HIP-3 is not one exchange — it is six builder-specific venues running on Hyperliquid's shared chain and wallet infrastructure. Each builder has staked 500,000 HYPE to deploy their own perpetual markets, and each has made fundamentally different choices about what to list, what collateral to accept, and who to serve.
Picking the wrong builder means missing the asset you want, paying higher fees than necessary, or holding collateral that does not fit your portfolio. This guide profiles every active builder so you can make an informed choice.
Trade XYZ — the traditional asset powerhouse
Trade XYZ is the largest HIP-3 builder by asset count and the only one using USDC as collateral. It has positioned itself as the full-spectrum venue for traditional financial assets on Hyperliquid.
What Trade XYZ offers
- 54 perpetual markets spanning stocks (TSLA, AAPL, NVDA, GOOGL, META), indices (S&P 500, QQQ, DAX, Nikkei), commodities (GOLD, WTI, SILVER, NATGAS), forex (EURUSD, USDJPY, GBPUSD), and crypto.
- USDC collateral — the most widely held stablecoin. No swapping required if you are coming from a CEX.
- 3-price Relayer Oracle — a custom oracle system that aggregates three independent price feeds for stability and manipulation resistance.
- Discovery Bounds v2 — price protection mechanism that prevents trades from executing too far from fair value, reducing the impact of oracle latency or manipulation.
- S&P 500 index perpetual — one of the few ways to trade a broad US equity index onchain, 24/7.
- 0.5x funding rate scaling — funding is scaled down relative to the standard setup on supported markets, reducing holding costs for longer-duration positions.
- Growth Mode — up to 90% fee reduction on non-crypto, non-gold markets. This makes traditional asset perpetuals extremely cheap to trade.
Who should use Trade XYZ
Trade XYZ is the default choice if you want to trade stocks, commodities, indices, or forex. It has the widest traditional asset coverage on HIP-3 by a significant margin. If you already hold USDC, there is zero friction to start.
Traders who want broad traditional asset coverage with USDC margin. If you want to trade TSLA, S&P 500, crude oil, or EURUSD — Trade XYZ is likely your first stop.
Trade XYZ trade-offs
Trade XYZ is not a crypto specialist. While it lists some crypto assets, builders like HyENA offer deeper crypto-focused liquidity. USDC does not qualify for Hyperliquid's aligned quote fee discount, so base fees are slightly higher than USDH/USDe builders — though Growth Mode more than compensates on eligible markets.
Trade TSLA on Trade XYZ
HyENA — crypto perpetuals with built-in yield
HyENA is the only builder using Ethena's USDe as collateral, which means your margin earns staking yield while you trade. It focuses exclusively on crypto assets.
What HyENA offers
- 23 crypto perpetual markets including BTC, ETH, SOL, HYPE, and other major tokens.
- USDe collateral — Ethena's synthetic dollar that can earn yield while sitting in margin. Your margin can generate passive income even when you have no open positions.
- Aligned quote discount — USDe qualifies for Hyperliquid's aligned quote asset incentive, meaning roughly 20% lower taker fees and 50% higher maker rebates.
- Crypto-focused liquidity — by concentrating on crypto assets only, HyENA can maintain deeper order books for the tokens it does list.
Who should use HyENA
HyENA is ideal if you primarily trade crypto and want your idle margin to work for you. USDe yield can reduce your cost of capital while also keeping that collateral available for leveraged trading.
Crypto traders who want passive yield on their margin. If you are holding stablecoins between trades anyway, HyENA turns that idle capital into an income stream.
HyENA trade-offs
HyENA has no traditional assets — no stocks, no commodities, no forex. If you want anything beyond crypto, you need a different builder. USDe carries depeg risk: if Ethena's backing mechanism fails, your margin value drops with it. The fee scale is slightly above base (~1.11x), but the aligned quote discount largely offsets this.
Trade BTC on HyENA
Kinetiq Markets — crowdfunded staking and EaaS
Community-funded perpetual exchange via crowdsourced staking
Kinetiq Markets is built on top of Kinetiq's liquid staking ecosystem, one of the most important HYPE staking hubs in the Hyperliquid stack. Its unique innovation is the Launch Protocol — a community-funded path to exchange deployment that reduces the need for a single operator to post the entire 500K HYPE stake alone.
