TheBlock
Hypernova, a proprietary trading platform built on Hyperliquid, raised $3 million in a pre-seed round led by Lemniscap, with Very Early Ventures, CMS Holdings, and Pivot Global joining. The round closed in mid-October and was oversubscribed three times. Notable angels from the Hyperliquid ecosystem — Native Markets co-founder Maximilian Fiege, Kinetiq's "Ericonomic," Pear Protocol's "Huf," and HypurrCollective co-founders Kirby Ong, Noel Tan, and "Velocity" — also participated, with the HypurrCollective trio joining through the Echo platform Coinbase recently acquired for $375 million. The round was structured as a SAFE with token warrants; Lemniscap took a board observer seat.
Why it matters
Hypernova is positioning itself as a "trustless" prop firm that automates trader payouts via smart contracts and settles activity onchain — a structural answer to a problem Bayramov says is endemic in retail-focused prop trading. Those firms run a B-book model where they don't hedge with the market, meaning profitable traders become a direct liability paid out of the firm's own balance sheet. The incentive flips: the better a trader is, the more likely they are to be restricted or banned. Hypernova says it can dynamically A-book strong traders (taking their flow to market, so the firm loses when they lose) and B-book unproven traders, letting data rather than discretion decide who gets hedged.
Market impact
The startup has been in closed alpha since May 1, onboarding 250 traders, funding more than 20, and paying out over $30,000. $1 million of the raise is ringfenced as a payout reserve the platform plans to replenish from future revenue; the remaining $2 million funds team expansion ahead of a public launch within two months. The competitive set is real — Breakout was just acquired by Kraken, and HyperPnL, Propr, and Upscale Trade are all in the same lane. With ex-RockawayX DeFi lead Bayramov (who backed Breakout early) and a former Coinbase and Citi senior engineer as co-founder, Hypernova joins a Hyperliquid ecosystem that's becoming the venue-of-choice for next-gen onchain trading primitives.
Frequently asked questions
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What is Hypernova and how does it differ from existing crypto prop trading firms?
Hypernova is a pre-seed-stage proprietary trading platform built on Hyperliquid that uses smart contracts to automate trader payouts and settle activity onchain. Co-founder Anar Bayramov says the platform dynamically decides whether to A-book (hedge) or B-book (internalise) each trader based on performance data — a…
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How much did Hypernova raise and who led the round?
Hypernova raised $3 million in a pre-seed round led by Lemniscap, with participation from Very Early Ventures, CMS Holdings, Pivot Global, and angels from the Hyperliquid ecosystem including Native Markets' Maximilian Fiege, Kinetiq's "Ericonomic," Pear Protocol's "Huf," and the HypurrCollective co-founders. The round…
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Why did the HypurrCollective co-founders participate through Echo?
Echo is the onchain capital-raising platform founded by Jordan "Cobie" Fish and recently acquired by Coinbase for $375 million. The HypurrCollective co-founders used their Echo group to join the Hypernova round, illustrating Echo's growing role as onchain capital-formation infrastructure inside the Hyperliquid…
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What is Hypernova doing with the $3 million it raised?
Hypernova is allocating $1 million of the raise as a payout reserve that the platform plans to continuously replenish using future revenues. The remaining $2 million will fund team expansion — currently seven people in London — and prepare the platform for a public launch targeted within two months.
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Who are Hypernova's main competitors in crypto prop trading?
Hypernova competes with Breakout (recently acquired by Kraken), HyperPnL, Propr, and Upscale Trade. CEO Anar Bayramov previously led decentralized finance investments at RockawayX and was an early backer of Breakout, giving the team direct familiarity with the category they're trying to disrupt.
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