Hyperliquid Co-founder: Self-Custody and Transparency, Not 24/7 Trading, Are DeFi's Core Advantages

Hyperliquid co-founder Jeff Yan stated at Korea Blockchain Week 2026 that 24/7 trading is no longer a unique competitive advantage for decentralized finance as traditional financial institutions like Robinhood, Nasdaq, and the NYSE move toward extended or round-the-clock trading. Yan argued that the true long-term value of on-chain finance lies in self-custody, which mitigates single points of failure, and transparency, which allows for verifiable system operations. While 24/7 trading remains useful for price discovery when traditional markets are closed, Yan emphasized that the ability for users to maintain control over their assets and verify market data independently is what distinguishes on-chain protocols from centralized entities.