Hyperliquid vaults are pooled trading accounts, and the biggest mistake is treating every vault like HLP. HLP is the protocol-run liquidity vault. Community vaults are trader-run strategies with different leaders, different risk, and much less room for passive autopilot.
This guide looks at the current Hyperliquid vault landscape as of May 21, 2026: what HLP is doing now, which community vaults are being discussed by name, what the rules say, and where beginners can get hurt. Some vault AUM numbers are estimates because Hyperliquid does not expose a public “list all vaults” API. When a number is not live-verifiable, this guide says so.
Quick takeaway: HLP is the protocol default, while community vaults are bets on specific leaders like @hyperbulla, @SystemicStratHL, Amadeus, and others. Read the strategy, check the leader stake, assume drawdowns are real, and start small.
What is a Hyperliquid vault?
A Hyperliquid vault is a pooled trading account. Depositors add USDC. The vault trades. Profits and losses are shared by depositors based on their share of the vault.
There are two main buckets:
- HLP, short for HyperLiquidity Provider, is run by the protocol. It provides liquidity, handles market-making, and absorbs some liquidation flow.
- Community vaults are run by users. A leader creates the vault, trades the capital, and earns a cut of profits.
That difference matters. With HLP, you are trusting Hyperliquid’s protocol-level market-making system. With a community vault, you are trusting a specific trader or strategy operator. The money is still on-chain, but the decisions are not neutral.
Where HLP stands now
Hyperliquid is no longer a tiny perp DEX experiment. Per DefiLlama, Hyperliquid had about $5.42B in TVL on May 21, 2026, up from about $4.81B on May 1. The chain split was roughly $4.02B on Arbitrum and $1.40B on Hyperliquid L1. DefiLlama also shows an all-time TVL peak of $6.17B on Sep. 21, 2025.
HLP is the protocol-owned vault inside that system. It is not managed by a human leader. It earns from sources such as perp liquidity provision, liquidation engine activity, spot market making, and the Earn USDC program, per Hyperliquid docs.
The exact live HLP AUM is hard to pin down from public tools. The research file identifies the WHLP contract at 0x1359b05241ca5076c9f59605214f4f84114c0de8, but Hyperliquid’s public API works per vault address or per user. It does not provide a simple public leaderboard. Community estimates put HLP in the hundreds of millions, roughly the $300M-$500M range, but treat that as a ballpark rather than a verified live number.
HLP is lower effort, not low risk
HLP feels simple because there is no leader to evaluate. You deposit, wait through the lockup, and your share moves with the vault. That does not make it a savings account.
Three HLP details matter most for beginners:
- HLP has a 4-day deposit lockup. If you deposit Monday morning, you should not expect to withdraw Tuesday afternoon. The timer resets when you add more.
- HLP has no leader profit share. Per Hyperliquid docs, HLP depositors receive the vault returns. Community vault leaders take 10% of profits.
- HLP can lose money during ugly markets. The vault is providing liquidity when other people may be forced out of positions. That can be profitable over time, but it can also hurt during sharp moves.
One important change: on Aug. 30, 2025, Hyperliquid reduced the share of perp and spot fees routed to HLP suppliers from 3% to 1%. The research file notes that this compressed HLP yields and caused criticism because the change came from the core team rather than a governance vote. That is a good reminder. HLP is protocol-aligned, but its economics can still change.
How community vaults work
Legacy community vaults are trader-run vaults on Hyperliquid perps. The rules are more specific than many beginners realize.
- A leader needs at least 100 USDC to create a vault, plus a 10k USDC creation gas fee to the protocol, per Hyperliquid docs.
- The leader must keep at least 5% of total vault equity as their own stake.
- The leader earns 10% of vault profits.
- Community vault deposits have a 1-day lockup.
- Legacy community vaults can trade validator-operated perpetual pairs only, not spot or HIP-3 markets.
The 5% leader stake is useful, but it is not magic. A leader with 5% skin can still run a concentrated trade that loses depositors far more than 5%. The rule helps alignment. It does not replace risk management.
Named community vaults people are watching
This is where the article needs extra caution. Hyperliquid’s vault page is a React app, and the public API does not expose a clean “all vaults” endpoint. The AUM ranges below come from community-sourced snapshots from mid-2025 through early 2026, plus May 2026 X research. Use them as starting points, not final due diligence.
- pmalt: Mentioned by @reisnertobias on X in May 2026 as showing strong results. The vault is run by @hyperbulla, according to the X research file. The strategy is described there as pair trading or market-neutral. That usually means the vault is trying to profit from relative pricing rather than simply betting “market up.” Still, market-neutral does not mean risk-free.
- HyperGrowth: Also mentioned by @reisnertobias on X in May 2026, run by @SystemicStratHL. The research describes it as long HYPE and short alts. That is a clear thesis, but it is directional in disguise. If HYPE underperforms the short basket, the trade can lose.
- Amadeus Capital: Estimated at roughly $8M-$15M AUM in the research file. Leader listed as Amadeus / @amadeus_had. Strategy: market making and arbitrage across perps. Reported returns were described as more modest, around 2%-4% per month, with tighter risk controls. This is the kind of vault where a boring equity curve may be better than a viral one.
- Sapphire Vault: Estimated at roughly $5M-$10M AUM. The research describes it as algorithmic perp trading using HVOL signals, with moderate risk and moderate returns. It reportedly survived the Purple Vault collapse without a major drawdown, but that should be verified on the live vault page before depositing.
- Valhalla Vault: Estimated at roughly $3M-$8M AUM. Strategy: multi-pair trend following. The research notes multiple “resets” after drawdowns. A reset is not automatically bad, but it tells you the strategy has already hit pain points.
