Kinetiq launches Elysium Layer 2 to expand Hyperliquid beyond perps
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Kinetiq has launched Elysium, a Hyperliquid-focused Layer 2, and the network is now live on mainnet. The rollout also includes HYPE as the gas token, with some Elysium features already active and others still set for a later upgrade.
Key claims & sources
What it means
Hyperliquid built its reputation on HyperCore, a purpose-built perpetuals order book, later adding HyperEVM so developers could write smart contracts alongside it. Kinetiq, a liquid-staking protocol already embedded in that ecosystem, has now shipped Elysium, a separate Layer 2 that settles on HyperEVM using Arbitrum's stack. That makes it the first dedicated chain built on the Arbitrum Platform to settle there, explicitly aimed at extending Hyperliquid past its perps-only identity.
Traders can already route through Pump.fun and Fomo, both confirmed live on Elysium, while native HyperCore data reads and fast order submission remain locked behind a future upgrade. Builders get an Arbitrum-based environment to deploy on top of HyperEVM rather than starting from scratch. Content creators and marketers, meanwhile, are being pulled in directly: Hypesium, the chain's Telegram trading bot, is offering 1,500 USDT and a token allocation to those who post about the launch.
Running gas in HYPE ties Elysium's cost structure and security budget directly to Hyperliquid's own token economy rather than inventing a separate one. That is a deliberate bet that deeper integration beats fragmentation, but it also means Elysium's fortunes rise and fall with Hyperliquid's. The paid promotional push around Hypesium sits less comfortably: incentivized content blurs the line between organic adoption and bought attention, a tension every new chain launch has to manage.
The near-term marker is the scheduled upgrade that unlocks native HyperCore data reads and fast order submission, the two capabilities still missing at mainnet launch. Until that ships, Elysium's pitch of expanding Hyperliquid beyond perpetuals is only partly delivered, with trading live but core data integration pending. How quickly Kinetiq closes that gap will show whether Elysium functions as genuine infrastructure or mostly as a marketing-driven front end.
Market reaction i
Hyperliquid fell 2.6% in the 4 hours after the first headline, after falling 0.9% in the 2 hours before.
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Has this happened before?
| When | What happened | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| 14 days ago | Avail launches ShieldTX privacy tool targeting copy-trading bots on Hyperliquid event | 1 actors in common · 3 news media |
| 15 days ago | NEAR Protocol Launches Confidential Pre-IPO Futures for AI Giant Anthropic event | 1 actors in common · 2 news media |
| 26 days ago | Pump.fun moves into perpetual futures with Hyperliquid powering the engine event | 1 actors in common · 5 news media |
| 27 days ago | Ripple Prime adds RWA swaps referencing perpetual futures listed on Hyperliquid event | 1 actors in common · 8 news media |
| 27 days ago | XRP News : Ripple Prime Adds 24/7 Trading for Real-World Asset Swaps event | 1 actors in common · 5 news media |