To start trading on Hyperliquid, set up a self-custody wallet like Based, fund it with USDC, pick a market and open a position. It takes about ten minutes, and there's no account application because there's no account to approve.
Crypto perps, stock perps, commodities, indices and FX all run on the same Hyperliquid engine, so the steps below are the same whichever market you want.
Step 1: set up the wallet
Get Based on iOS, Android or the web. The web app lives at app.based.one. Log in with your email or Google account. The social login is provided by Privy, and the wallet is self-custodial: neither Based nor Privy can access your funds.
There's no recovery phrase to write down before you start. Your email or Google login is how you get back into the wallet, so protect it: use a strong password and two-factor authentication on that account. Nobody at Based can access your funds or move them for you. This guide explains why self-custody works that way.
Step 2: fund it with USDC
Every Hyperliquid market is margined in USDC, a digital dollar, so USDC is what you deposit. There are two ways in: buy USDC in the app, or transfer it from an exchange or another wallet you already use. If you're transferring, send a small test amount first and wait for it to arrive before sending the rest.
There's no bank account to link and no wire to wait on. The whole requirement is no brokerage account, no bank account, just a self-custodial wallet funded with USDC. Once the USDC shows in your balance, you're ready.
Already use MetaMask or Rabby?
You can bring an existing EVM wallet instead. Connect it, then sign a message to link it; signing costs no gas. Hyperliquid takes deposits as USDC on Arbitrum, so you'll need USDC there plus a few cents of ETH on Arbitrum to pay for the deposit transaction. That deposit is the only step that costs gas. Placing, cancelling and closing orders are all free of gas once your funds arrive.
If your USDC sits on another chain, bridge it to Arbitrum first, and send a small test amount before the rest. Keep your seed phrase on paper, never in a file, and never type it into a website.
Step 3: pick a market
The full list of markets covers two groups. Crypto perps: BTC, ETH, SOL, HYPE, DOGE, ENA, XPL, CASHCAT and many more. Stock perps: Micron, SanDisk, SK Hynix, Samsung, Intel, Cerebras, Nebius, SpaceX, and names that are hard to reach from abroad, like the STAR Market listings ChangXin Memory and Unitree.
Every market runs 24/7, weekends and holidays included, so the price you see at 3am on a Sunday is live. For a first trade, pick a market you already follow. You'll read its moves better than a stranger's.
Step 4: open your first position
Direction. Go long if you think the price will rise, short if you think it will fall. Long vs short covers both.
Size and leverage. Choose how much margin to put in and whether to use leverage. Leverage is optional: with none, a $100 position moves like $100 of the asset. At 5x, every move hits five times as hard in both directions. The leverage guide has worked examples.
Liquidation price. Before you confirm, the app shows your liquidation price, the level where the position would be closed automatically and its margin lost. Check it every time and keep it comfortably far from the current price. If it's too close, lower the leverage or the size.
Then confirm, and start smaller than your instincts suggest. The perps guide explains liquidation and funding in detail, and what is HYPE covers the token that secures the network.
Market, limit, TWAP and scale orders
A market order fills straight away at the best available price. A limit order fills only at your price or better, and rests in the order book until it does or you cancel it. Use a limit when you want to buy below or sell above the current price; resting orders often pay a lower fee than market orders.
For bigger positions, a TWAP order spreads execution over a time window, and a scale order places a ladder of limit orders across a price range. Both reduce slippage, and both are available in Based.
Cross or isolated margin
Cross margin lets your whole balance back every open position. A losing position can draw on the rest of your balance, which pushes liquidation further away, but one very bad trade can drain the account.
Isolated margin puts only the margin you assign at risk. If that position is liquidated, the rest of your balance is untouched. While you're learning, use isolated margin and keep leverage low. You choose the mode per position before you confirm.
Stop losses, take profits and withdrawals
Hyperliquid supports stop-loss and take-profit orders natively. Open the TP/SL settings on a position and set the price where it should close automatically, to cap a loss or lock in a gain. Decide where you're wrong before you enter, and set the stop before you walk away from a trade. A common rule of thumb is to risk no more than 1 to 2% of your account on any single trade.
Funding settles every hour, so check the rate before holding a position for days, especially on the crowded side of a market. Funding rates explained shows how the payments add up.
To take money out, withdraw USDC back to your wallet. From there you can swap it, send it to an exchange, or keep it ready for the next trade.
What you're trading
Every market on Hyperliquid is a perpetual future, a derivative that tracks a price, not the underlying stock or coin. You get exposure, long or short, with leverage available. You don't get dividends, voting rights or coins in your wallet. Positions carry liquidation risk, and funding fees apply while they're open.
In exchange you get markets that never close, custody of your own funds the whole time, and access that doesn't depend on where you live or who you bank with.