[Hyperliquid Lists Lighter as a Direct Competitor and Responds to HYPE Short Selling Incident] On December 23, Hyperliquid stated in an official announcement that it considers Lighter, along with Binance and Aster, as direct competitors, emphasizing its architectural advantages of being 'fully on-chain, operated by 24 validators, and with no hidden states.' Lighter, on the other hand, focuses on 'verifiable execution' and proof mechanisms, providing auditability for CLOB-like trading structures. The competition between the two parties over decentralized trading infrastructure is intensifying. Additionally, Hyperliquid addressed community concerns regarding the suspected insider short selling of the HYPE token, stating that the wallet in question belongs to a former employee who was dismissed in early 2024. The company clarified that the individual's actions are unrelated to the team and emphasized that strict HYPE trading and compliance restrictions are enforced internally.