Skip to main content

Trading Perps in xPortal (Powered by Hyperliquid)

Cristi avatar
Written by Cristi
Updated over a week ago

Perpetual futures (“perps”) are where a lot of real action in crypto happens: hedge risk, trade both up and down, use capital efficiently with leverage. With the new xPortal Perps section powered by Hyperliquid, you’ll be able to do all of that on a fully on-chain, high-performance perp DEX — directly from your wallet.

This article walks you through the essentials so you can start smart, not reckless.

1. What Are Perpetual Futures?

Perpetual futures are derivative contracts that track the price of an underlying asset (e.g. BTC, ETH, SOL) but have no expiry date.

Key points:

  • You don’t own the underlying asset.

  • You can:

    • Long (profit if price goes up)

    • Short (profit if price goes down)
      ​

  • You trade using margin (your collateral) and can use leverage (borrowed exposure).
    ​

Example:

You open a 10x long BTC position with $100 margin → exposure is $1,000.

A 5% move in BTC becomes ~50% PnL on your margin (before fees and funding).

Same power in reverse if you’re wrong.

Perps stay anchored to spot using a funding rate: periodic payments between longs and shorts that nudge perp price toward spot. On Hyperliquid, funding is calculated like major CEXs and settled every hour.

2. Why xPortal Uses Hyperliquid for Perps

Hyperliquid is a perp-first, fully on-chain exchange built on its own L1:

  • Fully on-chain order book: all orders, trades, funding, liquidations recorded on-chain.

  • High performance, CEX-like feel with DeFi transparency (no off-chain matching).

  • Up to 40x leverage on supported markets.

  • USDC-based margining for perps (linear contracts, standardized specs).
    ​

When you trade perps in xPortal, your experience is:

  • xPortal UX + security mindset

  • Hyperliquid’s liquidity, risk engine, and on-chain execution under the hood
    ​

Think: one-tap trading interface, institutional-grade infra behind it.

3. Core Concepts (You Need These Before You Click Anything)

3.1 Margin & Leverage

  • Margin = the collateral you put down (e.g. USDC).

  • Leverage = exposure / margin.
    ​

    • 5x → 1% move ≈ 5% PnL on your margin

    • 20x → 1% move ≈ 20% PnL on your margin
      ​

On Hyperliquid:

  • Perps are margined primarily in USDC, contracts are linear.

  • Required initial margin = position_notional / leverage.
    ​

Higher leverage = less margin buffer = much closer liquidation.

Beginner rule of thumb: stay low (e.g. 2–5x) until you deeply understand what you’re doing.

3.2 Cross vs Isolated Margin

On Hyperliquid (and inside xPortal’s perps integration) you’ll see:

  • Cross Margin
    ​

    • All eligible collateral & PnL are shared across positions.

    • More capital efficient.

    • One bad position can drag down others.
      ​

  • Isolated Margin
    ​

    • Margin is locked to a single position.

    • If that trade goes wrong, losses are contained to that margin.

    • Safer for learning / directional punts.
      ​

Practical tip: Start with isolated for clarity and risk control.

3.3 Mark Price, Funding & Liquidations

Mark Price

  • A fair price used for PnL and liquidation, derived from external spot markets + Hyperliquid’s own order book.

  • Protects against manipulation vs using last traded price only.
    ​

Funding Rate

  • Hourly payment between longs and shorts:
    ​

    • If perps trade above spot → longs pay shorts.

    • If perps trade below spot → shorts pay longs.
      ​

  • On Hyperliquid, funding follows a formula similar to major CEXs, using an 8h rate split hourly, with caps to avoid extremes.
    ​

  • Funding can quietly eat your PnL if you hold high-leverage positions for long.
    ​

Liquidations

You’re liquidated when your equity falls below maintenance margin.

On Hyperliquid:

  • Maintenance margin ≈ half of initial margin at max leverage (varies by asset).

  • Liquidations primarily use market orders on the on-chain order book; if still under water, a backstop vault steps in.

  • The system is designed so the protocol stays solvent and liquidation flow is transparent on-chain.
    ​

For you this means:

If you push leverage too high or ignore your liquidation price, you can lose your entire margin on that position — fast.

4. How Trading Perps in xPortal (Powered by Hyperliquid) Will Basically Work

Exact UI may differ, but conceptually you’ll:

  1. Choose Perps in xPortal
    ​

    • Go to the Perps trading section powered by Hyperliquid.
      ​

  2. Select Market
    ​

    • E.g. BTC-USD, ETH-USD, SOL-USD etc. (Hyperliquid supports a large universe of perps; xPortal will expose a curated set).
      ​

  3. Choose Long or Short
    ​

    • Bullish → Long

    • Bearish / hedging → Short
      ​

  4. Set Margin & Leverage
    ​

    • Input how much collateral you allocate.

    • Pick leverage within allowed range for that asset.
      ​

  5. Pick Margin Mode
    ​

    • Isolated (recommended for newer traders)

    • Cross (for advanced users running multiple correlated positions)
      ​

  6. Place Order
    ​

    • Market or limit.

    • Optionally set TP/SL (take-profit / stop-loss) directly on opening.

⚙️ Auto-Close: Managing Your TP/SL Orders

xPortal’s perps integration supports Auto-Close orders — allowing you to set both Take-Profit (TP) and Stop-Loss (SL) levels when opening a trade.

Once your target or stop level is reached, the position is automatically closed on-chain, locking in profits or minimizing losses without needing manual action.

On Hyperliquid, this logic executes natively through their on-chain matching engine, ensuring your TP/SL triggers instantly, transparently, and without third-party custody.

Auto-close helps traders:

  • Protect against sudden volatility

  • Automate exit strategies

  • Trade confidently even when offline
    ​

💡 Tip: Always define both TP and SL — think of it as your built-in safety belt.

5. Risk: Read This Before You Ape

Perps are powerful and not beginner-friendly.

Key risks:

  • Leverage risk: Small moves can nuke your position.

  • Liquidation risk: A few bad ticks against a high-leverage position = total loss of margin.

  • Funding risk: In trending markets, paying funding for hours/days can flip a “right direction” trade into a net loss.

  • Protocol risk: As with any DeFi system, smart contract & infrastructure risks exist, even with audits and a strong track record.
    ​

Simple safety framework for xPortal users:

  • Start with tiny size and low leverage.

  • Prefer isolated until you’re comfortable.

  • Always use stop-loss orders.

  • Don’t treat perps as a casino; use them as:
    ​

    • Hedge against spot positions

    • Structured directional exposure with defined risk
      ​

Nothing here is financial advice. It’s education so you understand the product you’re about to get access to.

6. TL;DR for xPortal Users

  • Perps = no-expiry futures with long/short + leverage.

  • In xPortal, perps are powered by Hyperliquid’s fully on-chain, high-performance perp engine.

  • You trade with USDC margin, up to 40x on some markets, funding every hour, transparent risk engine.
    ​

Master the basics (margin, funding, liquidation) before increasing size.

Did this answer your question?