Skip to content
DFUHL Docs
LearnStart here4 pages
How these docs workFoundationHow the site is organised by what you came to do, how every page runs from first principles to engineering detail, and where every fact comes from.Hyperliquid in five minutesFoundationHyperliquid is a set of financial primitives and protocols that combine into one financial system. Build a financial system from nothing, and each Hyperliquid protocol takes its place in it.The house of finance, layer by layerFoundationHyperliquid drawn as a house: one consensus, two engines joined by two bridges, an accounts layer, six financial pillars, a distribution layer that pays others to build, and Hyperliquid itself on top.Traditional finance, pillar by pillarFoundationEvery part of Hyperliquid has a traditional finance counterpart, and each analogy breaks in a specific place that shows what is actually new.
LearnFirst principles5 pages
Why Hyperliquid runs on its own chainFoundationHyperliquid built its own chain so that order books, margin and matching run fully on chain, in one consensus order, fast enough to trade on and with no off-chain book.One chain, two execution environmentsFoundationHyperCore holds the markets as native state and the HyperEVM runs contracts; one HyperBFT consensus orders both, joined by precompiles and CoreWriter.What an on-chain order book actually meansFoundationEvery order, cancel and fill is a transaction ordered by consensus and executed by every node, so the book is public chain state, not a private database.Ordering, finality and fairnessPractitionerHyperBFT gives every honest node one ordered list of committed rounds, a committed block is final, and each block runs cancels before GTC and IOC orders.HYPE: what the token doesFoundationHYPE pays HyperEVM gas, secures consensus, discounts fees, bonds deployers, backs borrowing, and is what the Assistance Fund converts fees into and burns.
LearnConsensus and validators4 pages
HyperBFTPractitionerHyperBFT is Hyperliquid's HotStuff-derived proof-of-stake consensus: stake-weighted validators commit rounds that every honest node executes in the same order.Validators and delegationPractitionerValidators run HyperBFT, ranked by stake; delegators choose them, pay commission, earn nothing while one is jailed and face no automatic slashing yet.Staking HYPE, rewards and the unstaking queueFoundationStaked HYPE is delegated to validators for compounding rewards and fee discounts; getting it back to spot takes a 7-day queue on mainnet.Running a nodeExpertA non-validating node follows consensus and writes every committed transaction, fill, order status, book change and HyperEVM block to local disk.
LearnHyperCore8 pages
HyperCore overviewFoundationHyperCore is where Hyperliquid's order books, margin, clearing and settlement run as native protocol state, applied by every validator in one order.The clearinghouse: one margin enginePractitionerHyperCore's clearinghouse holds balances and positions and checks margin on every trade; in standard mode each perp dex has its own balance and cross margin.The order book and matchingPractitionerEach HyperCore asset has one on-chain book matched in price-time priority, with cancels and post-only orders sequenced ahead of orders that take liquidity.Oracles, mark prices and robust price indicesPractitionerValidators publish perp oracle prices every 3 seconds; the mark price used for margin and liquidation is a median that no single book or venue can move.Quote assets: USDC, USDH, aligned and permissionlessPractitionerAny token can become a HyperCore quote asset if its issuer stakes 200k HYPE against a peg and liquidity standard; aligned issuers also share reserve yield.Vaults: HLP, protocol vaults, user vaultsFoundationA vault pools depositors' USDC into one HyperCore account run by one strategy; HLP is the protocol vault that makes markets and performs liquidations.Multi-sig accountsPractitionerHyperCore can make any account a native k-of-n multi-sig with no smart contract, but CoreWriter stops working for it and its HyperEVM side keeps the old key.API servers and how state reaches youPractitionerAPI servers follow a node, keep a local copy of HyperCore state, answer reads from it, and reply to a transaction only once it executes in a committed block.
LearnResearch5 pages
What one HyperEVM transaction can and cannot doExpertOne HyperEVM transaction can read HyperCore and emit a perp order and an outcome operation, but it only enqueues them, so the legs are not atomic.Options on the borrow rateExpertA research track priced the HyperCore USDC borrow rate with HIP-4 scalar bands, listed them on somebody else's perp, and found owning the perp does not pay.Composable creditExpertA research track tokenised HyperCore lending positions as HyperEVM ERC20s, proved a contract can supply on testnet, and found the vault must be a queue, not a wrapper.Collateral underwritingExpertA research track found the protocol refuses a deployer stake posted by somebody else, and rebuilt underwriting as two-of-two co-custody of the deployer's own bond.Where the chain and the docs disagreeExpertEvery place where measured behaviour on Hyperliquid contradicts the official docs: what the docs say, what was measured, the sample and the covering page.
LearnFor the press4 pages
Start here: press and analystsFoundationFor people writing about Hyperliquid: what it is, how to measure and name it correctly, and the stories behind the numbers.Measuring Hyperliquid: volume, open interest, usersFoundationPublic Hyperliquid figures disagree mostly because each counts the same fills differently; a number means something only with its rows and units.Common misconceptionsFoundationTwelve common claims about Hyperliquid that the official docs or on-chain measurement contradict, each with what is true and where it is explained.Naming and style guideFoundationWrite HyperCore, HyperEVM, HyperBFT, CoreWriter and HIP-1 to HIP-4 exactly, never shorten HyperCore to one word, and do not cite a HIP-5, because none exists.
LearnWhat Hyperliquid is and how it works
Start here
First principles
Consensus and validators
HyperCore
Research
For the press
TradeMarkets, margin and risk
Start here
Trading fundamentals
Perpetuals
Spot
Outcome markets
Accounts and credit
Advanced trading
Incentives
BuildApps, bots and contracts
Start here
Build on HyperCore
Build on the HyperEVM
DeployLaunch and run markets
Start here
The HIPs
Deploy markets
ReferenceEvery number, action and term
Look up
Protocol tables

