What is Hyperliquid, and how do perps work on Sparkling?

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Hyperliquid is an onchain exchange for perpetual futures: contracts that track an asset price, never expire and allow leverage. Sparkling trades perps via Hyperliquid and you confirm every trade. Perps carry high risk, including the loss of all your margin.

What is Hyperliquid?

Hyperliquid is an onchain exchange where people trade perpetual futures on crypto, stocks, indices and commodities. It is one of the largest onchain perps venues by liquidity, and orders and positions are recorded onchain. Hyperliquid is a trading venue, and Sparkling is one of the apps that connect to it. The venue's own documentation explains how accounts and custody work there.

What is the Hyperliquid price?

There is no single Hyperliquid price. Each perps market on Hyperliquid has its own price, set by trading, and a token connected to the venue trades at its own price, separate from the markets listed on it. This page does not quote or forecast a price; read the live price in the market you want to trade and check it again on the trade card.

What are perpetual futures?

A perpetual future, or perp, is a contract that lets you bet on the price of an asset going up (long) or down (short) with no expiry date. You can trade it with leverage, which increases both gains and losses, and a periodic payment called the funding rate keeps the contract price close to the asset price. If losses exceed your margin, the position is liquidated.

How do long and short positions work?

A long position on a perpetual future gains when the price rises and loses when it falls, and a short position does the opposite. Both directions use the same kind of contract, so you can express a bearish view without borrowing or selling an asset you do not own.

What is leverage and how does liquidation work?

Leverage multiplies your exposure relative to the margin you put up. With 5x leverage, a position worth 500 USDT needs about 100 USDT of margin, and the same multiplier applies to losses. If the price moves far enough against you, the margin no longer covers the loss and the venue closes the position, which is called liquidation.

Item	Illustrative value
Margin you put up	100 USDT
Leverage	5x
Position size (long ETH)	500 USDT
Price rises 2%	+10 USDT, or +10% on your margin
Price falls 2%	-10 USDT, or -10% on your margin
Price falls about 20% against the long	The margin is roughly exhausted; liquidation happens somewhat earlier because of maintenance requirements that differ by venue

Invented numbers for illustration, not a forecast and not a price. Real liquidation levels depend on the asset, the margin mode and the venue's rules.

What is the funding rate?

The funding rate is a periodic payment between long and short traders that keeps the perpetual price close to the spot price. When the rate is positive, longs usually pay shorts, and when it is negative, shorts pay longs. Venues settle funding on a regular schedule, and the interval and formula are set by each venue.

As an invented example, suppose the 500 USDT long above pays an assumed funding rate of 0.01% per hour. That is 0.05 USDT per hour, or about 1.2 USDT per day, and about 8.4 USDT over a week. The amount is small in one day and noticeable if you hold for weeks, and the real rate changes with the market.

What is crypto leverage trading, and who is it for?

Crypto leverage trading means opening a position larger than the margin you deposit, and perps trading is the most common way to do it. Active traders use it for short-term exposure, to hedge a holding or to bet on a falling price. It is not suitable for everyone: it needs a plan for size, exit and loss, and it can lead to the loss of all the margin you put up.

What are the risks of perps trading?

Liquidation: with leverage, a small price move can wipe out your margin and close the position.
Total loss: perpetual futures involve substantial risk, including the loss of all funds, and are not suitable for everyone.
Volatility and slippage: prices can jump, and the fill can differ from the price you saw.
Funding: holding a position costs or earns funding, and the rate can change quickly.

What should you check before your first perps trade?

Size: choose a margin you can afford to lose completely.
Leverage: start low, because each extra multiple moves liquidation closer to the entry price.
Slippage and fees: read the estimates on the card, especially in thin markets.
Funding: check the current rate if you plan to hold the position.
Exit plan: decide in advance when you would close the position, in profit or in loss.

Is Hyperliquid available in Kenya?

Availability varies by jurisdiction, and it depends on the service and on the rules of each venue. Sparkling applies IP-based geoblocking for each service in line with our partners' terms and applicable restrictions. Using a VPN or other means to circumvent these restrictions violates our Terms of Service.

