In this beginner guide, you’ll learn exactly how to use Hyperliquid step-by-step, including how to connect your wallet, deposit funds, and place your first trade safely.
 

Want to skip the tutorial and start trading right away? Sign up on Hyperliquid and receive a 4% discount on your fees.
 

What is Hyperliquid? 

Hyperliquid is a decentralized exchange launched in 2023 that offers fast perpetual futures and spot trading. It is built on its own Layer-1 blockchain, which gives it more control over execution and infrastructure instead of relying entirely on a third-party chain.

Many users now prefer to trade on Hyperliquid to popular centralized exchanges because it feels like you are on a centralized exchange, but without handing over your passport. Also, it's not extremely restricted or complex, making it readily available for anyone to try. 

Another reason Hyperliquid stands out is its fully transparent on-chain trading environment.

Unlike most platforms, all positions, orders, and liquidations are publicly visible. This allows traders to track whale activity and better understand market sentiment using tools like WhaleStreet.

It’s important to note that you don’t need to actively trade on Hyperliquid to view this data. Anyone can analyze it externally. However, traders who use Hyperliquid can act on this information instantly within the same platform, without switching between exchanges or relying on delayed data.

 

Hyperliquid Step-by-Step Video Tutorial (Beginner Walkthrough)

Prefer watching? Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough showing exactly how to trade on Hyperliquid.

 

Why You Should Choose Hyperliquid 

Self-custody: Hyperliquid allows users to retain access and control over their wallets. Trading on the platform means no one can access or freeze your funds. 

Trading pairs: Unlike regular DEXs, Hyperliquid currently has over 200 crypto pairs. 

Multi-chain support: Sending assets to the exchange is no longer restricted to USDC from the Arbitrum One chain. You can deposit over 15 crypto assets to the exchange from other blockchains. 

Trading models: In addition to spot and perpetual futures, you can now access TradFi and stocks. Recently, Hyperliquid has seen strong growth in TradFi markets like silver and oil, with reported volumes reaching significant levels.

 

Comparing Hyperliquid to Centralized Exchanges 

Choosing between Hyperliquid and centralized exchanges usually depends on the trader's preference or location. For traders living in highly restricted countries, Hyperliquid provides access to spot and derivatives trading at lower fees and with low slippage. However, centralized exchanges remain a good option if you're a beginner interested in a structured trading approach with good crypto bonuses. 

 

 

How To Connect A Wallet to Hyperliquid 
 

Getting started on Hyperliquid is quite straightforward. All you have to do is connect a decentralized wallet or create an account in a few minutes.

 

Step 1: Connect Wallet (e.g., MetaMask) or Create Account

• Visit the official Hyperliquid website and click 'Connect.'
• On the pop-up page, click on 'Wallet Connect ', then click on 'MetaMask.'
• On the next pop-up page, click on 'Open MetaMask.'
• This will automatically open your MetaMask wallet
• Accept the connection instruction and go back to Hyperliquid

You should have the wallet address in the right corner of the dashboard

 

Step 2: Creating an Account on Hyperliquid

• Visit the official Hyperliquid website and click 'Connect.' 
• In the pop-up options, select 'Log in with Email.'
• Enter your email address and click on 'submit.'
• Hyperliquid will send you a verification code. Input the six-digit code

Now, Hyperliquid has created a unique wallet address for you

Note: If you have a decentralized wallet, you do not need to create an account to trade. Just connect your wallet as shown in step 1 above and proceed to deposit funds into the exchange.

Tip: It’s easier and more straightforward to connect a third-party wallet like MetaMask. 

 

Step 3: How to Deposit Funds into Hyperliquid

Now that your account is ready. Let's add some funds to the exchange.

• Click on 'Deposit'
• Select the Asset type. This could be USDC, BTC, ETH, or other available options.
• Select the deposit chain (e.g., Arbitrum or Solana) 

If you connected your wallet as explained in step 1, do this:

• Select the token you want to deposit.
• Enter the amount, then click "Deposit." 
• Note that you must have sufficient assets for the deposit. Also, keep enough native tokens of the blockchain in your wallet to cover gas fees. Eg, keep $ETH when sending coins from the Ethereum blockchain.

If you created an account as shown in step 2, do this:  

• Copy the wallet address and send the crypto asset to the address from any wallet or exchange
• When using this option, please note the minimum deposit and the blockchain type. Also note that the wallet address changes depending on the blockchain. 

Once the transaction is confirmed, the funds will be deposited into your account, where you can use them to trade directly. This is usually almost instant. 

 

Step 4: How to Open a Trade on Hyperliquid (Step-By-Step) 

• On the dashboard, click on 'Trade.'
• Select the trading pair you want to trade, e.g., BTC-USDC
• Select order type. Eg, limit or market 
• Set your margin type. Eg, cross or isolate
• Set your leverage (Max leverage is 40x)
• Input the amount you want to trade with (That is your margin)
• Click the Take Profit/ Stop Loss box
• Then set Take Profit and Stop Loss prices 
• Select position type, could be Buy/Long or Sell/Short

The trade will appear in 'Open positions.'

Note: Use buy/long when you expect the asset price to increase (pump) or use sell/short when you expect the asset price to fall (dump).