HYPE: what the token does

Foundation

HYPE pays HyperEVM gas, secures consensus, discounts fees, bonds deployers, backs borrowing, and is what the Assistance Fund converts fees into and burns.

HYPE is Hyperliquid’s native token, and each unit sits in one balance at a time. Delegated staking HYPE earns rewards and the fee discount but is not trading collateral. Spot HYPE can be portfolio margin collateral but earns neither.

Say you hold 1,000 HYPE. Delegated, it earns about 23.7 HYPE a year before commission at 400M HYPE staked (about 2.37 per cent), plus a fee discount. Kept in spot at 20 USDC each, it can back up to 13,000 USDC of borrowing under portfolio margin (1,000 x 20 x 0.65 LTV).

What HYPE does, job by job

Section titled “What HYPE does, job by job”
Job What HYPE does Key number
HyperEVM gas Pays for every HyperEVM transaction; base and priority fees are burned 18 decimals on the HyperEVM
Consensus security Staked to validators, who produce blocks in proportion to stake validator self-delegation 10,000 HYPE, locked 1 year
Staking rewards Paid to stakers from the future emissions reserve about 2.37% a year at 400M HYPE staked (docs example)
Trading fee discount Staking lowers your fees on every market 5% above 10 HYPE staked, up to 40% above 500,000
Deployer bonds Staked by those who list perp dexes, outcome markets and quote assets; slashable 500,000 HYPE for a HIP-3 dex or a HIP-4 deployer
Token deployment gas Pays for deploying a HIP-1 token, priced by Dutch auction auction runs 31 hours, falling to a 500 HYPE floor
Collateral Can be borrowed against under portfolio margin and manual borrowing loan-to-value 0.65
Priority Pays for earlier reads and earlier order execution; burned gossip bids from 0.1 HYPE
Assistance Fund Trading fees are converted into HYPE, which is then burned system address 0xfefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefefe

Beyond the table:

