Hyperliquid glossary

Hyperliquid uses a lot of its own vocabulary on top of standard derivatives jargon. Here are the terms that matter most, with links to the full guides where we go deeper: fees, liquidation, funding and HLP.

ADL (auto-deleveraging)

A last-resort mechanism that closes profitable positions on the opposite side, at the previous mark price, when an account or isolated position has negative equity.

Aligned quote asset

A spot quote asset that meets Hyperliquid's alignment criteria; pairs quoted in it get 20% lower taker fees, 50% better maker rebates and 20% more fee-tier volume credit.

Assistance Fund

A system address that automatically converts trading fees into HYPE. HYPE held there is treated as burned.

Backstop liquidation

When the liquidator vault (part of HLP) takes over a position that could not be closed on the order book. The trader's remaining maintenance margin is not returned.

Builder code

A code that lets a third-party front end or app charge an extra fee on orders it routes to Hyperliquid.

CoreWriter

A HyperEVM system contract that lets smart contracts send actions, such as orders, to HyperCore.

Cross margin

The default margin mode, where all cross positions share one pool of collateral.

Delegation

Staking HYPE to a validator. Delegations are locked for 1 day.

Funding rate

A periodic payment between longs and shorts that keeps a perp's price near the oracle price. Paid hourly on Hyperliquid and capped at 4% per hour.

Growth mode

An optional HIP-3 setting that cuts all-in fees on a new, distinct market by 90% or more. Settings lock for 30 days once enabled.

HIP-1

Hyperliquid's native token standard for spot assets on HyperCore.

HIP-2 (Hyperliquidity)

An on-chain strategy that provides automatic liquidity to HIP-1 spot tokens.

HIP-3

Builder-deployed perpetuals: anyone staking 500,000 HYPE can launch a perp DEX on Hyperliquid's infrastructure.

HLP

Hyperliquidity Provider, the community-owned protocol vault that market-makes, backstops liquidations and earns a share of fees. Deposits lock for 4 days.

HYPE

Hyperliquid's native token, used for staking, HyperEVM gas, fee discounts and HIP-3 deployment. Total supply is capped at 1 billion.

HyperBFT

The proof-of-stake consensus algorithm that secures both HyperCore and HyperEVM.

HyperCore

The part of the Hyperliquid L1 that runs order books, perps, spot, margin and staking. Trading on it is gas-free.

HyperEVM

Hyperliquid's Ethereum-compatible smart contract environment, secured by the same consensus as HyperCore. Chain ID 999, gas paid in HYPE.

Impact price

The average price at which a set notional size could be filled on one side of the book; used in the funding premium.

Initial margin

The collateral needed to open a position: position size × mark price ÷ leverage.

Isolated margin

A margin mode where each position has its own collateral, so a liquidation only affects that position.

Liquidation

The forced closing of a position when account equity falls below maintenance margin.

Maintenance margin

The minimum collateral needed to keep a position open; on Hyperliquid, half the initial margin at the asset's maximum leverage.

Maker

An order that rests on the order book and is filled by someone else. Makers pay lower fees than takers.

Margin tiers

Rules that lower the maximum leverage on an asset as position size grows.

Mark price

The price used for liquidations and unrealised PnL, combining external exchange prices with Hyperliquid's book.

Open interest

The total value of open perp positions in a market.

Oracle price

A weighted median of spot prices from major exchanges, used for funding and as an input to the mark price.

Perpetual future (perp)

A futures contract with no expiry date, kept close to spot price by funding payments.

Referral code

A code giving new users 4% off fees on their first $25M of volume; the referrer earns 10% of their fees less the discount.

Strict isolated margin

Isolated margin where collateral cannot be removed, only released as the position is closed.

Sub-account

A separate trading account under your main account. Shares your fee tier but not referral discounts.

Taker

An order that fills immediately against resting orders, such as a market order. Takers pay the higher fee.

Unstaking queue

The 7-day wait when moving HYPE from your staking balance back to your spot balance.

Vault

A pool of funds traded by a leader or protocol strategy, with depositors sharing profit and loss. HyperCore user vault leaders take 10% of profits.

Frequently asked questions