TL;DR: From Ethereum, bridge USDC to Arbitrum with Across, then deposit through Hyperliquid; budget about $5-30 mostly for Ethereum gas and about 2-3 minutes once submitted.
Last updated: May 2026
Ethereum is the expensive-but-straightforward route. You use Across to move USDC from Ethereum mainnet to Arbitrum, then the same Hyperliquid native bridge everyone else uses. This is sensible if your funds are already on mainnet; it is not the route I would choose from scratch for a beginner.
Route at a glance
| Tool | Across Protocol, then Hyperliquid native bridge |
|---|---|
| Total fees | $5-30 typical Ethereum gas; Across fee about $0.05-0.15 per 1,000 USDC plus HL gas |
| Total time | 2-3 minutes after transactions confirm |
| Minimum amount | 5 USDC for Hyperliquid; Across minimum about $0.50-5 USDC per research |
| Native gas needed | ETH on Ethereum for approval/transfer, plus ~$0.50-2 of ETH on Arbitrum for the final deposit |
Step-by-step
- Go to app.across.to and set the route from Ethereum to Arbitrum with USDC as the asset.
- Approve USDC if Across asks for approval. This is where Ethereum gas bites; budget $5-15 depending on congestion.
- Bridge the USDC to Arbitrum. The research showed an Across fee around $0.01 per $100 USDC and a fill around 41 seconds.
- Make sure you also have a little ETH on Arbitrum. Hyperliquid still needs Arbitrum gas for the final deposit.
- Open Hyperliquid, click Deposit, and send native Arbitrum USDC to Bridge2. Do not send ETH directly to the Bridge2 contract.
Gotchas specific to Ethereum
- Mainnet gas dominates the cost: The Across bridge fee is tiny, but Ethereum approval and transfer gas can make the real cost $5-30. If you are moving a small amount, this hurts.
- Do not send ETH to Bridge2: Hyperliquid’s Arbitrum Bridge2 contract accepts USDC for this route. ETH deposits from Ethereum are a separate UI-supported flow, not a reason to manually send ETH to the bridge contract.
- USDC.e still causes trouble: If you later find old bridged USDC on Arbitrum, swap it for native USDC before depositing. Hyperliquid wants native Arbitrum USDC, not legacy wrappers.
After you arrive
Once USDC lands in your Hyperliquid account, set up Rabby Wallet if you have not already, then read our Risk Management for Perps Beginners before opening your first leveraged position. If you also want to send the funds to HyperEVM for DeFi, see Intro to HyperEVM.
Frequently asked questions
Is Across the cheapest Ethereum to Arbitrum option?
Across is the preferred route in the research because the bridge fee was tiny: about $0.01 per $100 USDC, with a roughly 41 second fill. The ugly part is not Across. It is Ethereum mainnet gas for approval and transfer transactions, which can easily be $5-15 or more.
Can I deposit ETH into Hyperliquid instead of USDC?
Hyperliquid supports ETH deposits from Ethereum that get auto-swapped to USDC, but that adds swap friction and is easier to misunderstand. For beginners, USDC is cleaner: bridge USDC to Arbitrum, confirm it is native USDC, then deposit through the official Hyperliquid flow.
How much Arbitrum ETH do I need?
Not much. The Hyperliquid deposit transaction is standard Arbitrum gas, roughly $0.001-0.005 in the research. Still, keep $0.50-2 of ETH on Arbitrum so you are not stuck after your USDC arrives. The bridge deposit will not pay its own gas.
What if I accidentally choose Ethereum instead of Arbitrum later?
Then your funds stay on Ethereum and you still have to bridge. That is not fatal, but it is more expensive than necessary. Always read the network label slowly. For Hyperliquid’s normal USDC deposit path, the final asset should be native USDC on Arbitrum.