How a Harvard grad helped make Hyperliquid the biggest new player in crypto—with just 11 people and no venture funding

The alarm jolted Jeff Yan awake at around 5:00 a.m. It was a ringtone designed to—among other scenarios—blare out when something abnormal occurs on Hyperliquid, the decentralized crypto exchange he had cofounded. And on this morning in early October, things were very abnormal indeed. 

That day, crypto traders saw more than $19 billion in leveraged positions—or bets where investors wager more capital than they have on hand—evaporate after President Donald Trump threatened China with another round of tariffs...