TL;DR: Hyperliquid is a layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for on-chain trading. It runs a fully on-chain order book (not an AMM), settles in under a second, and currently handles the majority of decentralized perpetual futures volume. The native token is HYPE, used for staking, governance, and fee discounts. Users bridge USDC in, trade perps or spot, and can also deposit into the HLP vault to earn from market making and liquidations.
Last updated: May 2026
Hyperliquid is a high-performance L1 focused on fully onchain trading. It combines deep orderbook liquidity, one-block finality, and a builder-friendly stack (HyperCore + HyperEVM).
What you can do on Hyperliquid
- Trade perps: long/short with leverage on an onchain orderbook.
- Trade spot: buy/sell assets without leverage.
- Use HyperEVM apps: move capital into EVM dApps built on the same ecosystem.
Perps are high risk. Start with small size and learn liquidation mechanics before increasing leverage.
HIPs explained (HIP-1 to HIP-4)
HIPs (Hyperliquid Improvement Proposals) are protocol-level upgrades that shape how assets, liquidity, and markets work.
HIP-1: Native token standard
What it is: the standard for launching native fungible tokens on Hyperliquid.
- Defines token parameters like name, supply, and decimals.
- Creates native spot trading support with orderbooks.
- Uses a Dutch-auction style deployment gas mechanism.
- Community governance is active around ecosystem assets, including validator-driven voting where users can align stake with validator proposals.
Community outcome example: Native Markets’ stablecoin, USDH, was selected through a validator/community preference process.
Why it matters: this is the foundation for permissionless token creation and trading on HyperCore.
HIP-2: Hyperliquidity
What it is: a fully onchain liquidity strategy designed to bootstrap early spot markets (currently against USDC pairs).
- Places and updates liquidity systematically at block-level cadence.
- Targets reliable market depth for newly launched HIP-1 tokens.
- Removes dependence on centralized market-making operators.
Why it matters: stronger early liquidity helps price discovery and reduces friction for new markets.
HIP-3: Builder-deployed perpetuals
What it is: permissionless perp market deployment for builders — and it’s live.
- Builders define market specs/oracles and operate their deployed perp markets.
- Integrates with HyperCore orderbooks and margin infrastructure.
- Expands listing throughput beyond validator-only market creation.
- Currently live: trade.xyz is the largest HIP-3 deployer on the network today.
Why it matters: listing and market innovation can scale faster as more teams ship perp markets — trade.xyz is proof of that already happening.
HIP-4: Outcome markets
What it is: HIP-4 introduces outcome markets on Hyperliquid — fully collateralized contracts that settle within a fixed range.
- Outcome markets are useful for prediction-market-style products and bounded options-like instruments.
- They do not use leverage or liquidations like perpetuals.
- The first mainnet market is a recurring binary outcome that settles daily at 06:00 UTC to the BTC mark price on HyperCore.
- Multi-outcome markets are planned, but were not part of the initial mainnet release.
Why it matters: HIP-4 expands HyperCore beyond spot and perps into new types of fully collateralized markets.
Simple mental model
- HIP-1 creates native tokens.
- HIP-2 helps bootstrap spot liquidity for those tokens.
- HIP-3 opens permissionless perp market deployment — live, with trade.xyz leading the way.
- HIP-4 adds outcome markets — fully collateralized contracts for prediction-style and bounded payoff markets.
Next guides
Official references: HIP-1, HIP-2, HIP-3, HIP-4.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hyperliquid safe?
Hyperliquid uses its own L1 with a HyperBFT consensus and has not had a protocol-level exploit since mainnet launch. The biggest user risks are self-inflicted: leveraged liquidation, depositing into risky community vaults, or losing wallet access. The exchange itself is non-custodial — your funds sit in your wallet, not on a company balance sheet.
Who founded Hyperliquid?
Hyperliquid was founded by Jeff Yan and Iliensinc, who self-funded the project (no VC raise). The team operates Hyperliquid Labs and is publicly active on Twitter and in the Hyperliquid Discord. The protocol is community-governed via on-chain proposals.
How does Hyperliquid make money?
The protocol earns trading fees (taker and maker), bridge fees, and a portion of HLP vault profits. A large share of revenue flows to HYPE buybacks, staking rewards, and the assistance fund. Hyperliquid is not profit-extracting in the traditional sense — fee revenue largely returns to token holders and protocol reserves.
Is Hyperliquid better than Binance?
It depends on what you’re optimizing for. Hyperliquid wins on: self-custody (your keys, your coins), no KYC, transparent on-chain order book, and frequently better funding for the side of the trade most people aren’t on. Binance wins on: deeper liquidity for major pairs, mobile UX, regulatory compliance in some regions, and product breadth (savings, options, etc.). Many traders use both.
Do I need to KYC to use Hyperliquid?
No. Hyperliquid is non-custodial — you connect a self-custody wallet, bridge USDC, and trade. No identity verification, no withdrawal limits, no jurisdiction blocks at the protocol level (your local laws still apply). Some regions are geo-blocked at the front-end, accessible via the API or alternative interfaces.
What is the HYPE token used for?
HYPE is the native token of Hyperliquid. It’s used for: paying fees (with discounts when held/staked), staking to secure the network, governance voting on HIPs (Hyperliquid Improvement Proposals), and gas on HyperEVM transactions. The token was distributed via airdrop to early users with no VC allocation.
What is the minimum to start trading on Hyperliquid?
There is no hard minimum, but the bridge has a $5 minimum USDC deposit, and you’ll want at least $20-50 to make leveraged perps trading practical (smaller positions have outsized fee impact). For spot trading and HLP deposits, even less works.