like Crypto.com and Kalshi might eventually deploy on-chain, leveraging HIP-4’s robust framework and user protections.

From Perpetuals to Events: Hyperliquid’s Growing Suite

HIP-4 builds upon the success of HIP-3, which allowed tokenized real-world assets such as Nasdaq Futures and Gold to trade on Hyperliquid’s permissionless perpetual markets. That move alone catapulted trading volume from $3.75 billion to over $12 billion in a single week.

According to Messari analyst Sam Ruskin, HIP-4 could be “very bullish for pre-IPO trading”, citing upcoming IPOs like OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic. Ruskin added, “Prediction markets solve the oracle problem entirely. No oracles, no liquidation risk, less incentive for toxic flow.”

Outcomes Add Safety and Versatility

Unlike typical options or perpetual contracts, Outcomes in HIP-4 are settled in USDH stablecoin, and are bounded to a fixed range, effectively making them binary or digital options without leverage or margin calls.

Hyperliquid emphasized that Outcomes are still under development and will be refined before their mainnet release. Builders are encouraged to explore use cases beyond speculation, such as insurance mechanisms or sports betting platforms.

CoinLaw’s Takeaway

In my experience, when a platform blends safety, scalability, and innovation, it unlocks an entirely new tier of user engagement. That’s exactly what HIP-4 is doing for Hyperliquid. We’re watching the platform evolve from a high-speed DEX for perpetuals into a robust hub for outcome-based speculation. Prediction markets are on fire right now, and Hyperliquid is positioning itself not just to participate, but to lead. I found the way Outcomes sidestep the oracle and liquidation issues especially promising. If the mainnet rollout sticks to its vision, this could reshape how we trade onchain events entirely.

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