HIP-3: builder-deployed perpetuals on Hyperliquid

What HIP-3 changes

Before HIP-3, every perp market on Hyperliquid was listed by the protocol through validators. HIP-3 (Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 3) made perp listing permissionless: a builder can deploy a perp DEX that uses Hyperliquid's matching engine, margining and order books, but defines its own markets. The docs describe it as "a key milestone toward fully decentralizing the perp listing process".

HIP-3 went live on mainnet on 13 October 2025 after running on testnet from late September (Cointelegraph).

Rules for deployers

• Stake: a deployer must stake 500,000 HYPE on mainnet and keep it for at least 183 days after deploying. The docs say this requirement is expected to come down over time.
• Responsibilities: the deployer defines each market (oracle, contract specification), sets oracle prices and leverage limits, and can halt and settle a market at the mark price if needed.
• Slashing: validators can slash a deployer's stake by stake-weighted vote for bad conduct. Guideline maximums are 100% for invalid state transitions or prolonged downtime, 50% for brief downtime and 20% for performance degradation. Stake stays slashable during the 7-day unstaking queue, and slashed HYPE is burned rather than paid to users.
• Listing more markets: the first three assets in a DEX skip the auction; further assets go through a Dutch auction shared across all perp DEXs.
• Collateral: any approved quote asset can serve as a DEX's collateral.

Fees on HIP-3 markets

A deployer can set an extra fee share on top of the base fee, and can keep up to 50% of the fees its markets generate. With the deployer fee scale set to 1, the all-in fee is double the core perp fee. Your normal volume tier, staking discount and referral discount still apply, since one fee tier covers perps, HIP-3 and spot.

Growth mode

In November 2025 Hyperliquid introduced growth mode for new HIP-3 markets. It cuts all-in taker fees by 90% or more, for example from 0.045% to between 0.0045% and 0.009% at the entry tier (FXStreet). Conditions reported at launch:

• Deployers switch it on per asset, without central approval.
• The market must be genuinely new: not a crypto perp, crypto index or anything that closely tracks an existing validator-listed market.
• Once enabled, the settings are locked for 30 days.

What is traded on HIP-3

The best-known deployer is trade.xyz, which lists perps on equities, indices and commodities, including Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 proxies, crude oil, silver and individual chip stocks. Talos reported that trade.xyz handled about 30% of all Hyperliquid volume from January 2026 and, by mid-August 2026, about 55% of that month's volume, operating in growth mode. These figures change quickly; check the app for current markets.

Risks for traders

• Deployer risk: the deployer controls the oracle and can halt and settle a market. A buggy or dishonest oracle can liquidate you unfairly; slashing punishes the deployer but does not compensate you.
• Off-hours pricing: stock and commodity perps keep trading when the underlying market is closed, so prices can gap when it reopens.
• Thin liquidity: new markets can have wide spreads and be easier to manipulate.
• Different margin rules: HIP-3 DEXs can run isolated-only or "no cross" modes, and cross-margin sharing across DEXs depends on your account mode. See margin and leverage.
• Legal: trading stock-linked derivatives may be regulated where you live. Check is Hyperliquid legal.

Frequently asked questions