HIP-3 Explained: How Stocks, Gold and Indices Trade as Perps on Hyperliquid
Updated · 2 min read
HIP-3 is the Hyperliquid upgrade that lets anyone staking 500,000 HYPE deploy their own perpetual futures exchange on Hyperliquid, with their own oracle, leverage limits and listings. It's how equity, index, commodity and pre-IPO perps trade 24/7 on Hyperliquid's order book. The deployer, not Hyperliquid, defines and operates each market, and their stake can be slashed if they run it badly.
- Deployer requirement: 500K HYPE staked, held for at least 183 days after deploying.
- Each HIP-3 DEX has independent margining, order books and deployer settings.
- Deployers choose the oracle, a fee share of 0–300%, and can settle a market to mark price.
- Validators can slash up to 100% of a deployer's stake for irregular inputs that break the protocol.
- HIP-3 stock perps give price exposure only: no shares, dividends or voting rights.
How HIP-3 works
- A deployer stakes 500K HYPE and launches one perp DEX with a chosen collateral (quote) asset.
- The first 3 assets list without an auction; more go through a Dutch auction shared across HIP-3 DEXs.
- The deployer defines each contract: oracle source, leverage caps, and whether cross margin is allowed.
- Trading uses HyperCore's matching engine, margining and API, so it trades like any Hyperliquid market.
- The deployer can halt and settle an asset to mark price, which can also be used to list dated contracts.
Risks specific to HIP-3 markets
- Oracle risk: the deployer runs the price feed. Off-hours stock prices are indicative and can gap at the open.
- Deployer risk: a bad or compromised deployer can halt or mis-settle a market. Slashing punishes them, but slashed stake is burned, not paid to traders.
- Liquidity: thinner books than BTC/ETH mean more slippage and a higher chance of auto-deleveraging.
- Cross-margin limits: validators only allow cross margin on assets with enough liquidity and a reliable external oracle. Assets that move 50%+ in a day more than monthly aren't eligible.
Trading stock perps at prop firms
Several perps prop firms now offer equity and index perps. Propr lists equities at 4x, S&P 500 and 'XYZ100' index perps at 10x, and gold/silver/oil at 8x. Breakout offers index and commodity markets. Upscale has 24/7 stocks with a daily funding charge. Some firms add stock-specific rules. Velotrade, a multi-asset firm, requires closing single stocks 24 hours before earnings and ex-dividend dates.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy real stocks on Hyperliquid?
No. HIP-3 stock markets are perpetual futures that track a price feed. You get price exposure, not shares.
Who runs HIP-3 markets?
Independent deployers who meet the HYPE staking requirement. Each deployer is responsible for its market definitions and oracle.
Sources
Educational content, not financial advice. Perps and prop evaluations are high-risk; firm rules change, so check each firm's current terms.