What Kinetiq Markets offers
- 19 perpetual markets covering stocks, indices, commodities, and forex.
- USDH collateral — a Hyperliquid ecosystem stablecoin that qualifies for aligned quote fee discounts.
- Launch Protocol — an exchange deployment model where communities can help fund the HYPE stake needed to launch a new HIP-3 venue. Contributors receive exchange-specific liquid staking tokens (exLSTs) that earn a share of trading fees. This lowers the barrier to launching a HIP-3 exchange.
- kHYPE synergy — Kinetiq's liquid staking token (kHYPE) integrates with the broader HYPE staking ecosystem.
- Up to 50x leverage — the highest maximum leverage among HIP-3 builders.
Who should use Kinetiq Markets
Kinetiq Markets appeals to users who are already deep in the Hyperliquid ecosystem — holding USDH, staking HYPE through Kinetiq, or interested in the governance and economics of exchange deployment. The aligned quote discount makes it cost-competitive for its listed markets.
USDH holders and HYPE stakers who want to trade traditional assets while staying within the Hyperliquid-native ecosystem. Also interesting for anyone who wants to participate in exchange deployment via Launch Protocol.
Kinetiq trade-offs
Asset coverage is smaller than Trade XYZ. The Launch Protocol is still early — the number and diversity of markets will grow as more communities fund new exchanges. Risk isolation is strong (each launched exchange has a segregated staking pool), but the model is novel and unproven at scale.
Trade GOLD on Kinetiq Markets
Dreamcash — the USDT on-ramp
Dreamcash is the simplest path from a centralized exchange to HIP-3. It accepts USDT — the stablecoin most CEX traders already hold — and offers a mobile-first, low-friction experience.
What Dreamcash offers
- 14 perpetual markets focused on indices and stocks.
- USDT collateral — the world's most liquid stablecoin and the default on Binance, Bybit, and every major CEX. No swapping required.
- Low-fee strategy — competitive fee structure designed to attract volume.
- Up to 40x leverage on available markets.
- Mobile-first UI — optimized for traders who prefer mobile interfaces.
Who should use Dreamcash
If you are migrating from a CEX, hold USDT, and do not want to swap into USDH or USDC before trading, Dreamcash removes that friction entirely. It is the lowest-barrier entry point into HIP-3.
CEX migrants holding USDT who want to try HIP-3 perpetuals without changing their collateral. Simple, familiar, minimal setup.
Dreamcash trade-offs
Asset coverage is limited to 14 markets — you will not find deep crypto coverage or exotic assets here. USDT does not qualify for Hyperliquid's aligned quote fee discount, so you miss the structural cost advantage that USDH/USDe builders enjoy. For traders who plan to stay on Hyperliquid long-term, swapping to USDH may be worth considering.
Trade USA500 on Dreamcash
Ventuals — Pre-IPO market pioneer
Ventuals is the most differentiated builder on HIP-3. It is widely associated with Paradigm's network and is the only venue offering perpetual contracts on private, pre-IPO companies — assets that are virtually impossible to trade elsewhere as a retail trader.
What Ventuals offers
- 13 perpetual markets including Pre-IPO companies (OpenAI, SpaceX, Anthropic, Databricks, Stripe, Discord, Figma) and thematic sector indices.
- USDH collateral — aligned quote fee discounts apply.
- Optimistic Oracle — a decentralized valuation mechanism for private companies. Anyone can propose a valuation and back it with collateral. If no one challenges the proposal within a dispute window, it becomes the oracle price. Disputed valuations go to a voting process. This solves the fundamental problem of "how do you price a company that has no public market?"
- Post-IPO settlement — when a Pre-IPO company goes public, the perpetual settles at the first-day market capitalization.
- Non-linear funding tiers — funding rates scale differently than standard perps, reflecting the unique volatility profile of private company valuations.
Who should use Ventuals
Ventuals is for traders who want exposure to private companies before they IPO. There is no other way to get leveraged, tradable exposure to OpenAI or SpaceX valuations as a retail participant. If you have a thesis on a private company's trajectory, Ventuals is the only builder that lets you express it.
Speculators and investors who want exposure to Pre-IPO companies (OpenAI, SpaceX, Anthropic). If you believe OpenAI is undervalued at its latest private round — or overvalued — Ventuals lets you trade that view.
