Two Robinhood engineers, 36-year-old Hefu Chai and 30-year-old Huaisong Xiang, face charges of wire fraud and violating the Commodity Exchange Act. Prosecutors allege the pair used confidential information about upcoming token listings at Robinhood to trade perpetual futures on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid.
The illicit trading activity reportedly occurred between 2025 and 2026. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, each engineer generated more than $50 000 in profit by purchasing futures contracts before the official announcements of new token listings, which typically drive price increases.
Hyperliquid previously addressed insider trading allegations in December 2025 regarding a wallet shorting the HYPE token. The exchange denied staff involvement, attributing the activity to a former employee dismissed in early 2024. Currently, Hyperliquid prohibits team members from trading HYPE derivatives.
The HYPE token is currently valued at approximately $17,1 billion, ranking 11th by market capitalization. On Tuesday, the asset traded near $77, reflecting a 4,5% decline over 24 hours. Robinhood has not provided a public statement regarding the charges against its employees.