- AI Bra / aibra: Estimated at roughly $2M-$5M AUM. The strategy is described as AI-driven perp trading. That label needs extra scrutiny. Ask what the model actually does, what risk limits exist, and whether the live positions match the description.
- ezETH Vault: Estimated at roughly $2M-$4M AUM. Strategy: liquid staking derivative trading around Renzo ezETH pairs. This is a niche basis-style vault, so beginners should understand both perp risk and liquid staking token risk before touching it.
- Nebula Strategies: Estimated at roughly $1M-$3M AUM. Strategy: hedging and basis trading. Lower volatility is the pitch, but basis trades can still unwind badly when liquidity disappears.
- Alpha Vault: Estimated at roughly $1M-$3M AUM. Strategy: directional plus grid trading. Grid strategies can look smooth until a market trends hard through the grid.
The Purple Vault lesson
Purple Vault is the cautionary story that belongs in every beginner guide to Hyperliquid vaults.
The research file describes Purple Vault as a former top community vault, with estimated peak AUM around $15M-$30M. The leader was known as Eclipse or an anonymous operator. The vault reportedly took large directional longs on BTC and ETH perps. In Dec. 2025, a sharp BTC drop left the vault heavily underwater.
Estimated depositor losses were 40%-60% of principal, according to the research file. The vault was either closed or severely reduced afterward. Hyperliquid did not step in. That is how non-custodial systems work: the protocol can enforce rules, but it does not promise to rescue a bad strategy.
The lesson is not “never use community vaults.” The lesson is simpler: a vault with a nice chart can still be one crowded trade. If the strategy is concentrated, leveraged, and slow to cut losses, the vault can fall apart before beginners understand what happened.
How withdrawals can make losses worse
Community vaults have a mechanic that deserves more attention. Per Hyperliquid docs, if a depositor withdrawal leaves a vault without enough margin, 20% of positions are automatically closed. If that still does not free enough margin, the process repeats.
In calm markets, that may be fine. In volatile markets, it can turn one withdrawal into forced selling, slippage, worse PnL, and more withdrawals. This is the cascade risk noted in the research file.
That is why the 1-day community vault lockup is not the same as instant liquidity. You may be able to request a withdrawal after a day, but the vault still has positions, margin requirements, and other depositors. If everyone wants out during the same bad candle, the exit can be messy.
What to check before depositing
Do not start with APR. Start with behavior.
- Leader identity. Is the leader a named account like @hyperbulla or @SystemicStratHL, an older operator like Amadeus / @amadeus_had, or an anonymous wallet with a short description?
- Leader stake. Hyperliquid requires at least 5%, but more is better. If the leader is barely above the minimum, ask why.
- AUM size. A $1M vault and a $20M vault can behave differently. Large vaults may have more credibility, but they can also have more crowding risk.
- Strategy match. “Market making and arbitrage” is not the same as “long HYPE, short alts.” Know which trade you are actually funding.
- Drawdown history. A vault that has never had a bad week has not been tested. Look for how it behaved during BTC drops, HYPE volatility, and large liquidation days.
- Position concentration. One giant BTC long is not a diversified vault. It is a leveraged bet with a wrapper.
- Communication. Some leaders explain changes clearly on X or in vault descriptions. Others go quiet. Silence is information too.
Wallets and basic safety
The wallet that controls your vault deposits matters. On HyperEVM, users in the May 2026 X research most often recommended Rabby and MetaMask. @SecretoDefi said Rabby surfaced forgotten HyperEVM positions that dApp UIs missed. @Khal1d08 said Rabby, MetaMask, or any EVM wallet can work, but users need HYPE for gas. @DeepBlueAlpha said MetaMask felt native for HyperEVM.
Phantom gets more mixed feedback. @mark_inchicken praised Phantom’s mobile UI for Hyperliquid perps, while @dev_alit33445 reported Phantom on Chrome breaking eth_chainId calls for HyperEVM and needing to switch to MetaMask to sell. Wallet bugs change over time, but the rule stays the same: test with a small amount first.
If your vault balance grows, separate your hot wallet from your main storage. A compromised browser wallet can sign a bad transaction just as easily as a good one.
A simple beginner approach
A reasonable beginner path looks boring, and that is the point.
- Start with HLP if you want to understand vault PnL without picking a trader.
- Deposit a small amount and live through the 4-day lockup once before adding more.
- Pick one community vault to study, not five. Read the description, leader history, current positions, and drawdowns.
- If the vault is directional, treat it like a trade. If it is market-neutral, still check what could break the neutrality.
- Size community vaults smaller than HLP until you have seen how they act during ugly markets.
No vault deposit should be money you need quickly. HLP has a 4-day lockup. Community vaults have a 1-day lockup and position-close mechanics. Both can feel much longer when the chart is red.
Lock down the wallet that owns the vault deposits
Vault deposits are not just another DeFi position. The wallet that signs deposits and withdrawals now controls your claim on the vault. Use a clean wallet, double-check the URL, and avoid signing vault transactions from a device you use for random links, airdrop claims, and Discord downloads.
Sign vault transactions from a Ledger
Connect to Hyperliquid through NordVPN
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Bottom line
HLP is the simplest Hyperliquid vault to understand, but it still carries market-making and protocol-parameter risk. Community vaults can be useful, especially named strategies like pmalt, HyperGrowth, Amadeus Capital, Sapphire, and Nebula, but they are bets on a leader and a trade style. Start small, verify live data, respect lockups, and never confuse a vault chart with a guarantee.