Ventuals trade-offs
Maximum leverage is capped at 3x — reflecting the inherent uncertainty and volatility of private company valuations. Liquidity is thinner than on mainstream asset perps. The Optimistic Oracle is a novel mechanism; proposed valuations may not always reflect true market consensus. This is a higher-risk, higher-conviction trading environment.
Private company valuations are inherently uncertain. Optimistic Oracle prices can diverge from later IPO prices or secondary market transactions. Trade with position sizes you are comfortable losing entirely.
Trade OpenAI Pre-IPO on Ventuals
Felix Exchange — USDH lending ecosystem extension
Felix Exchange is the perpetuals arm of Felix Protocol, a major DeFi protocol in the HyperEVM ecosystem. Felix started as a lending and stablecoin platform (feUSD) and extended into perpetual markets as a natural complement to its existing ecosystem.
What Felix Exchange offers
- 13 perpetual markets covering stocks, commodities, and crypto.
- USDH collateral — aligned quote fee discounts apply.
- Full-stack DeFi integration — Felix is not just a perp exchange. It offers lending, borrowing, and its own stablecoin (feUSD) built on a Liquity V2 fork with an exclusive HyperEVM license. Users can borrow USDH, use it as margin, and trade — all within one ecosystem.
- Ondo Finance partnership — Felix is collaborating with Ondo to launch liquid spot equities on HyperEVM, with plans for 100+ tokenized US stocks.
- Protocol-funded — Felix positions itself as a protocol-first business with long-term ecosystem alignment rather than a pure exchange product.
Who should use Felix Exchange
Felix makes the most sense if you are already in the Felix ecosystem — using feUSD, lending on Felix, or holding USDH and wanting a tightly integrated DeFi experience. The combination of borrowing and trading in one protocol is capital-efficient for DeFi-native users.
DeFi users already in the Felix/USDH ecosystem. If you are borrowing USDH on Felix and want to deploy it into perp trading without leaving the ecosystem, Felix Exchange is the natural choice.
Felix trade-offs
Perpetuals are a secondary product line for Felix — lending and feUSD are the core business. Asset coverage is limited to 13 markets. If you are not already in the Felix ecosystem, there is no strong reason to choose Felix Exchange over other USDH builders like Kinetiq or Ventuals for pure trading purposes.
Trade GOLD on Felix Exchange
Quick comparison
| Dimension | Trade XYZ | HyENA | Kinetiq | Dreamcash | Ventuals | Felix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collateral | USDC | USDe | USDH | USDT | USDH | USDH |
| Markets | 54 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 13 |
| Max leverage | 50x | — | 50x | 40x | 3x | — |
| Aligned fee discount | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Growth Mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unique edge | Widest asset coverage, custom oracle | Yield on margin (~12% APY) | Launch Protocol, kHYPE | USDT simplicity | Pre-IPO markets | Full-stack DeFi ecosystem |
| Strongest category | Stocks, indices, FX | Crypto | Traditional + HYPE ecosystem | Indices, stocks | Pre-IPO | Stocks, commodities |
How to choose
The right builder depends on two questions: what do you want to trade? and what collateral do you hold?
Start with the asset:
- Stocks, commodities, indices, or FX → Trade XYZ has the broadest coverage
- Crypto (BTC, ETH, SOL) → HyENA for yield on margin, or Hyperliquid native perps for maximum liquidity
- Pre-IPO companies (OpenAI, SpaceX) → Ventuals is the only option
- A specific asset? Check the Markets page — many assets are exclusive to one builder
Then consider collateral:
- Already holding USDC → Trade XYZ
- Already holding USDH → choose from Kinetiq, Ventuals, or Felix based on asset needs
- Want yield on idle margin → HyENA (USDe)
- Holding USDT and do not want to swap → Dreamcash
Still unsure? The Builder Selection Guide asks you two questions and gives a personalized recommendation — including split recommendations when no single builder covers both your preferred asset and collateral.
What comes next
Now that you know the builders, the next step is understanding the costs. Trading fees, funding rates, and margin requirements vary across builders and can significantly impact your P&L. Read the Fees, Funding & Margin Guide to optimize your trading costs.
Or jump straight into exploring:
- Markets — search and filter all 130+ HIP-3 perpetual markets
- Builder Profiles — live data on each builder's markets and volume
- Builder Selection Guide — interactive recommendation tool