Sparkling trades perpetual futures through Hyperliquid, and feature availability varies by jurisdiction.

How does this work on Sparkling?

On Sparkling, perpetual futures are executed via Hyperliquid, from the same self-custodial balance you use for swaps. You can open a market in the native interface, or write a request in plain language, such as "long ETH with 3x leverage", and the agent prepares a ready-to-sign trade card. Trading perps on Sparkling is gasless, and so are deposits. The card contains these fields:

Asset: the token or market you are trading.
Size: how much of your balance the trade uses.
Venue: where the trade executes, for example Hyperliquid for perpetual futures.
Price: the current price the card is based on.
Estimated slippage: how far the fill may move away from that price.
Fees: the charges for the trade, shown before you confirm.
Risk check: a summary of the main risks for that trade.
Confirm: one tap from you. Nothing executes without it.

You review every parameter, can change or reject the trade, and confirm with one tap. The agent cannot see your keys or sign transactions. If a card cannot be built, you see an error and nothing is executed. Sparkling is self-custodial: every account is created with a seed phrase the user can export at any time, keys are secured by Turnkey, and every transaction is signed by the user.

How do you get started with perps on Sparkling?

Open Sparkling with your Telegram account. A full web app follows on October 14.
Deposit any crypto from any supported network, or buy crypto with a bank card in supported regions.
Skip the seed phrase at sign-up: you do not need to write it down, and you can export it at any time.
Choose a market in the native interface, or describe the trade in chat.
Review the card, adjust size and leverage, and confirm.

What is Sparkling?

Sparkling is the trading app that comes with an agent: swaps, perps and prediction markets from one self-custodial balance. AI preps every move. You confirm.

Sparkling connects you to Hyperliquid for perpetual futures, to xStocks for tokenized US stocks and to Bebop for swaps, from one self-custodial balance. Your keys stay with you, secured by Turnkey, and every transaction is signed by you.

Related pages

Author: George Kasparyants · Published: 8 October 2026

Sparkling is a self-custodial interface to third-party markets. It does not hold user funds, does not execute trades without user confirmation, and does not provide investment, tax or legal advice. Trades prepared by the agent are not recommendations; every decision is made by the user. Perpetual futures, prediction markets and tokenized stocks involve substantial risk, including the loss of all funds, and are not suitable for everyone. Some services are not available in certain jurisdictions, including the United States and the United Kingdom, and availability is subject to local restrictions. Tokenized stocks are issued by third parties and do not confer shareholder rights in the underlying companies. xStocks are not available in the US or to US persons. Geo restrictions apply. Read Kraken's xStocks Risk Disclosure at https://kraken.com/legal/xstocks.

SEO Title: What Is Hyperliquid? Perps Guide | Sparkling

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FAQ

What is Hyperliquid?

Hyperliquid is an onchain exchange for perpetual futures on crypto, stocks, indices and commodities, and one of the largest onchain perps venues by liquidity.

What is the relationship between Sparkling and Hyperliquid?

Sparkling integrates Hyperliquid: perpetual futures on Sparkling are executed via Hyperliquid, and your account stays self-custodial.

What is a perpetual future?

A contract that tracks an asset price with no expiry date, which can be traded with leverage. Gains and losses are both multiplied, and a position can be liquidated if losses exceed the margin.

What is the funding rate?

A periodic payment between long and short traders that keeps the perpetual price close to the spot price. It can add to or reduce the result of a position you hold for a long time.

What happens if my position is liquidated?

The venue closes the position because the margin no longer covers the loss, and you lose the margin that was backing it. Use lower leverage and a smaller size to keep more distance from the liquidation price.

Does the agent trade for me on Sparkling?

No. The agent prepares every trade and you confirm it. Nothing executes without your confirmation.

What are the fees on Sparkling?

Sparkling charges a fee on trades, and every trade card shows the fees before you confirm.

Can I trade perps on Sparkling from Kenya?

Feature availability varies by jurisdiction.