How to trade perps on Hyperliquid: a first-trade guide

To trade perps on Hyperliquid you need a self-custody wallet holding USDC on Arbitrum and a little ETH for network fees. Depositing at least 5 USDC opens your Hyperliquid account. Then you pick a market, choose long or short, set your leverage and margin mode, add a stop loss, check the fee and the liquidation price, and place the order. This guide goes through each step and the numbers to check, whether you use Hyperliquid's own app or an interface such as Prow.

The numbers to know first

Step 1: a wallet and funds

You need a wallet you control, such as Rabby or MetaMask, holding:

• USDC on Arbitrum. Hyperliquid's deposit bridge takes USDC on Arbitrum. USDC on another network does not arrive through it.
• A little ETH on Arbitrum to pay the network fee for the deposit transaction. About $1 is plenty.

Your Hyperliquid account is tied to this wallet's address. Only this wallet can withdraw from it, so keep its seed phrase safe and offline.

Step 2: deposit

The deposit is the one step with a network fee. Your wallet confirms a transaction on Arbitrum that sends USDC to your Hyperliquid account (some interfaces ask you to sign a permit message for the exact amount first). It usually arrives in about a minute. The first deposit (5 USDC or more) creates the account.

In Prow, Deposit on the Hyperliquid row does the same through Circle's official USDC bridge (CCTP) and tracks it until it lands. See Deposit to Hyperliquid.

Step 3: connect a trading key (if you use an app)

Hyperliquid's own site and third-party apps sign orders with an API wallet, a separate key your main wallet approves once. It can place and cancel orders but cannot withdraw. Approving it is a free signature, not a transaction. After that you can trade without a wallet pop-up for every order. The agent wallet guide explains what such a key can and cannot do.

An app may also ask you to approve a builder fee, the fee it adds on top of Hyperliquid's own. Read the maximum it asks for. See Hyperliquid builder fees.

Step 4: pick the market, side and size

• Long profits when the price rises. Short profits when it falls.
• Size is the position's value. Margin is what you put in. Position = margin × leverage: 50 USDC at 10x is a 500 USDC position.
• The minimum order is $10 of position value.

Step 5: leverage and margin mode

Set these before you open. Both are saved per market.

• Leverage. Each market has its own maximum. Higher leverage means less margin for the same size, and a liquidation price closer to your entry. At 10x, a move of about 9% against you liquidates an isolated position on BTC.
• Margin mode. Cross uses your whole Hyperliquid balance as margin for all cross positions. Isolated limits each position to the margin you give it. You can't switch mode while a position in that market is open.

The liquidation guide has the exact formula and examples at 2x, 5x, 10x and 20x.

Step 6: order type

A limit order you place below the price for a buy (or above for a sell) rests on the book and usually pays the maker fee. A limit that crosses the book fills immediately and pays the taker fee.

Step 7: take profit and stop loss

Add a stop loss below your entry for a long (above for a short). It closes the position at market when the mark price reaches it, so you exit before liquidation and keep the margin that a liquidation would take. A take profit closes the position in profit at your price.

On Hyperliquid, TP/SL can be attached to the opening order. They are reduce-only and trigger on the mark price. A stop fills at market, so in a fast move the fill can be worse than the trigger.

Step 8: check the numbers, then place it

Before you confirm, read three lines:

1. Fee. On a 500 USDC market order at base tier: 500 × 0.045% = 0.225 USDC to Hyperliquid, plus any app fee. Prow's fee is 0% until Dec 31, 2026, then 0.025% per trade.
2. Estimated liquidation price, and how far it is from the current price.
3. Margin required, and what is left available.

Step 9: while it's open

• Funding is charged or paid every hour on the position's value. At Hyperliquid's baseline rate a long pays about 0.03% of its value a day. See Hyperliquid funding rates.
• Unrealized PnL moves with the mark price. ROE is PnL as a share of your margin, so at 10x a 1% price move is about 10% ROE.
• Add margin (isolated), deposit more (cross), or reduce the size if the liquidation price gets close.

Step 10: close and withdraw

Close with a market order (taker fee) or a reduce-only limit order (maker fee if it rests). Realized PnL is the result after fees and funding.

To take money out, withdraw from Hyperliquid back to Arbitrum. Hyperliquid charges a flat 1 USDC, which comes out of the amount you send. A withdrawal needs the signature of the main wallet that owns the account, and Prow sends it only to that wallet. Funds held as margin for open positions can't be withdrawn until you free them.

Doing the same in Prow

Prow is a non-custodial interface for Hyperliquid, Aster and Lighter: your funds stay in your own venue accounts. After signing in, Connect Hyperliquid asks your wallet for one free signature to approve a trading key that lives on your device, and optionally a second one for the Prow fee. The trade ticket then shows the venue fee and Prow fee, the estimated liquidation price and margin before you confirm, and Portfolio lists your positions across venues, closest to liquidation first. Start with Connect Hyperliquid and Your first trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum deposit on Hyperliquid?

5 USDC, sent from Arbitrum. The first deposit creates your Hyperliquid account.

What is the minimum order size on Hyperliquid?

$10 of position value. With leverage, the margin can be smaller: a $10 position at 10x uses $1 of margin.

Do I need ETH to trade on Hyperliquid?

Only for the deposit transaction on Arbitrum. Trading, approving a trading key and withdrawing are signatures with no network fee. Withdrawals cost a flat 1 USDC fee.

Should I use cross or isolated margin for my first trade?

Isolated is simpler to reason about: the most you can lose on that position is the margin you assigned to it. Cross shares your whole balance, which keeps liquidation further away but can draw on all of it.

Sources

Checked October 5, 2026:

• Hyperliquid docs: Fees, Margining, Funding
• Prow docs: Deposit funds, Your first trade, Order types, Withdraw
• Prow data: Perp markets by venue, Perp DEX fees compared