 

How To Withdraw Assets From Hyperliquid 

Hyperliquid usually completes withdrawal within 5 minutes. Note that you can only withdraw assets from your Perps account. If you have any assets in your spot account and wish to withdraw them, you need to transfer them to your Perps account before you start following these steps.

• From the dashboard, click on Portfolio.
• Click on 'Withdraw'
• Select the asset you want to withdraw 
• Select the 'withdrawal chain.' 
• Input the amount you wish to withdraw
• Click on 'Withdraw'

 

Hyperliquid Trading Fees Explained

On Hyperliquid, traders can access spot and perpetual futures trading for crypto and TradFi assets, and the following trading fees apply. 

• Spot trading: 0.04% maker fee and 0.07% taker fee. 
• Perpetual futures trading: 0.015% maker fee and 0.045% taker fee. 

 

How To Reduce Trading Fees on Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid offers one of the cheapest trading fee structures in the crypto space, and you can reduce the fees further using fee discounts. 

A fee discount is particularly useful for large-volume or grid traders who understand how trading fees can compound over time and eat a big chunk of their profits. You can reduce the trading fee on Hyperliquid when you: 

• Join Hyperliquid via our affiliate link: With our affiliate link, Hyperliquid gives you a 4% fee discount on your first $25 million futures trading volume.
• Stake $HYPE: You can stake as little as 10 $HYPE tokens with any validator on the exchange. In return, you get a significant fee discount and commission. Staking is divided into different tiers and thresholds. For instance, you can get 10% fee discount when you stake at least 100 $HYPE under the Bronze tier. 

 

Is Hyperliquid safe? 

Many users ask questions like, is Hyperliquid safe or how to keep assets secured on Hyperliquid because in the crypto space today, safety is a major concern for everyone.

Like every other exchange, Hyperliquid exposes users to certain risks that may result in partial or full loss of assets. Also, Hyperliquid is a decentralized exchange, which means the chance of recovering lost assets is very low. The good thing is that the exchange provides security measures against some of these risks.
 

Smart contract risk: Hyperliquid relies on smart contracts, which are generally vulnerable to bugs, exploitation, and attacks. To prevent this, Hyperliquid combines consistent security auditing with bug bounties to discover internal and external risks and prevent them. 
 

Wallet risks: Your wallet includes seed phrases for access and a private key for fund transfers. You must store them securely in a physical location to prevent unauthorized access and transfer of funds. Also note that without these details, you will not be able to access your wallet or funds again. 
 

Liquidation Risk: Trading with high leverage on Hyperliquid increases the risk of liquidation. If you are new to trading, we recommend using 5x leverage or less for a good experience. Additionally, Hyperliquid provides margin maintenance to reduce the chance of total liquidation for users trading with low leverage. 
 

Before you get started, it is vital to learn how to avoid getting liquidated in crypto trading. 

 

Hyperliquid Promotion and Referral Link 
 

Unlike centralized exchanges that constantly promote crypto bonuses and trading vouchers, decentralized platforms like Hyperliquid offer fee discounts for trading, staking, or referrals. By using a referral code on Hyperliquid, you can get a reasonable fee discount (4%). The referral discount applies only to your first $25 million trading volume. 
 

For large-volume traders, reducing trading fees ultimately outperforms crypto bonuses because it indirectly increases the profit made on each trade. As a trader, you can also generate your own referral code when you hit the $10,000 trading volume milestone. With that, you can share the code with new traders to earn significant commission from their trading fees. 
 

Start trading on Hyperliquid with our affiliate link to get 4% fee discount on your trades.

 

Comparing Hyperliquid To Other DEXs 

 

 

Pros and Cons of Hyperliquid 

Pros

• No KYC required
• Low fees
• Fast execution

Cons

• No account recovery
• Limited fiat access
• Lower leverage than CEX or other DEXs
• Multi-chain is limited 

 

Conclusion 

Hyperliquid is best suited for traders who want low fees, no KYC, and fast execution without relying on centralized exchanges. However, beginners should be aware that there is no account recovery, meaning wallet security is critical.

Ready to experience trading on Hyperliquid? Get started here

 

Frequently Asked Question

 

What is Hyperliquid?

Hyperliquid is a popular decentralized exchange built by Jeff Yan and Illisience in 2023 to provide traders with perpetual and spot trading that feels CEX-like on a decentralized infrastructure. Since its launch, Hyperliquid adoption has grown significantly, and now it records over $10 billion in 24-hour derivative trading volume.

 

How can I access copytrading on Hyperliquid? 

Copytrading on Hyperliquid is possible when you join a user's vault. The vault owner uses your funds (and that of other investors) to execute perpetual trades. In return, investors receive 90% profit, depending on their share of the vault. See our past article to learn more about Hyperliquid Vault and the potential risks of joining one.

 

What Is Whale Tracking On Hyperliquid? 

Whale tracking on Hyperliquid means using tools like WhaleStreet to track whales' (large-volume traders) orders and positions using their wallet address. Note that Hyperliquid does not require or reveal personal information of a trader. 

 

Do You Need KYC for Hyperliquid?

No, Hyperliquid does not require KYC