How to start trading on Hyperliquid
Six steps from zero to a first trade, the one setting to do before anything else, and what each step costs.
Open app.hyperliquid.xyz, connect a wallet or log in with email, set a referral code for 4% off fees, then deposit at least 5 USDC (USDC on Arbitrum from a wallet; Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum or Polygon with email login). Trading itself needs no gas, and an entry-tier perps trade costs 0.045% as a taker. Start with a small order: the minimum is $10.
Before you start: three things to know
Hyperliquid is a blockchain, not a company account. Your “account” is a wallet address. Nobody at Hyperliquid can reset a password, freeze a withdrawal for you or recover lost keys. The official web app at app.hyperliquid.xyz is one way in; wallets and other apps also connect to the same order books. Read what Hyperliquid is if that’s new.
Check you’re allowed to use it. The app’s Terms of Use (last updated June 15, 2026) say the interface isn’t available to people in the United States, Ontario, or sanctioned territories. See is Hyperliquid available in the US for the exact wording.
Most volume is perpetual futures, which use leverage. A perp lets you bet on a price going up (long) or down (short) with borrowed exposure. Leverage means you can lose your whole deposit quickly. If you only want to own a token, use spot trading instead (see how to buy HYPE). The perpetual futures explainer covers how perps work.
The six steps at a glance
| Step | What you do | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Get a wallet, or choose email login | 5–10 min | Free |
| 2 | Connect at app.hyperliquid.xyz and click Enable Trading | 1 min | Free (gas-free signature) |
| 3 | Set a referral code | 1 min | Free; saves 4% on fees |
| 4 | Deposit at least 5 USDC | Usually minutes (the Arbitrum bridge credits in under 1 min) | Source-chain gas; any route fee is shown in the deposit window |
| 5 | Place a small first trade | 2 min | 0.045% taker / 0.015% maker on perps at tier 0 |
| 6 | Learn to withdraw before you need to | 5 min | $1 per USDC withdrawal |
Step 1: Choose how you’ll sign in
You have two options. Our account setup guide goes deeper; the short version:
- A browser wallet (EVM wallet). Hyperliquid’s docs suggest Rabby, MetaMask, WalletConnect or Coinbase Wallet. You install the extension, create a wallet and write down the secret recovery phrase on paper. Anyone with that phrase can take your funds.
- Email login. Click Connect, enter your email, press Submit, then type the 6-digit code you receive. The app creates a wallet for you behind the scenes (run by a provider called Privy).
Email is simpler and accepts USDC from more networks. A wallet gives you full control from day one. Both give you the same kind of Hyperliquid address.
Step 2: Connect and enable trading
- Go to app.hyperliquid.xyz. Type it yourself or use a bookmark; don’t click search ads. Our official links page lists the real addresses.
- Click Connect and pick your wallet (or email). Approve the connection in the wallet pop-up.
- Click Enable Trading. Your wallet asks you to sign a gas-less message. Press Sign. This doesn’t move money.
If your wallet gets stuck in a signing loop, Hyperliquid’s support guide suggests updating the extension, a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R), and disconnecting and reconnecting.
Step 3: Set a referral code before you trade
A referral code gives you 4% off trading fees on your first $25M of volume. That’s 4% of the fee, not 4 percentage points. Hyperliquid’s docs don’t publish a deadline for adding one, but set it before your first trade so you don’t miss any discount.
Go to app.hyperliquid.xyz/referrals, enter a code and confirm it appears on the page. Our code and how much it saves are on the referral code page. Every valid code gives the same 4%, so ignore anyone promising more.
Step 4: Deposit USDC
USDC is the main collateral on Hyperliquid. Which networks you can send from depends on how you logged in:
| Logged in with | USDC networks accepted | Minimum | What happens below the minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallet | Arbitrum only | 5 USDC | Lost |
| Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum, Polygon | 5 USDC | Sent back to your email wallet; below 1 USDC is lost |
From a wallet: click Deposit, enter the amount, click Deposit again and confirm in your wallet. You need a little ETH on Arbitrum for the transaction fee. Our USDC deposit guide covers every route, including buying with a card, coming from an exchange and bridging from Ethereum or Solana. You can also deposit Bitcoin directly.
Send a small test amount first (say 10 USDC) the first time you use any route.
Step 5: Place a small first trade
On the Trade page:
- Use the token selector to pick a market (BTC or ETH are the most liquid).
- Choose Long if you think the price will rise or Short if you think it will fall.
- Set leverage low. 1x–3x is a sensible start. Position size = collateral × leverage.
- Enter a size of at least $10, the minimum order value.
- Click Place Order, then Confirm.
What a $1,000 position costs at the entry fee tier:
| Order type | Fee rate | Fee on $1,000 | With 4% referral discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taker (market order) | 0.045% | $0.45 | $0.432 |
| Maker (resting limit order) | 0.015% | $0.15 | $0.144 |
You pay a fee when you open and again when you close. Perps also pay or charge funding every hour (see funding rates). Try the fee calculator for your own numbers. For a full worked example with stop-losses and closing, read your first perp trade.
Step 6: Know how to get your money out
Do this before you need it. Click Withdraw on the Trade page, choose USDC and send it to your wallet on Arbitrum. Hyperliquid’s API docs put the fee at $1 and the time at about 5 minutes. The withdrawal guide covers BTC, ETH and SOL too.
Never use “Send” to move funds to an exchange. Send moves funds to another Hyperliquid address. If you paste an exchange’s deposit address into Send, only that exchange can reach the funds.
Common mistakes
- Depositing under 5 USDC from a wallet. Those funds are lost.
- Sending USDC on the wrong network, for example USDC on Solana to a Solana deposit address. Only the listed assets work on each route.
- Skipping the referral code and trading first.
- Using high leverage on a first trade. At 20x on BTC, an isolated long is liquidated after roughly a 3.8% move against you (see leverage and margin).
- Clicking “Transfer to/from EVM” by accident. Your funds aren’t lost; they’ve moved to the HyperEVM side of the chain. See moving funds between HyperCore and HyperEVM.
- Trusting a DM from “support”. Hyperliquid support only works through tickets. See scams to avoid.
If something goes wrong
- Deposit not showing: refresh the page and check the network and minimum. If you have open cross-margin positions that are losing, part of a new deposit is used as margin for them.
- Order rejected: check it’s at least $10 and that you have enough free margin.
- “Action already expired”: your order didn’t reach the chain within 15 seconds, usually because of a bad connection. Retry rather than clicking repeatedly.
- Still stuck: Hyperliquid’s support guide says to open a ticket in the “open-ticket” channel of the official Discord or use its email form. Replies can take up to 48 hours. Never answer DMs.
Questions people ask
How much money do I need to start trading on Hyperliquid?
The minimum USDC deposit is 5 USDC (smaller deposits are not credited) and the minimum order value is $10. In practice, deposit enough to cover a $10 order with spare margin, plus the $1 fee if you later withdraw to Arbitrum.
Do I need ETH or gas to trade on Hyperliquid?
Not to trade. Orders, cancels and transfers on Hyperliquid's trading layer are gas-free. If you deposit USDC from a wallet on Arbitrum, you need a little ETH on Arbitrum to pay for that one deposit transaction.
Can I use Hyperliquid without a crypto wallet?
Yes. app.hyperliquid.xyz has an email login: you enter your email, type the 6-digit code it sends, and the app creates a wallet for you. You can export that wallet's private key later from the settings menu.
When should I enter the referral code?
Before your first trade. The discount is 4% off fees for your first $25M of volume. Enter the code at app.hyperliquid.xyz/referrals and check it shows on that page before you trade.