What it does
Hyperliquid combines a trading engine with a blockchain designed around exchange activity. HyperCore handles orders, matching and liquidations; HyperEVM gives developers a general smart-contract environment on the same network. This distinction is useful when following ecosystem projects: a separate trading website can use Hyperliquid execution without being operated by Hyperliquid Labs.
For a trader, the main appeal is the combination of an order-book workflow and observable onchain execution. The important comparison is market by market: liquidity, margin rules and deployer fees can differ even when two instruments appear in the same interface. A token perpetual and a third-party equity perpetual should not be treated as identical products.
Which network does Hyperliquid use?
Execution takes place on Hyperliquid’s own Layer 1. HyperCore is the trading execution environment, not an Ethereum or Arbitrum application. Arbitrum and other supported networks are deposit routes; their appearance in a wallet bridge does not identify the exchange’s settlement network.
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Where it stands out
- Orders, cancellations, matching and liquidations are recorded by HyperCore, making execution inspectable onchain.
- Cross and isolated margin support different ways of allocating collateral; some markets impose stricter isolation rules.
- An official API and SDK support custom interfaces and trading systems alongside the standard web app.
What you can do
- 01Perpetuals and spot trading share the Hyperliquid ecosystem; HyperEVM extends it with smart-contract applications.
- 02Market-specific leverage and margin parameters matter more than a single exchange-wide headline limit.
- 03Wallet and email onboarding are documented, with several deposit routes. Funding an account through another chain does not move trading to that chain.
Who’s behind it
Hyperliquid Labs is a core contributor, led by Jeff and iliensinc, who met at Harvard. The contributor documentation describes backgrounds in quantitative trading and technology. Labs, the broader network and independent HIP-3 market deployers should be distinguished when assessing who controls a particular product.
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Funding and investors
The core-contributor documentation states that Hyperliquid Labs is self-funded and has taken no external capital. No venture round is listed here; token distribution, network activity and independent ecosystem investments are not substitutes for a Labs funding round.
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Referral benefits and conditions
An eligible referred account receives a 4% trading-fee discount on its first $25 million of volume. This is a fee reduction, not a registration payment.
The published referral policy excludes vault and subaccount activity from the discount. A referrer’s commission is a separate benefit. Eligibility, account setup and the live terms must be checked before using a future ArbuzDAO referral link.
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Fees & availability
Fees and costs
The published base rate for standard validator-operated perpetual markets is 0.015% maker and 0.045% taker. Rolling volume tiers and HYPE staking can reduce fees. HIP-3 markets may add deployer-specific charges. Trading does not require a separate gas payment, but funding or withdrawing an account can have costs.
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Eligibility and availability
Leverage can lead to liquidation. Cross margin shares collateral across eligible positions, while isolated and strict-isolated arrangements behave differently. Check each market’s parameters, the applicable account mode and current access terms before trading.