Perpetual futures, explained
Updated
A perpetual future, or perp, is a contract that tracks the price of an asset. You do not own the asset. You go long if you think the price will rise, or short if you think it will fall. A perp has no expiry date, so you can hold it for as long as your margin lasts.
Perps on Syndicate
Perps on Syndicate trade on Hyperliquid. Your margin is USDC in your Hyperliquid perps balance, which counts toward your one cash number in the app.
Most markets track crypto. Some come from builder-run exchanges on Hyperliquid, known as HIP-3 markets. Their names carry a prefix, such as xyz:TSLA for Tesla. These are available on the web app.
Funding
A perp has no expiry, so something has to keep its price close to the real one. That job falls to funding. Longs and shorts pay each other a small rate, and on Hyperliquid the rate is set every hour. Depending on the rate and your side, you either pay funding or receive it. Your position details show the funding you have paid or received so far.
Leverage
Leverage lets a small amount of margin control a bigger position. You choose a whole number from 1x up to the market's maximum, which Hyperliquid sets per market. The size of the position, called the notional, is your margin times the leverage.
For example, $100 of margin at 5x controls $500. A 10% move in your favour gains about $50. A 10% move against you loses about $50, half your margin. Fees and funding come on top of that.
On the web app every position uses isolated margin. Only the margin you put on that position is at risk, and other positions are not touched if it goes wrong.
Liquidation
If the price moves far enough against you, your margin can no longer cover the loss. Hyperliquid then closes the position, and the margin on it is gone. This is called liquidation. Higher leverage puts the liquidation price closer to your entry.
The ticket shows your estimated liquidation price and your maximum loss, which is the margin you put in. It also says how far the price has to move to close you out. Once you hold a position, the chart can draw your entry and liquidation prices.
Orders
Orders are market orders by default. A market order fills straight away at up to 5% from the current price. If it would fill worse than that, it is refused instead. You can also set a limit order, which waits on the book until it fills or you cancel it.
You can add a take-profit or a stop-loss, which trigger on the mark price, or a trailing stop that follows the price as it moves.
Fees
Each order pays Hyperliquid's own trading fee, plus a 0.1% Syndicate fee on the amount traded. See all fees.