How to use Hyperliquid: from empty wallet to first trade

Before you start

Two decisions save time later.

Pick your login method. An EVM wallet gives you full control from the start. Email login is faster and creates a wallet for you behind the scenes, which you can export later. Both reach the same account model.

Apply a referral code first if you want one. This is the one step that cannot be undone. The 4% fee discount only attaches to a wallet that has not yet traded. Once your first order fills, that door is closed for good.

Step by step

1. Open the app through a referral link

   Going through a link applies the code automatically. You can also enter one manually on the referrals page. Either way, do it before your first order: a wallet that has traded can never add a code.

   You should see the referrals page showing a code attached to your address, before you have traded

2. Connect a wallet, or log in with email

   With a wallet: click Connect, approve the connection, then click Enable Trading and sign the request. That signature is gas-free and it authorises the app to place orders on your behalf. It does not give anyone the ability to move your funds out.

   With email: click Connect, enter your address, and type the six-digit code that arrives. No signature step.

   You should see your address, or your email, in the top right corner

3. Deposit collateral

   USDC is the collateral for perpetuals. You can send it from Arbitrum, Ethereum, Base or Polygon. You can also send native BTC, ETH, SOL and several other assets, but those arrive as spot holdings and have to be sold for USDC before they can back a perpetual position.

   You need a little of the source chain’s gas token to send the deposit. Trading itself costs no gas.

   You should see a USDC balance on your Perps account within a few minutes

4. Choose a market and read the ticket

   Start with a market that has deep liquidity, so the spread is not fighting you. The busiest markets by volume are listed on our markets page. Check the funding rate while you are there: if it is strongly positive, longs are paying shorts every hour, and that cost accrues whether or not the price moves.

   You should see the order form on the right, with a leverage control above it

5. Set margin mode to isolated, and leverage to 2x or 3x

   Isolated margin ring-fences this position’s collateral, so a liquidation cannot reach the rest of your account. Cross margin is more capital-efficient and is the right default later, once you understand what it shares.

   Low leverage is not timidity. It is the difference between a routine drawdown and a liquidation.

   You should see the leverage control showing your chosen figure and a liquidation price that is far from the current price

6. Place a limit order rather than a market order

   A limit order at or better than the current price pays the maker fee instead of the taker fee, and it protects you from a bad fill in a thin book. A market order is for when being filled matters more than the price.

   You should see a resting order in the Open Orders table, and a filled position once the price reaches it

7. Set a stop loss immediately

   Decide the price at which your reason for the trade is wrong, and put the stop there before you close the tab. A stop is a trigger that sends an order when the price is reached. It is not a guarantee of that price: in a fast move the fill can be worse.

   You should see a trigger order attached to the position, visible in the TP/SL column

8. Check the position panel

   This panel is the whole job. The liquidation price is the number to watch, and the funding column is the cost that accumulates quietly while you wait.

   You should see entry price, liquidation price, unrealised profit, funding paid and margin used

What a first trade actually costs

At the entry tier, a taker order costs 0.045% of notional, or 0.0432% with a referral code applied. On a $1,000 position that is a fraction of a dollar. The costs that actually matter on a small account are the spread you cross and the funding you pay while the position is open, not the exchange fee.

Mistakes that catch almost everyone

Depositing on the wrong network. Send USDC on a chain the deposit window lists, and check you are sending the real USDC contract rather than a bridged variant with a similar name.

Confusing the Perps and Spot balances. They are separate. USDC sitting in Spot cannot back a perpetual position until you transfer it across, which is an in-app transfer, not a withdrawal.

Assuming the leverage number in old guides. Many articles still say 50x. The current ceiling is lower, it varies per market, and it also steps down as your position gets larger. Our leverage guide has the current table.

Leaving a position open through a funding flip. Funding is charged every hour. A position that is flat on price can still bleed if you are on the paying side of a high rate.

Trading a builder-deployed market without checking it. HIP-3 markets share the matching engine but their deployer chose the oracle, the collateral and the fees. Read the market’s parameters before you size up.

When you are ready for more

The next things worth learning, in order: what each order type does, how liquidation is calculated, and how funding is set. After that, the fee levers are worth an hour of your time if you trade with any regularity.