  • Gas. Base fees are burned and, unlike on most other EVM chains, so are priority fees (the docs credit HyperBFT). A HyperCore to HyperEVM transfer costs 200,000 gas at the next HyperEVM block’s base fee, charged on HyperCore (blocks, gas and RPC).
  • Fee discounts. A linked staking account’s stake counts towards a trading account’s fees. Tiers: staking; schedule: fees.
  • Bonds are slashable by validator vote, and slashed HIP-3 stake is burned, not paid to affected users. Requirements stack: stake counted towards HIP-3 does not also count towards HIP-4. An aligned quote asset adds 800,000 HYPE to the quote asset bond, 1,000,000 in total (deployer economics).
  • Collateral. Under portfolio margin, an order short of the quote asset borrows it automatically against spot HYPE. Manual borrowing uses the same 0.65 LTV.
  • Priority. Gossip priority (network data to an IP address sooner) is bid from the spot balance. Order priority is charged from the undelegated staking balance at the spot mark price (priority fees).
  • Assistance Fund. The docs direct trading fees to HLP, the Assistance Fund and deployers. The fund converts fees into HYPE automatically during L1 execution, and its HYPE is burned, leaving circulating and total supply. Spot fees in quote tokens other than USDC also go to it.

The numbers

Section titled “The numbers”
Parameter Value
Decimals on the HyperEVM 18
Decimals on HyperCore 8 (1 HYPE = 1e8 wei in actions)
System address for HyperCore and HyperEVM transfers 0x2222222222222222222222222222222222222222
Validator self-delegation 10,000 HYPE, locked 1 year
Delegation lockup 1 day per validator
Unstaking queue 7 days on mainnet
Reward rate proportional to 1 / sqrt(total HYPE staked); about 2.37% a year at 400M staked
Staking fee discount 5% (over 10) to 40% (over 500,000)
HIP-3 bond 500,000 HYPE, at least 183 days
HIP-4 bond 500,000 HYPE mainnet, 100 HYPE testnet, at least 183 days
Quote asset bond 200,000 HYPE for 3 years; 50 HYPE on testnet
Aligned quote asset bond 1,000,000 HYPE in total
HIP-1 deployment gas Dutch auction over 31 hours, floor 500 HYPE
Portfolio margin LTV 0.65; liquidation threshold 0.5 + 0.5 * LTV = 0.825
Portfolio margin HYPE caps 10M global supply, 1M per user
Gossip priority minimum bid 0.1 HYPE

Holding HYPE as a trader

Section titled “Holding HYPE as a trader”
  • The staking discount applies at every volume tier.
  • You need HYPE on the HyperEVM to do anything there, including moving tokens back to HyperCore.
  • The HyperCore to HyperEVM gas is not always HYPE. The FAQ says it needs HyperCore HYPE; measured on testnet, when that falls short the fee is taken in the token sent.
  • A staking referral programme was proposed, not shipped. The docs say there is no definitive mainnet implementation.

HYPE in actions and contracts

Section titled “HYPE in actions and contracts”
  • HyperCore actions and CoreWriter payloads use wei of 1e8. On the HyperEVM, HYPE is the native balance, not an ERC20; the canonical wrapped HYPE is the system contract the docs give as 0x555...5.
  • Sending HYPE to its system address on either side moves it across. On the HyperEVM that is a plain value transfer.
  • Read a staking balance from a contract with precompile 0x805 (delegatorSummary). CoreWriter actions 3, 4 and 5 delegate, deposit into staking and withdraw from staking.

Deployer bonds, measured

Section titled “Deployer bonds, measured”
  • A bond earns rewards while delegated. On mainnet, all 12 deployer accounts hold more staked HYPE than they deposited net of withdrawals: 0.0029 to 17,562 HYPE of rewards.
  • The bond counts undelegated stake. Against a 100 HYPE testnet requirement, 99.5 HYPE was refused and 100.5, all undelegated, was accepted.
  • Another account’s stake does not count. A trading account linked to a staking account was refused deployer activation with Deployer cannot have staking link.
  • HIP-3 stake stays slashable during the 7-day unstaking queue.

For how to stake and what it earns, see Staking HYPE, rewards and the unstaking queue. For where staked HYPE goes, see Validators and delegation.