Hyperliquid just dropped some news that's worth a slow read. On September 3, the team behind Hyperliquid shared an update about a new feature they're testing. It's called HIP-3*, and it's all about who gets to trade on certain markets and who doesn't.

Right now this is only live on testnet. That means it's not real money yet, it's a trial run. But it's still a big deal for anyone who follows how Hyperliquid works.

What Is HIP-3 Anyway?

Before we get into the new part, let's back up. HIP-3 is a system Hyperliquid already has. It lets independent builders create their own perpetual futures markets on top of Hyperliquid. Think of it like a landlord renting out space, and different tenants (builders) run their own shops inside that space.

Each of these builder-run markets can have its own rules, its own price feeds, its own leverage settings, and so on. It's flexible. But up until now, these markets were open to anyone, just like the rest of Hyperliquid.

So What's New With HIP-3*?

The star with the asterisk (yes, that's really part of the name) changes one thing: access.

With HIP-3*, whoever builds and runs a market can now choose to add a wallet allowlist. In plain words, that means the market creator can decide which wallets are allowed in and which ones are kept out. This is optional. It doesn't touch any of the existing open markets on Hyperliquid. Those stay exactly the same, open to everyone like before.

What Powers Does a Market Operator Actually Get?

This is where it gets interesting. According to the details shared, a market operator using HIP-3* can do five specific things for a user's wallet on their venue:

1. Add or remove a wallet from the allowlist

2. Cancel a specific order that's still open

3. Cancel all of a user's open orders and TWAP orders on that venue

4. Place reduce-only orders (meaning they can only shrink a position, never grow it)

5. Move collateral to another account, but only within the same venue

That last point about reduce-only orders is worth remembering. It means an operator cannot use this power to increase someone's position or bet bigger on their behalf. They can only reduce risk, not add to it.

Also worth knowing, an operator doesn't have to hold all five powers alone. They can split up these jobs. One wallet could just manage the allowlist, while a totally different wallet handles order cancellations. It's spread out, not stuck in one place.

Why Would Anyone Want This?

Good question. Think about a company or a trading firm that has legal rules about who they can serve. Maybe they can't offer services to people in certain countries. Or maybe they only want verified customers on their platform.

With HIP-3*, that kind of firm could build their own gated market on Hyperliquid. Regular markets stay open for everyone else, but this specific venue can have its own rules about who gets in.

To be clear, this isn't Hyperliquid rolling out identity checks across the whole platform. It's not some blanket rule. It's a tool that individual market builders can choose to use, or not use, on their own venue only.

What This Doesn't Mean

Just to avoid any confusion, here's what HIP-3* is not:

• It's not a freeze on any wallet across all of Hyperliquid
• It's not proof that some bank or big institution has already jumped on board
• It's not a regulatory stamp of approval from any government
• It does not shift legal responsibility to Hyperliquid itself

The responsibility for running a fair and legal market still sits with whoever builds it. On mainnet, a HIP-3 deployer has to lock up 500,000 HYPE tokens as stake. If that operator messes something up badly enough, like harming the network's uptime or correctness, that stake can get slashed. So there's real skin in the game here.

Where Things Stand Right Now

To repeat the most important part, this whole feature is testnet-only for now. There's no date given for when, or if, it comes to mainnet. Hyperliquid described it as something extra, not something that changes anything already running.

If you want to dig into the technical side, Hyperliquid has a public API reference and a HIP-3 specification page where developers explain exactly how this all works under the hood.

For traders and everyday users, the takeaway is simple. Hyperliquid keeps expanding what independent builders can do on its platform, and this latest test shows they're thinking about real-world needs like compliance and access control, without messing with the open markets everyone already uses.

We'll have to watch and see if HIP-3* eventually makes it to mainnet, or if it stays a testnet experiment. Either way, it's a sign that Hyperliquid isn't standing still.

Disclaimer: Above content is meant to be informational in nature and should not be interpreted as investment advice. Trading, buying or selling cryptocurrencies should be considered a high-risk investment and every reader is advised to do their own research before making any decisions.