How to deposit to Hyperliquid from a centralized exchange

Pick your route

Your situation	Best route	Minimum
Exchange supports USDC on Arbitrum and you use a wallet	Exchange → your wallet (Arbitrum) → Deposit on Hyperliquid	5 USDC
You use email login	Exchange → your Hyperliquid deposit address, USDC on Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum or Polygon	5 USDC
Exchange offers a “Hyperliquid” network	Possible direct transfer; confirm HyperCore vs HyperEVM first	Exchange-specific
You hold BTC, ETH or SOL on the exchange	Withdraw the native coin to your Unit deposit address	0.0003 BTC / 0.007 ETH / 0.12 SOL

Hyperliquid’s own docs say: “Arbitrum is a common chain to receive USDC, if your centralized exchange does not directly support Hyperliquid.”

Before you trade: set a referral code at app.hyperliquid.xyz/referrals for 4% off fees on your first $25M of volume. See our referral code page.

Route 1: Exchange → your wallet on Arbitrum → Hyperliquid

This works for everyone and keeps you in control at each step.

1. Find your wallet address. In Rabby, MetaMask or similar, copy your address (it starts with 0x). It’s the same address on Arbitrum and Hyperliquid.
2. Withdraw USDC from the exchange. Choose USDC, then the Arbitrum One network. Paste your wallet address. Send a small test amount first.
3. Get a little ETH on Arbitrum. You need it for the deposit transaction’s gas. You can withdraw a small amount of ETH on Arbitrum from the same exchange.
4. Deposit on Hyperliquid. At app.hyperliquid.xyz, click Deposit, choose USDC, enter at least 5 USDC, click Deposit and confirm in your wallet. It’s credited in under a minute, per Hyperliquid’s bridge docs.

Every step is covered in more detail in how to deposit USDC.

Route 2: Exchange → your email deposit address

If you log in with email, you can skip the wallet and the ETH.

1. Log in at app.hyperliquid.xyz with your email.
2. Click Deposit and copy the deposit address.
3. On the exchange, withdraw USDC on Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum or Polygon to that address. Any of the four works.
4. It arrives as USDC on HyperCore. Across Protocol handles this flow; you can track it at across.to/transfers.

If you send something other than USDC on those four networks, Hyperliquid’s docs say it’s redirected to your email wallet within about 10 minutes, where you can reach it by exporting your email wallet’s key.

Route 3: Exchanges with a “Hyperliquid” network

Hyperliquid’s docs say “many CEXs and bridges support withdrawals on Hyperliquid, either via HyperCore or HyperEVM”. That distinction matters:

• HyperCore is Hyperliquid’s trading layer: your spot and perps balances in the app.
• HyperEVM is Hyperliquid’s smart-contract layer, where apps run. Funds there don’t show in your trading balance, and you need HYPE for gas to move them.

Exchanges don’t always label which one they use. Before you send:

1. Read the exchange’s network notes, or ask its support, whether the “Hyperliquid” option deposits to HyperCore or the HyperEVM.
2. Check which tokens it supports on that network. Hyperliquid’s docs warn that some exchanges support HYPE on HyperCore but not on the HyperEVM, and vice versa.
3. Send a small test amount, then check where it landed.

If it lands on the HyperEVM, you can move it to your trading balance; see moving funds between HyperCore and HyperEVM.

One more detail: Hyperliquid charges a one-time 1 USDC (or 1 unit of the quote token) “activation” fee on the first transfer into a brand-new HyperCore address, whatever asset is sent. You may see that much less arrive on your first transfer.

Route 4: BTC, ETH or SOL from an exchange

You can withdraw native coins from an exchange straight to your Unit deposit addresses in the Hyperliquid deposit window. Choose the coin’s native network on the exchange (Bitcoin for BTC, Ethereum mainnet for ETH, Solana for SOL) and respect the minimums. Exchanges often default to a different network; change it. See depositing Bitcoin, from Ethereum and from Solana.

Going back to the exchange

Use Withdraw, never Send. Hyperliquid’s support guide is explicit: Send “is only to send funds to another account on the Hyperliquid blockchain”. If you use Send to an exchange’s deposit address, only that exchange can access the funds, and you’d have to wait for it to support Hyperliquid and coordinate a recovery. There’s a warning in the app for exactly this reason.

The usual path back is: Withdraw USDC to your wallet on Arbitrum ($1 fee, about 5 minutes), then send from your wallet to the exchange’s Arbitrum USDC address. See how to withdraw.

Common mistakes

• Choosing the wrong network on the exchange’s withdrawal screen (for example Ethereum when you meant Arbitrum, while logged in with a wallet).
• Withdrawing USDC on Solana, BNB Chain or Avalanche. None of these USDC networks is accepted on the routes above.
• Sending below 5 USDC. From a wallet, deposits under 5 USDC are lost.
• Assuming “Hyperliquid network” means your trading balance. It might be the HyperEVM.
• Using Send to return funds to an exchange.
• Skipping the test transfer. It costs one extra network fee and can save the whole amount.

If something goes wrong

• Exchange says sent, Hyperliquid shows nothing: check the network you chose, and look the transaction up on that chain’s block explorer. If it went to your own wallet on Arbitrum, you still need to click Deposit on Hyperliquid.
• Funds landed on the HyperEVM: they’re not lost. Move them across with Transfer to/from EVM (needs HYPE for gas).
• Funds sent with Send to an exchange: contact the exchange’s support with the transaction details. Hyperliquid can’t reverse it.
• Anything else: open a ticket in Hyperliquid’s official Discord (“open-ticket” channel) or via its support form. Ignore DMs.